Sundays with Kristi - Blessed: Poor in Spirit

Have you declared bankruptcy yet?

That might seem an odd question to ask in a devotional, and yet it’s absolutely essential to answer as we delve into the first of the Beatitudes in this series about being “Blessed.” You’re welcome to check out the introduction as well as other Sunday Devotionals by clicking on the “Sunday” tab above.

Matthew 5:3 – Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Poor

To better understand, let’s take a look at the concepts mentioned in this verse. What does it mean to be poor? Most people think of poor in relation to money, so we’ll start with that. Now, I’m not talking the type of poor that says, “I can’t afford that designer purse or shoes.” I’m referring to the type of poor that says, “I don’t have a cent to my name, no possessions to trade, and no skill or ability to be able to work.” This is the “I don’t know where my next meal is coming from and if someone doesn’t take pity on me, I’ll be dead in the next 24 hours,” type of poor. Try to picture that person: friendless, penniless, possessionless, with no way to pay for any of the necessities of life. Many people in that situation end up borrowing from people just to survive. If a person still owes a debt with no possible way to pay, often they end up filing for bankruptcy. Now that’s poor.

The people in Jesus’s time would have immediately had a mental picture of “poor.” There were plenty of beggars in that day and time. Often the people who were sick or lame would sit by the roadway and beg, hoping for the kindness of strangers. I can imagine that it was probably not that uncommon to find that those beggars had died through the night if no one had offered aid to them.

In Spirit
OK, so now that we understand the concept of poor, we can take a look at the way we’re supposed to be poor because this verse is not talking about money. Actually this type of “poor” refers to our spirit. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Well, what is our spirit? The idea from this verse is our personal ambition, our sense of independence, our “I can do it on my own” attitude. Being poor in spirit means we are completely empty of our own selfish ambition and our intent to do everything on our own. We are dependent on God for not only creating the goals in our life, but for supplying the means to achieve those goals.

To be clear, being poor in spirit is not the same as being lazy. People who are lazy are not being dependent on God. They are just more concerned about themselves and their own personal comfort. Their laziness is their personal ambition and they are not interested in God’s goals for their life.

Kingdom of Heaven

Well, how are these poor in spirit people blessed? What reward do they receive for their total and complete reliance on God? Why nothing less than the Kingdom of heaven. These people receive the ultimate reward. Remember in other places where Jesus discusses the kingdom of heaven? Check out all the parables in Matthew 13 that Jesus uses to describe the kingdom of heaven.

In these verses Jesus is explaining that this is the reward that is higher than any other. This is the goal that we should be willing to trade everything in our life for. These people would sacrifice anything and everything they have in order to gain it. In the words of the Christian missionary and martyr Jim Elliott, “He is no fool who would trade what he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot lose.”

What does it take to be Blessed? Sacrificing everything for Jesus states that those who are poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

So, I’ll ask again, have you declared bankruptcy yet? Spiritual bankruptcy, that is. You’ll be blessed with the Kingdom of God if you do.

Father, I love You and I am willing to lay down everything in my life: my goals, my ambitions, my personal preferences, my success, my failures, my time, my money, my everything. Take it, it’s yours. There is nothing I have that can even compare to your kingdom and I will give it all up in order to be able to receive that which You have promised.

May you live out His Word today!
Kristi Burchfiel
Check out my daily devotions either on my blog or on my Facebook page

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