"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" - Matthew 5:3 (NASB)
"God blesses those who realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them" - Matthew 5:3 (NLT)
There are some good things about being poor (materially). We don't have to worry about being robbed, we don't have to worry about losing money. But I think more importantly, we have no need for "wants". Things of luxury etc. We may have a lot of needs, but we have no wants.
So what does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? Or who are those who are "poor in spirit". the New Living Translation inteprets this as those who "realize their need for Him". This beatitude calls us to be poor in spirit; but there are things that always get in our way.
The Bible gives us an example of a church that was NOT poor in spirit. In Revelations chapter 3, in the Letter to the Laodiceans, God tells the church to repent and boast about things of the Lord and not in their own wealth.
The Loadicean Church was a church blessed by material wealth and as a result it became proud. Jesus tells them to "buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourselves, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed, and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see."
Each of those statement was a rebuke and one that shot down each of the things that made the church wealthy. istory tell us that the Church of Loadicea was destroyed.
What are the things that prevent us from being poor in spirit? When I asked all of you this question I got answers like, "my studies, my friends etc etc". Basically, everything except me. That is pride speaking.
As a worship team, we need to note something from this lesson. We can easily fall into the same trap of not being "poor in spirit". Our skills and our abilities are blessings from the Lord. These are the things that can make us proud. And pride will kill us.
PS: the above was a summary of the devotion last saturday. The whole series on the beattitudes will be conducted over the course of the year. All are welcome to join the One Voice Bible studies if you want.
