Happy are the poor in spirit!
How different from the attitude of the Laodicean Christians referred to in the above scripture, who said, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.”
How many Christians today share their point of view! So much of the church is saturated with the Dr. Feelgood theology. If it feels good, do it, and when it gets hard, get out.
That is not the message of Christ. Everywhere He went there was conflict, controversy and conversion. He was crucified as an insurrectionist considered too dangerous to live. He was not “gentle Jesus, meek and mild.” He was a straight shooter.
For major religious groups were represented among the multitude that listened to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essences and the Zealots.
The Pharisees. When Jesus said, “Happy are the poor in spirit,” I believe He was looking right at the Pharisees, piercing their proud hearts. The Pharisees believed that happiness was found in legalism. They were forerunners of the “we don’t smoke, we don’t chew, and we don’t run with those who do” crowd.
The Sadducees. This group believed that happiness was found in modernism and liberalism. “Ours is an up to date religion,” they would say, “full of the latest philosophy. There’s no cross to bear. There are no conflicts because there is no confrontation. The Scripture? A delightful, romantic allegory. Sin? What on earth is that?”
The Essenes. They believed that happiness was found in isolation from the world. Isolation is a state of being cut off from other people. Its opposite is absorption: the state of being so saturated with others that you forget who you are. Your own identity is lost and your goals blurred in the treadmill of trying to please others.
Happiness can never be found in absolute isolation or in absolute absorption. It lies somewhere in between. It is not found living alone in the desert as the Essenes believed. Happiness is knowing who we are and to whom we belong.
The Zealots. These hotheads thought happiness lay in political revolution. “Let’s run the Romans out of town,” they said, “and then we can all be happy.”
Today, many Christians are crying, “Let’s take charge of the government! Then we can be happy.” But in view of recent scandals that have shaken the church to its roots, it would appear that we need to take charge of ourselves first. Before praying for power to take over the government, let’s pray for the power to develop an ear sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and a tender heart toward God and man.
Source: Being Happy in an Unhappy World
Spiritual Growth
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