July 16, 2003

• Luke 6.  I really don't understand the Beatitudes.  Does Jesus say "blessed are you who are poor...who hunger now..." as a way of pointing to me to be poor and hungry?  In other words, should I strive to be poor?  Is it financial poverty or spiritual?  Is it hungering after physical food or spiritual?  Should I think upon the sad things of the earth and seek to weep?  Should I aim for people to hate, exclude, reject and insult me?  How do I begin to answer these questions?

  
  

  It's not just about being poor - because poverty does not "equal" Kingdom of God.  There is more to it, certainly.  People often interpret it to mean that the poorer you are, the easier it is for you to see your need for God.  So then...should I aim for poverty?  No, I need to aim to live a life knowing I need God, and if the actual removal of distractions is helpful, then I need to do that.  In July 2002, I made an annotation next to the Luke 6 passage which said, "Lord, I pray that You give me nothing, so that in the 'nothing' I know I have everything because I have You."  I guess sometimes what is needed for my heart to be pointed toward the Kingdom is to have nothing.  If having wealth is a distraction from Him, then, again, I am committed in my heart that I would rather have "nothing" in this world - simply so that I could see that I have everything because I have God!  So it is a blessing to be poor; you can see more easily.  On the other hand, sometimes though, poverty promotes bitterness and hardness of heart...  I guess it really depends on who you are and how willing you are to let God work in you.

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