Blessed are the Poor In Spirit

Let’s pause for a moment from our study of who God is through the Old Testament and focus for this week on an issue close to my heart.  I am thinking during this holiday season of all the unemployed, homeless, displaced workers, and under-employed.  Not that long ago I was officially unemployed.  The Lord was gracious to give me temporary jobs as I was looking for permanent work. My income was a fraction of what I used to make and my ability to function as a “full-member of society” was dramatically scaled back.  I faced some challenges which I hope I will never forget.  These have permanently impacted how much I trust the Lord, how deep my belief is in his provision and how truly generous people can be.

Let’s acknowledge right now, to get this argument out of the way, that there are individuals who play the system, are chronically lazy and who would rather live off of the dime earned or paid by others.  These people, I believe, do not make up the majority of the poor, unemployed, homeless, displaced workers and under-employed.  These people, the lazy ones, behave shamefully and cause all kinds of societal problems.   The focus of today’s meditation is on the disenfranchised, the profoundly poor, the workers who are willing to work for minimum wage but no minimum wage jobs exist in their community, the mentally ill who have no place to go and those who have suffered great losses through corrupt systems, extensive health issues and the like.

In a consumer-oriented society it is easy to believe that those who do not live up to advertised standards may be somewhat off, lazy, stupid, weak or otherwise unfit to be survivors.  Then the words of Jesus bring us up short.  The poor you will always have with you. (Matthew 26:11)  The context for that verse is not long before Jesus’ crucifixion and when a woman came and poured lovely oil for the dead on his feet.  She was weeping, for somehow she knew he would soon be gone. The disciples, annoyed at such unlovely behavior, were shredding her with their attitudes and expressing their displeasure at such a waste of money.  Jesus’ rebuke was intended to reset their priorities, as they still did not understand the gravity of his sacrifice.  And in that rebuke he made a plain statement of fact.  There will always be poor people. 

Poverty comes from all the things we have listed above and it exists because we live in a fallen world. There will be some people who will never pull out of a recession, never make the American dream and never recover their health or their property.  And there will always be people who prey on the poor, destroy the lives of others through greed and determine to meet their own needs above all others.  We all wish, at least I hope we do, that this would never be. But poverty is a simple fact for this era of God’s history, one that requires neither a justification nor an accusation.  Poverty of body should never be universally attributed to sin, rebellion or disobedience.  Poverty of soul is a whole other matter.

Poverty of soul can be found in anyone anywhere at any time.   It’s the kind of poverty that leads to depression, rage, reckless behavior, rebellion or sin.  Poverty of the soul can lead to death.  But Jesus Christ has a way out of poverty of soul, even when material poverty is chronic, sudden or overwhelming.

When I was under-employed there were many things that I was forced to deal with.  Let me mention just a few of those things.  First of all there was the nearly devastating lack of purpose. I discovered that much of my sense being was coming from work rather than from being in Christ.  Christ’s answer to this was to re-purpose my life toward prayer.  It took some months for me to stop pacing the floor and pleading singularly for my needs.  The Holy Spirit began to shape my prayer life to focus on others.  Honestly, there is only so long one can look at oneself!  I began to pray with empathy for the millions out of work in our nation and in our world.  I began to pray that they would find a new purpose and hope in the midst of their trouble. God’s words to the Apostle Paul, and to everyone in need, came to me over and over again: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)  God gave me prayers for them that drew me out of myself and into their world and his world.

While I hunted for jobs—hunting is how it literally felt—I not only prayed for God to provide for me, but for many, many others.  I still pray this way when the unemployment numbers come out on the news.  I pause and pray for those people standing in line, that their children would have enough to eat, that they would have safe shelter, sufficient food, and kind and caring people in their lives.

Another thing that the Lord had to deal with me on was the sense of entitlement that I had acquired.  I believed that in order to be human I needed far more than what I really needed.  The Holy Spirit convicted me of many practices and expectations, both spiritual and well as material, that were not of him.  Paring down my budget became a necessity not just a good idea.  Going on a strict debt-reduction program was difficult, but I began to see that many of the things that I had come to believe I needed were really not needed at all.  I was particularly convicted of this when friends and loved ones gave to me generously and without expectation of return.  Not only was I deeply grateful for their kindnesses, but I was driven to repentance for my previous selfishness.  Their sacrificial giving was not only God’s means of demonstrating compassion and love, but of also pruning off entitlements.  And the Gardner was precise in his pruning and it has caused me to live against the grain of the world.

An odd thing happens when you live against the grain of the world.  There are small measures of disenfranchisement.  Friends no longer invite you to out to dinner because they know you can’t afford it. Family members don’t understand when you can’t make it to events because you have to reserve enough gas to get to that temporary job.  “Oh, it’s just $20!” becomes painful when that is nearly your entire electric bill that must be paid.  At each point of misunderstanding, needs being overlooked and pressure applied, the feeling of being out of sync with the world becomes that much deeper.   And that is an absolute blessing.

Being in sync with God becomes all the more important and all the more lovely.  Values can change when you are poor.  Suddenly it becomes more important to be with others than to give them things.  Radically, your thoughts turn away from acquisition and to relationship.  Being sequestered in your home while you search for jobs day after day, your thoughts can turn to how sweet God’s presence is, how thankful you are for the daily bread you had prayed for in the morning, how the Lord really never does leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

These are some of the most profound and treasured lessons during lean times.  I hope that I will never forget them, and I have determined never to do so.  When we look at the Incarnation—how Christ came to us in a humble stable, surrounded by hay and animals instead of jewels and palaces, we can become determined to live in the ways of Jesus.  When we see his lifestyle—simple, humble, full of relationship and truth, demonstrating love to everyone everywhere all the time—we can believe that it is possible and learn to live this way as well.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit will lead you into fundamental shifts in values and a re-working of your purpose.  If you become or are materially poor, my prayer is that you would learn about God’s great provisions for each day and that you could turn your focus to prayer for our world.  If you remain materially well-off I pray the same for you as well.  May each one of us become spiritually prosperous during this holiday season!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

—Jesus

Matthew 5:3

Copyright M.R. Hyde 2012