Posted on Abidelines.com on January 25, 2019 by Barbara Cohen Hyland
Yeshua was always preaching and teaching others. That was His mission. He spoke in the context of 1st century Jewish thought. His theology today is still the same as it was during His lifetime. We quote many of His teachings and with our modern mindset try to figure them out.
When we quote the saying of the Lord about being “poor in spirit” (Matt. 19:23) or Luke (6:20) we only think of being meek in our attitude and of having a humble nature. True enough. Yeshua tells his disciples that the poor will inherit the Kingdom of God. That is, in the world to come they can count on being there.
In this new kingdom, the first will be last and the last will be first. The kingdom reverses the value system of this present age. The kingdom will satisfy those who once suffered in want. That’s good news for the poor but not such good news for the wealthy. “Woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort now in full” (Luke 6:24) “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 10:23). The rich have failed to store their treasure in heaven; they have stored up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy.
We don’t see ourselves as rich, but compared to some developing nations we are wealthy. That’s why people are crowding our borders to get in!
If having wealth is a blessing for most of us, then what should we do about the words of Yeshua and being poor?
So then it’s not the money that can destroy us but it’s the desire for money.
1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
So the poor in spirit might mean people of wealth, but they conduct themselves with the lowly attitude of the poor. They do not rely upon their riches or live according to the extravagances of the wealthy. A rich person who is also poor in spirit does not conduct himself/herself with the haughtiness and pride that their wealth affords. They live modestly, humbly, and below their means. They use wealth for the benefit of others. We are thankful for the wealthy who support our churches, our museums, our musical activities, our mission work, children’s homes……the list goes on.
By the same measure, a poor person who lives extravagantly and at the expense of others is not poor in spirit. Paul writes ”He who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat.” Well said. Of course this excludes those who are unable to earn or beset with problems that prevent them from working.
James, the brother of the Master, explains the “poor in spirit” as those who refuse to glory in their wealth but adopt the attitude of the humble, remembering that their lives are fragile and quickly fleeting (James 1:10-11) Paul warns those who are rich not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. He urges the rich to be generous in good deeds and sharing in order to “lay up” that treasure for the future.
In the Jewish mindset, doing acts of charity (tesdaka) provides us with an outlet to use our riches in a meaningful way.
