Our post today is from our amazing staff person, Jesse, who shares his thoughts about the godly attitude of being “poor in spirit.” The video below was shown during a 2020 summer camp chapel. It features our staff talking more about the meaning of being “blessed” and how to be “poor in spirit” in our everyday lives.
This past summer, we had the privilege of working through an amazing passage with our students. It was a part of Jesus’ most recognizable discourse, the Sermon on the Mount. The section we focused on was a list of simple statements that define our Christian walk, the Beatitudes. Some of these sayings appear to need no explanation, while others require deep contemplation and study to understand what Jesus is directing us toward; but they all should speak richly to our hearts and impact the way we interact with those around us.
When Jesus first opens His teaching on the mount, He begins in verse 3 with “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” It calls to mind the great reversal that is described throughout Scripture. It seems like it should go without saying, but God doesn’t need self-confident, prideful, contemptible people who think they always have it figured out. He wants us to be a gentle, contrite family that sees our desperate need for Him. We must recognize that we are nothing and amount to nothing without the Father calling us, Jesus sacrificing Himself for us, and the continual work of the Spirit.
Humility is one of the defining characteristics of believers. Peter tells us plainly in his first letter to “exiles” abroad to “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” God doesn’t require His children to be the best and brightest, or to have a specific skill set or certain abilities. What does God require of us? That we humble ourselves before Him.
Jesus also proves this point through a parable in Luke 18:11-13 when He contrasts the Pharisee’s prayer to the tax collector. He makes it so obvious, right? We can tell right away that the Pharisee is vain, comparing himself to others and boasting in his righteous deeds. Meanwhile, the tax collector knows that he is not good. He recognizes the goodness of God and his need for a merciful Savior. How does Jesus end it? “I tell you, this man [the tax collector] went down to his house justified, rather than the other [the Pharisee]. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
That’s really what poor in spirit describes: a person who recognizes that they are insufficient at being their own savior. It’s someone who understands that they cannot take away the blot of sin from their own heart, from their own nature. That believer sees how helplessly separated they are from God when they stand on their own virtues, and falls down before a perfect, spotless Savior to beg for mercy. We have to take to heart the words in Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” When we most see our failings, we see our greatest need for Jesus. Continue to rely on Him, and He will lift you up.