The Poor in Spirit

When Jesus taught on the mountain, the people gathered there kept the law with great care. Yet he told them that the poor in spirit are blessed, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

To be poor in spirit is to leave the heart empty rather than fill it with worldly power, possessions, or human righteousness. Those who acknowledge God as the owner of all things, and accept that they are only stewards entrusted with what is his, are set free from the desire to possess and can fill that space with steadfast faith. Adam and Eve did not treat what belonged to God as theirs to keep. They listened to Satan instead and lost everything, and on the cross Jesus paid the penalty for that sin in their place.

Working hard and earning a living is not wrong in itself. But whoever counts their wealth as their own and lets it capture the heart loses the place of a steward. Those who are content with what they have received, and share it in doing good, are entrusted by God with still more. He rewards them with a peace that no persecution in this world can shake, and with the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.