There is a lesson to be gained in considering the abundance of the world God made for us. There is not one blade of grass, but an uncountable number. There is not one tree, but an uncountable number. There is not one place to live, but an uncountable number. There is an abundance of water, an abundance of land, an abundance of desert and an abundance of icy wilderness. There is sun in season, and rain in season, and both in abundance. In God’s Kingdom, there is abundance, because God is worthy of much, and God is generous. God is also forever, and His blessing is lasting.
Conversely, poverty is not seen as a blessing, and certainly cannot be taken as a blessing from God. Everyone can know that being financially poor might be useful for a season, because you can learn contentment with little if you experience financial poverty for a season. But lasting poverty is what we call ‘grinding poverty’. Grinding poverty is quite unhelpful. Likewise being relationally poor, or emotionally void. In fact, the first indicator that the Kingdom of God is being manifested in an earthly community is a relief of every kind of poverty – beginning with spiritual poverty. So we can know that lasting poverty is anything but a blessing!
So when Jesus begins, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” we can know that He does not mean that some form of perpetual poverty is a blessing. To be poor in spirit must mean something other than to have an absence of spiritual wealth. In fact, when Jesus says, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” He is imparting to the poor in spirit all the heavenly wealth of heaven! Being poor in spirit is therefore not the same as being spiritually poor. Nor does it mean that we intentionally write off our potential. Warren Wiersbe said, ““Poor in spirit” is the opposite of the world’s attitudes of self-praise and self-assertion. It is not a false humility that says, “I am not worth anything, I can’t do anything!” It is honesty with ourselves.” As another commentator succinctly notes, “to be poor in spirit refers to an awareness of spiritual bankruptcy apart from Christ.”
That is a keen observation. God will not fill the hands that are already grasping something. So to come before Him and recognize who He is (and who we really are) is to be immediately aware of the sin we yet cling to. It is to be acutely aware of His holiness. It is to know and understand our appalling lack of flawless holiness. A lack He – in His great grace to us – does not leave us in, if we are willing to let go! It is therefore a temporary lack, and assuredly so.
The poor in spirit are those who aware of the perfect nature of God, and long to better represent Him. To such people Paul will later write, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” To be poor in spirit is to be rich in Christ. It is to be rich in humility. Humility before God is therefore all the wealth we rightly aspire to in the flesh. And this is true, for humility before God is a virtual guarantee of repentance, and repentance is the door that opens the vault to the very great abundance of lasting spiritual riches. Amen.
There is no wisdom in a self-exaltation.
C.H. Spurgeon
APPLICATION: Intentionality
Perhaps if we spent half as much time asking God for humility as we do asking Him for blessing, we would have both, and greater peace besides.