What we are saying here is quite a profound truth - that according to Jesus Christ the people of today need to become poorer in spirit - that somehow we need to help them purge themselves of all that unhelpful covetousness and preoccupation with how others view them and embrace poverty – not, of course, financial poverty necessarily – but a kind of poverty that sees the human soul for what it really is; for then one can identify his or her own needs in relation to God’s will. Now of course like any of our attempts to help introduce a new concept to people that is likely to perturb or even irritate, we must not attempt to serve them a whole plateful at once and watch them struggle to digest poverty, we must help them slowly consume this strange concept bit by bit to avoid indigestion.

 

Christ’s instruction is clear, and it becomes even clearer the more we get to know His Person – those who are poor, or in need, or desperate, or on their last legs, or feeling hopeless, or with nowhere else to turn are the ones who are most likely to realise their need to turn to God for help. My studies of psychology have shown me that when it comes to people’s characters and how their external fortunes affect their happiness, what people think will make them happy and content is very often not what will make them happy or content at all. If a man’s inherent make up is characterised by X, he will to a large degree remain X whether he is rich or poor. Some of the most insecure and discontented people in the world are those who the ordinary aspiring folk aspire to be like – film stars, pop stars, rich entrepreneurs – probably because they are relying on the wrong things to make them happy. They are very far from being poor in spirit, but they are very far from being blessed. I do not of course mean that a man’s X cannot be greatly improved by Christian growth; I mean in fact that external possessions and his reputation will not make him any happier – it is only Jesus who can do this.

 

So why does Jesus preach a message of being poor in spirit? Well as I have said, I think the principal reason is that the poor are those who have the best perception of the proximate distance of God’s abounding love - they sense His love and grace by sensing their urgent need for salvation. But I think there are more ways that being poor in spirit gives us a better sense of our real position in relation to God’s love and desire to connect with us. Poverty is bound to help a man sense the ‘good news’ in the teachings of Christ, whereas a rich and prosperous spirit will often see the news as an interference in his avaricious and covetous lifestyle. 

 

Those who are poor in spirit do not have the competitiveness that sullies so many who are rich in spirit. They do not let envy become an insecurity, and they are not sullied by the claustrophobic need for ‘more’ that the rich in spirit have; for I have seen in those that have plenty that that ‘plenty’ is never going to be enough – they will always want more, and have set for themselves unobtainable goals – their pride is in the ‘having’, not in the possessions themselves. And once they are in that state they are as far away from being poor in spirit as it is possible to be. 

 

It is also good to remember that those who are poor in spirit are usually much more people-orientated than those whose principal motive is the acquisition of material things. Moreover, it is true, I think, that those who are poor in spirit depend on each other more, and this is of course a good thing – we need other people and they need us; and Christ’s church is set up in just that way - that none would be detached but firmly attached to the family of God, and to each other through Christ. 

 

It is also true of those who are poor in spirit that they can demarcate much more clearly than the rich the distinction between the things in life that are precious and the things which are not; for with poverty what a rich man might take for granted a poor man would not. This does not just apply to finances, although finance does provide a good template for analysis. The poor in spirit have much less to be proud about and are thus less likely to be sullied by self-importance, contentedness and haughtiness. Also I think those who are poor will have had more time in solitude and will probably be spiritually wiser – they will have acquired a sense of power in their dependence and a sense of patience in their plight, and both of these will help them recognise the power of God in their lives.

 

But perhaps the most significant of all, along with a man realising his need for salvation, is that once that need has been made manifest in his cognisance, he will not feel he has to give up very much to come to Christ. When it comes to being poor in spirit - those who have nothing to lose have everything to gain, and those who have become too nervously attached to the possessions they own (like the man in Matthew 19) will not likely have the wisdom and spiritual wherewithal to allow themselves to be blessed by our Lord.

 

And that is why in this current climate we have to deliver a message of grace that exposes the real weakness in the present feelings of the day regarding goals and achievements. Please do not misunderstand me, I have not meant for you to think that having money or being successful is something to be avoided – I mean simply that those who are not poor in spirit will often turn down the most wonderful things, even the free gift of salvation. 

 

It is often said that the poor are kinder and more generous than the rich, and excepting a few examples, my own experiences have shown this to be true. Christ’s teaching seems to demonstrate this truth, even in the most subtle and unexpected areas – from the impoverished couple who leave a bigger restaurant tip than the man with thousands to spare, or from the lady who puts much in the church collection box when she has little to spare. 

 

Although I have written this article to show what a big job we have on our hands introducing a message of poverty to a nation who look for the opposite way of life, I would also like to add that Christ’s beatitudes affect us at every point on our Christian journey - not just at the point of realising one’s need for salvation. Although all of the qualities I have identified above remain pertinent at every stage of our Christian journey, it is essential for good growth that we uphold our deepest needs for God, and that we maintain our acknowledgment of our need for others; that we find security not in the world but in Christ, and that we remain committed in our passion for living for Him - for then we really will remain poor in spirit and blessed by our dependence on Christ.