2014.03.23_The Poor in Spirit

The Characteristics of Money, Which People Eagerly Seek

            God seeks those who long for Him. He finds those who long for Him, has compassion on them and truly loves them. This is a principle by which God, not only created the world, but also governs the earth that He will bring to a close one day.

What people are most eagerly seeking on the earth is probably money. Most of the people are striving and making every effort to enjoy material comfort. Still, there is nothing more complicated than making money. There are so many variables involved in obtaining a large fortune that it is hard to set a principle as “do this and you will make money”. It is not easy to even forecast a method to earn much money. Though there is a saying such as “money comes to the hard-working”, there is a disjunction with reality. And while there are some cases where people say “I became rich by working really hard,” in reality, there are more people who say, “I gave my all and worked hard but couldn’t make any money.”

            Because there is not only justice but also evil hearts and deeds in this world where money goes around and around, not everything happens according to the way good people think. The man who runs after money is always anxious and desperate in his life. His anxiety leads to more greed, and he feels a sense of injustice as much as he is desperate. The Bible also mentions about such aspects of the human life. Ecclesiastes 2:21 says, “For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.” James 1:10-11 says, “but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.” There is no master over material wealth for it is very slippery that it does not remain in anybody’s hands but slip away.

Jacob Who Sought Blessings Rather Than Material Wealth

            Jacob had acquired his wealth by laboring at his uncle Laban’s place for twenty long years. One day, he set his heart and moved out of his uncle’s house with his family. Jacob was particularly happy because it was not an easy task to move out and leave his uncle who had not let him go for twenty years. With much excitement, he dreamed of the happy days ahead. However, at the same time, he heard the news that his brother was coming to him with many strong men. It was his brother who had been holding a grudge against him. Jacob’s dream was about to fall to pieces at any moment.

            Jacob thought, ‘Though I’ve labored for twenty years without rest, I’m on the verge of losing all of my possessions now that my brother is coming after me with a grudge!’ and he was grieved and in despair. The possessions he came to acquire little by little through twenty years of hard labor, was about to fall into the hands of someone else in an instant. The possessions ought to belong to him if he had acquired it through his hard work, yet when someone stronger comes and desires to have it, he could lose everything unexpectedly at any time and in any way. Physically, Jacob did not have any power to prevent such ordeal.

            Upon hearing the news of his brother, Jacob did something that even he had never imagined of doing. By the Jabbok River he held onto the angel, that is, he held onto God in the most desperate struggle. When the angel was trying to leave the next day after wrestling all night, Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (Gen. 32:26) and entreated blessings.

            Jacob was in a crisis of losing his material possessions. It would be natural to then pray, “Grant me material wealth” or “Help me that I would not lose my possessions!” But surprisingly Jacob asked for blessings. He realized that it was meaningless to ask for material wealth. He realized that nothing would be his unless he had the power to possess. He came to understand the secret of spiritual riches just before his twenty years of hard effort could be brought to naught. He sought for blessings instead, knowing that what he needed was not material possessions.

            This great epiphany of Jacob became a thorough teaching for his descendants. Whenever the Israelites remembered Jacob, they remembered the time when he had asked for blessings. God also said to Israel, “then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day”” (Deut. 8:17-18). Only the person who has received from Heaven the power to possess wealth could become the owner of that material wealth. People believe that if they have worked hard, it stands to reason that the wealth should belong to them. However. that is a hasty conclusion.

            People cannot rest easy even if they have hold of money. Without the power to possess, they cannot use or eat from what they have in their hands. Deuteronomy 28:30-31 says, “you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes. Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them”, and verse 34, “So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.” As Jacob realized that this kind of scenario is all too possible in the human world, he chose blessings.

The Power to Possess

            God has given land to every country and nation in the world. And they put the land to use through city planning, building factories, creating residential areas, and cultivating agricultural land. However, Israel did have any land. Instead, they had spiritual wealth from God, that is, the power to possess. Although they did not have even a square meter of land under their ownership, wherever the Israelites went, the occupants of the land gave up their land to them. The conflict of the past 60 or so years in the Palestinian region did not break out in recent times but started when Israel conquered Canaan under the leadership of Joshua 3500 years ago.

            The inhabitants of Palestine at the time were giants, comparable to the descendants of the Nephilim (Num. 13:33). Israel was not able to defeat them with their own strength. Yet, when Israel went in with the power to possess from God, the powerful nations living in the land could not prevail and had to hand over the land. The conflict is still continuing until now but even so, the supremacy remains with Israel. This is the fulfillment of what God had promised Joshua in the past, “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them” (Josh 1:6).

            The same can be found with the case of Jacob. When Esau tried to destroy Jacob and plunder his possession using armed forces, outwardly Esau’s power overwhelmed Jacob. Nevertheless, Esau could not seize Jacob’s possessions because he did not have the power to possess while Jacob did.

            On the day Israel came out of Egypt, the people went to the Egyptians’ houses and demanded their gold, silver and jewelry. Remarkably, the Egyptians acceded to their demands. At that time, the Egyptians were frantic because every first born in the country had been killed. When the whole nation was struck with terror and in shock, the Israelites knocked on their doors demanding gold and other articles, and without any objection the Egyptians handed over their valuables and clothing. This was possible because God had given the Israelites favor in the sight of the Egyptians (Ex. 12:36). As the Israelites went around demanding gold and other valuables, even the dogs that bark at strangers were silent. Israel was able to do this because they had the power to possess.

            God has commanded tithe saying, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10). On hearing this word, most people would probably say ‘if I give tithe properly, one day my storehouse will be filled!’ thinking of material wealth. However, this word is the promise of God to give the power to possess to those who give tithe. A person who has the power to possess is not anxious for the storehouse to be filled. Such a person is not anxious at all about material wealth, but rather has a light-hearted attitude towards it. This is because he knows that he is the ultimate victor and possessor. Israel’s custom of giving tithe is still continuing with the Jews today. They have been enjoying the power to possess wherever they go, despite not having a national land for a long time.

The Kingdom of Heaven that has Advanced Against the Kingdom of the Devil

            Since Adam was banished from the Garden of Eden, man was cursed so that he could only sustain a living through intense labor. Since the Devil has gained the right to eat dust, he could easily make sport of man. He could easily afflict man by aiming at man’s weakness for material wealth. Although people say, “you have to go through hardships to make a living,” often times people’s lives are not for the better despite their hard work. Likewise, the reason why it is difficult to find justice, righteousness or any principles on the earth, and difficult to guarantee or predict anything is that the earth is the Devil’s stage of action.

            Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. This means there is one who can even possess the kingdom of heaven. This word was not preached through a prophet of the Old Testament but spoken by Jesus Christ Himself, who had come to the earth to destroy the Devil. While He was on the earth, He went about doing good and healed all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38).

            He also said in great anguish, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name” (John 12:27-28). Then a voice came from heaven saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). Then Jesus said to the people, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:30-31).

            At a later time, He said that the Counselor would come after He has gone into Heaven and convict the world; and He will convict the world of judgment, “because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:11). Even the Devil has something he fears, and that is the power of the kingdom of Heaven. Even as the ruler of this world, he cannot prevail over the power of the kingdom of Heaven. Likewise ‘the kingdom of heaven’ denotes the advance of God’s kingdom against the kingdom of the Devil.

The Poor In Spirit

            The verse, “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” means the authority of the kingdom of Heaven will be theirs. Then who are ‘they’ that will possess the authority of the kingdom of Heaven? They are the ones who are poor in spirit. The authority of God’s kingdom will come upon those who are poor in spirit that they would overcome the authority of the Devil and the world’s tyranny.

            ‘The poor in spirit’ do not stand for people who do not have money. The poor in spirit they who always feel a lack and yearning in their hearts. To explain this, we need to think about those ‘who are not poor in spirit’. Anyone who is not poor in spirit cannot accept his state of lack. Say there is a person struggling financially, for example. He cannot accept the pain of poverty and his heart swells with indignation. His mind is in confusion as he is chased by the thought that he needs to quickly break free from poverty, and his heart is busy trying to find a way fill that emptiness. During that process, his attitude becomes aggressive and rough. Unless he restrains himself then, he could go on to thinking about defrauding someone or even stealing. If his aggressive attitude towards the world worsens, he would not be able to bear the anguish and take the extreme measure of taking his own life. Such a person cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven.

            When the struggle for money begins to involve coercion, it becomes a matter of pride not just money. As the stress level reaches an extreme, they lose the power to rationally control themselves and starts using force, thinking they have done nothing wrong. They are people who have turned to unconventionally aggressive ways to find a solution, out of desperation to escape their poverty. They have given up on being poor in spirit, and instead reach out to the world in their troubles to find a quick solution.

On the contrary, ‘the poor in spirit’ do not turn their financially difficult situation into despair or violent rage. They do not try to solve their troubles themselves but seek God’s help. Within their poor spirit is a spiritual emptiness, which they try to fill with God’s favor. ‘Favor’ is the love that a greater person bestows on someone lesser, as a king does to his people. The poor in spirit have the space in their hearts to receive an abundance of gracious favor, the spiritual riches.

            In financial hardship, they yearn for God’s favor and love rather than being preoccupied with money.  When they are distressed, their hearts are overwhelmed with longing and thirst for God’s abundant love. Although they are still in poverty and their problem remains, their hearts are filled with yearning for God’s love. They are the ones who are lacking in God’s love, in other words, who strongly feel a greater need for God’s love.

            1 Corinthians 1:26-28 says, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.” The influential, rich and wise people of the world may not be in urgent need of God’s help. But those who do not have, who are scorned and isolated, are more likely to be longing for God’s help. God will choose such people and help them, and thus shame those who despise God’s help.

            Instead of seeking material wealth that would fill our empty purses, we need to ask God to pour Himself into our empty hearts and have spiritual wealth. The people who quickly turn their hearts and hands to the world to rid themselves of poverty are those whom God does not feel comfortable to dwell in. The poor in spirit ache in their yearning for God. They are always thirsty for God. They desire to be known by God, and for God’s favor to fill their hearts. When they are in material poverty, they seek God’s favor. When they are suffering in sickness, they seek God’s life. When they are excluded by the world, they seek the help of God who gives victory in all things. When the poor in spirit are suffering, God wants to share their suffering; He wants the tears when they are weeping. God desires to help as much as people are poor in their spirit.

Be Filled With What is of God

            James 1:14-15 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” When people feel a lack of something, desire is conceived in their hearts. Once desire has conceived, there is unrest, and even those who have wealth become greedier so that they fall into the path of sin and depravity. For that reason we must be on guard against greed.

            Even if we are in a comfortable financial situation, we cannot be at ease because the gap still exists by which the Devil can infiltrate our relationship with God. There are gaps in our relationship with work colleagues, parents, spouse and children. In every corner of the world, there is space for the Devil to attack. If we get hooked on the Devil’s bait and follow our greed, one day we would find ourselves waking up in the ruins of our destruction.

            Those who are poor in spirit pray. They long for God even in times of material poverty; they long for God even in sickness. They know that they need the power to possess in order to overcome the difficulties in their lives. They are in yearning because of the emptiness in their hearts that need to be filled by God. They are always longing and thirsting for God. We ought to become the poor in spirit and fill our spirits with God’s riches, as well as use our heavenly rights given by God.

            Jesus said, ‘in me, you shall have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Jesus’ victory against the world is closely related to us because we are in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). He said, ‘Therefore you now have sorrow; but your heart will rejoice when the Holy Spirit comes. A day will come when you will see me no more. But do not be sorrowful. On that day you will ask the Father, but ask in my name. Then He will give you. You will receive, and your joy may be full’ (John 16:22-24). The One who has given this word is speaking to us today, ‘the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit.’

            Even if we pray, we should be praying for God’s kingdom rather than for ourselves only. A prayer that seeks one’s own benefits may be coming from one’s sinful desires. If the prayer is not being answered time and time again, we need to deliberate over the reason why. If we have come to believe in Jesus, we should pray for others, especially for the church. We must supplicate for the church, the body of Jesus Christ to have spiritual riches. When people have greater love and care for the church than their own selves, God will also be pleased with them.

            We must become poor in spirit and yearn for God. We should be in sorrow and anguish because of the emptiness in our hearts, which only God can fill. We must seek God with an earnest heart. We must long for God with a thirsty heart. We need to yearn for God with a burning heart. God will find such a person, and regard them as His peaceful resting place. Let us be found by God who seeks those who long for Him.