He had never allowed himself to dwell on the darker times, for to live them once had been more than enough.”
–Elmer Kelton (The Good Old Boys)
“As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.”
–Romans 12:3 (NLT)
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Are you feeling poorly? Got the blahs? The mulligrubs? Are you chanting the old ditty, “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat some worms?” Take heart then–you might be on the right track. But let the Holy Spirit be involved. You don’t beat yourself up, that is a form of narcissism. Psychologists say that devaluation is one of the four types of narcissism which is not a trait of the Spirit. However, recognizing our sinful state is a step towards the kingdom of heaven. Proper evaluation is a good thing; knowing our condition in life actually depends upon the Lord. I normally do not use the CEV translation, but I like the way it puts this beatitude.
“God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven!” (Matthew 5:3)
To be poor in spirit is to recognize our need of a Savior, of a Sustainer, of a Guide through this life. It is the poor in spirit who receives grace, for he understands his condition before God and bows before Him in humble recognition that he is a sinner who is in need of repentance. Thomas Watson said that, “A man never comes to himself until he comes out of himself.”
Before going further, recognize that poor in spirit is not spiritually poor. Actually the poor in spirit are spiritually rich. John wrote in Revelation, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’–and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked–” (3:27, NKJV) The spiritually poor person has no sense of his poverty while on the other hand the poor in spirit knows his condition. Renouncing wealth, and other such things as the monks did does not make one poor in spirit. Being poor in spirit is not self-denial. “To be ‘poor in spirit’ is to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy before God.” (John Stott)
The poor in spirit have nothing to offer to God, nothing to plead, nothing with which to buy the favor of heaven. Gone are indulgences! (That is true legalism.) The “poor man” is one who is afflicted and unable to save himself and must turn to his only source of help–GOD. Then we see true humility begin to develop.
It is the poor in spirit, this truly humble person who bows in delight, yet wretchedness before the Lord that will have the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit have learned to trust and obey and that obedience makes us a citizen of heaven. Watson calls this the “jewel of poverty,” that we are citizens of heaven. We are entitled not to all of Christ’s riches, and we are safe and secure in His will. Basil, who was a fourth century bishop and church leader said this, “The hope of a kingdom should carry a Christian with courage and cheerfulness throughout all his afflictions.” It is the poor in spirit who have a proper sense and perspective of this evil world, yet it is they who receive the kingdom.
Let the words of Peter get you out of those mulligrubs and don’t go out swallowing a bunch of worms, leave that to the fish. Peter declares, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV) The poor in spirit are rich in the Lord–he is part of the chosen generation, a special person to the Lord. D.A. Carson confirms this when he says, “The natural conclusion is that, though the full blessedness of those described in these beatitudes awaits the consummated kingdom, they already share in the kingdom’s blessedness so far as it has been inaugurated.”