Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed 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. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

So what does it mean to be poor in spirit and just how are we blessed if we are poor in spirit? I think that we can see this illustrated in a parable of Jesus told here in Luke 18:

9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The tax collector here was poor in spirit because he realized that standing before God, he was not a righteous man. He had sensibly come to the conclusion that he was a sinner. He did not have an overinflated opinion of his own worth and knew that he was dependent upon God's mercy.

When I was in college, I took calculus and struggled at first. I knew that I was not good at calculus or you could say I was poor in calculus. Because I was willing to admit this, I was able to do something very important. I was able to get help from someone who was rich in calculus. If I had not been willing to admit my "poorness" then I would not have sought help and I would have failed the class. I sought out a tutor and they helped me to learn what it was that I needed to know to be rich in calculus. The next year a friend of mine was struggling with calculus and I was able to help him because I had previously sought out help for myself.

This is why it is a blessing to be poor in spirit. When you realize this (that you are not righteous before God), it puts you in a position where you know that you need help. When you know you need help, you are much more likely to ask for help. You will realize that there is only one that can put you in a right standing before God and you will call out to Him. This is a blessing because it is the first step to salvation. I don't think it is possible to be saved until you realize that you, in fact, do need saving.

The really cool part is that once you have recognized this in yourself, you will be able to recognize it in others as well and you will be able to point them in the right direction so that they too can be saved. I thank God that He has humbled me and allowed me to have a low opinion of myself so that I could reach out to Him.

Peace, Bruce