In Matthew 5:3, Jesus introduced us to something called being poor in spirit. In this introduction, he added that those who were poor in spirit were blessed.
Matthew 5:3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
What does that even mean? Over in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said it even simpler. He didn’t even say poor in spirit. He said, “Blessed are you who are poor.” How can being poor in spirit be a blessing? Why does God want us to be poor in spirit? How can being poor in anything be a good thing? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t Christians strive to be rich in spirit?
Let’s back up and talk about what it means to be poor in spirit. Did you know Jesus said it here in Matthew 5:3, but he would not say it anywhere ever again? As a matter of fact, no one would say it again in the Bible, Jesus or anyone else. This makes it impossible for us to consider how it is used elsewhere in the Bible.
Some say that Jesus was talking about being poor in spirit in the sense of financial poverty. Those who have little to no money will be blessed. Certainly, there are verses in the Bible that appear to look favorably on the financially poor, and unfavorably on the financially rich. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, the rich man died and was buried. But when the poor Lazarus died, he was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. Mark 10:25 reads,
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 6:24b says,
“You cannot serve God and wealth.”
However, I will disagree that Jesus was referring to being financially poor when he said being poor in spirit. The teachings from the Sermon on the Mount address the spiritual heart, and not material possessions. Being poor in spirit cannot refer to those who are poor as in having little to no money. The poor man is no nearer to the kingdom of heaven than the rich man. Furthermore, the Bible presents examples of individuals who were blessed by God, and yet they were rich. In the Old Testament, Abraham and Job come to my mind. In the New Testament, Lydia from the city of Thyatira was a seller of purple fabrics and was assumed to have been rich.
In the end, being poor in spirit is being spiritually nothing before our God. It is agreeing we have absolutely zero to offer God. It is admitting we are utterly sinful and having no possibility of changing our sinful situation. It is not wrong for us to grow spiritually (and we should grow spiritually), but no matter where we are in our level of spiritual maturity, we must recognize we are spiritually bankrupt before God. It is not pretending to be spiritually zero. It is not going out of our way to let others know we are poor in spirit. Rather, poor in spirit is what we find when we uncover the condition of our heart. This needs to be our spiritual posture daily.
Why is it so important to be poor in spirit? Because Jesus said theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In other words, they are saved from their sin. Eternal salvation belongs to them. God saved them through the Son’s excellent work on the cross. The one who is poor in spirit is the one who has the kingdom of heaven. Inversely, there is no one in the kingdom of heaven who isn’t poor in spirit.
Of the many things that Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount, he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Of all the things that needed to be said, this has to be at the top. It is that critical. Our world craves for ability, confidence, and self-sufficiency. It despises anything we cannot do ourselves. It especially hates the words, “no”, “zero” and “bankrupt”. But this is precisely what we must become if we are to be welcomed into God’s kingdom. We must never allow ourselves to think we had something to do with our salvation.
I cannot believe I am saying this but let’s learn together, you and I, how to be poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit.