Poor in Spirit
The Bible says “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3). This has raised a lot of eyebrows and have gotten people confused as to whether Christians are supposed to be poor to be able to get into Heaven. Coupled with the fact that Jesus said that it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24).
Firstly, we should not confound poor in spirit with the poor in worldly circumstances. To be poor in this world is a choice and has nothing to do with you going to heaven. One thing that wealth does to a man is to aggravate what he already is. That is if you are generous you will be more generous or vice versa if you are stingy. Wealth in itself has no power to change a man unless he permits it. John admonishing us wishes above all things that we prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2). John would not have prayed such a prayer if it was not the will of God for you to prosper. Prosperity here is not limited to only finances but health, emotional, social and every aspect of your life.
The poor in spirit involves:
- Humility
- Contentment
- Submission and
- Gratitude
To be poor in spirit means to be humble, or to have a correct estimate of oneself. It is not a false humility but rather honesty with ourselves and living as God wants us to be. The foundation of all other graces is laid in humility. For example in construction, the deeper the foundation is the higher the building would be. This is same in the kingdom. The most humble servant is the most exalted because God gives more grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).
The poor in spirit are those who consciously depend on God, not on themselves; they have no ability in themselves to please God but depend on the finished work of Christ. They are those who have emptied themselves to be full. Our sufficiency is not in ourselves as the world promotes but rather in Christ. The world admires people who have confidence in themselves but God wants us to have total confidence in Him alone. This is what poor in spirit really means.
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