The Beatitudes have been called the Preamble to the Christian Constitution. There are eight positive attitudes stated in the Beatitudes that, if adopted, change lives. It is impossible to have thoughts of resentment, jealousy, anger and ill will and still be happy. So, how do we get beyond these negative thoughts? We live the Beatitudes!
Before we get deep in the Beatitudes, let’s look at a little Scriptural background to Jesus’s great sermon, the Sermon on the Mount:
Luke 6:12-18 ( TNIV )
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. [this mountainside is just to the west of the lake of Galilee] 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles……………….
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.
Look closely here….a multitude of people from all over the region were there to listen to what Jesus had to say. It must be important! As is so often the case… Jesus was about to deliver “The Truth upsidedown”. A truth that is often full of paradox………the opposite of what the world would have us think….a truth that grabs us and shakes us up. A man once described the truth Jesus preached as , “truth standing on its head calling for attention,”….and boy is it true here!
Now, let’s look at the beauty of Jesus words….listen and meditate on the beauty of His wisdom, His heart and His hope:
Matthew 5:1-12 ( TNIV )
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The attitudes expressed in the Beatitudes provide a foundation for a happy and fulfilled life. In order to have a happy and fulfilled life it is important for us to establish healthy attitudes toward all of the experiences of life. According to Jesus’ final words in the Sermon on the Mount, difficult situations come to everyone. The key here is to adopt these attitudes in our heart.
Matthew 7:24-27 ( TNIV )
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Some people might question the advantage of being a Christian if we’re still going to have troubles. The advantage is that Christian life is built on attitudes that help us to survive the struggles and the troubles. The Beatitudes clearly speak the inner person….that inner person is the real “YOU”.
The Greek word “makarios” [mak-ar-ee-os] is translated “Blessed” in the TNIV and can also be translated “happy, to be envied and spiritually prosperous”. It is interesting that in Greek literature, this word, “makarios“, was often used to describe the rich with the meaning “free from normal cares and worries”.
Jesus tells us in verse 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” People who have this attitude find happiness, joy and satisfaction regardless of their circumstances.So, what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?
The poor in spirit are those who recognize their total dependance on God…….and note that Jesus tells us that “theirs IS the kingdom of heaven.” …..in the present tense….. believers CAN…and ALREADY share in the kingdom (as far as it has been revealed) by living out Jesus’ words.
The world recognizes self-reliance, self-confidence, and self-direction. According to worldly wisdom…we either make it on our own or we fail. It puts all the pressure ON US……to live a happy and fulfilled life.
If we recognize the greatness of God and submit totally to Him…the pressure is off us. Like the birds of the air….we can free ourselves from worry because we know that God will give us what we need.
Matthew 6:26 ( TNIV )
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
There are quite a few good examples in the Bible of what it is to be poor in spirit. We’ll look at three.
First we’ll look briefly at Gideon (Judges 6):
Gideon recognized his weakness. He was a lowly farmer in the weakest Israelite tribe, at a time, for seven years, when the Mideonites were making raids at harvest time to snatch the fruits of their labors. God sent an angel to let Gideon know that the Lord was with him and to tell him that he would defeat the Mideonites. Gideon sent word to the other tribes and amassed an army of tens of thousands. Then God told Gideon to send back the army and reduced the group to 300. Listen to Gideons humble heart:
Judges 6:15-16 ( TNIV )
15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”
Next let’s take a look at Isaiah. When Isaiah was called by God to be His servant, his humility was evident when he cried out to God:
Isaiah 6:5-8 ( TNIV )
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Lastly, let’s look briefly at Moses. God tells Moses that he will lead his people out of bondage from Egypt. Listen to his humility as Moses talks with God:
Exodus 3:11-12 ( TNIV )
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you£ will worship God on this mountain.”
So, I believe that to be poor in spirit means the absence of self-pride and the acknowledgement that we are nothing without God.
Let’s look at what Jesus tells us in verse 4, the second Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” How can a person who is mourning be happy? When we walk through the valley of the shadow death, this is not just when someone dies….but means more at distressing times in our lives…..Jesus walks with us:
Psalms 23:4 ( TNIV )
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[of the shadow of death] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Hebrew word here translated as “the shadow of death” is “Salmawet”, which means time of deep gloom, a time of darkness in our lives. We can be happy because we know that sorrow, that even in these deep times of darkness in our lives…..is survivable with God’s help. I would also point out that the attitude of mourning is an attitude of caring deeply……when we care deeply…we are cared for deeply by the Father. On another level, it also means that although we are sorry for the sinful state of the world, we recognize that there is hope. We realize that Jesus provided a cure for our sins and the sins of the world. This hope and acknowledgement provides happiness and fullfillment in life
CONCLUSION:
Jesus provides answers to conditions in our lives that we so often can’t figure out:
Why is happiness and fulfillment so hard to obtain?
Why is it so hard to get by day to day?
The first Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Is an “Intellectual” attitude. So often….it is simply because we choose to “go it alone”, we rely on ourself, our own confidence and our own direction……we want to be “self made”. Jesus tells us that the true way….the way of truth and light…is to be “God-made”.We need to acknowledge our need and dependence on God.
The second Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” addresses the same attitude from an “emotional” level. People who depend on God have this incredible ability to face whatever life brings…..and that produces happiness and fulfillment.
By adopting these attitudes that Jesus taught, the attitude of humbleness, being “poor in spirit, leaning on God and the attitude of leaning on Jesus every step of our lives……sets the stage and sets a foundation in our lives in which we can build a happy life. I guess that’s why they are called then “Beatitudes”…they are beautiful attitudes to have and to hold close to our heart.
A friend of mine emailed me recently worried about a decision made to have an operation. As the day for the operation approaches, her heart is questioning her decision and worry is setting in. 
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