EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH
Spiritually poor have most to gain
By Rick Stinton
Thoughtful readers of the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) will likely conclude that Jesus is out of touch with modern thinking. For starters, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Although respectable for pious meditation on Sunday, this idea hardly seems to cut it with the realities of life on Monday.
It's not that Jesus doesn't have a hot topic. The beatitudes speak of "how to achieve the good life," a winning subject in America. The problem is with Jesus' definition of the good life. Modern thinking identifies it in terms of success. In the marketplace, "Blessed are the profit-makers." In politics, "Blessed are the front-runners." In entertainment, "Blessed are the Oscar winners." In athletics, "Blessed are the world champions." The good life, in every endeavor, consists of achievement.
That's why Jesus' notion that the good life begins with being poor in spirit is such a clanger. How are we to make sense of his words "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"?
Note that Jesus is not saying, "blessed are the weak in spirit." Nor is he saying "blessed are the poor in finances." In fact, both wealthy and poor people can be poor in spirit.
Jesus uses the strongest word for poverty in the Greek language, for those who have absolutely nothing to live on and are totally dependent on others' resources. Jesus is speaking of people who, in the spiritual realm, have a desperate need and must rely on another's resources.
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) illumines the saying further. In the modern version, a pastor and pimp are praying. The pastor, an educated person of proven character, is a trustworthy community leader.
The pimp is a social outcast despised for his immoral lifestyle. Amazingly, it is the pimp who gets declared righteous by God.
How can that make any sense? The key lies in their prayer. The pastor commends himself for his religious activities, proud of being morally superior. The pimp, on the other hand, demonstrates genuine contrition and throws himself on God's mercy. In other words, while one man congratulates himself for his relative moral standing, the other comes to grips with his desperate spiritual need. In terms of Jesus' beatitude, the pimp is poor in spirit.
People who realize their spiritual poverty can only throw themselves on God's mercy. That is why they are blessed — because there, they find God's amazing grace and overwhelming forgiveness. Aware that they are utterly dependent on God's spiritual resources, they enter the good life of the kingdom of heaven. Those who congratulate themselves on their moral achievements and do not know their own spiritual poverty do not end up righteous by God. Realizing your spiritual need is the crucial first step to entering the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus' saying cuts across the grain of modern thinking. But it remains relevant to modern thinkers who discern that the good life begins and ends in the kingdom of God. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?"
Rick Stinton is serving as a minister at large in Hawai'i.
