The Poverty That Makes One Rich

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

AS WE BEGIN

Mike Vetrone was an ex-drug-runner for the mob who was addicted to heroin. Feeling all alone, crushed by persistent death threats, and tired of running, the idea of ending it all presented itself. On an overcast morning in South Florida, Mike dropped by a favorite haunt, Big Apple Bagel, to pick up his last meal. Back in his apartment, he flipped on the television in search of company. On came a television preacher exclaiming, “Life has a way of grabbing you by the collar, forcing you down to your knees.”

Mike turned up the volume.

“There’s a chain that binds every soul,” the preacher exclaimed, “and that chain is sin—an addiction from which Jesus’s death and resurrection sets us free.” Suddenly, as the television evangelist invited viewers to embrace Christ, Mike found himself shouting at the television, “Yes!” In that moment, he no longer felt alone.

Mike was facing not the end of his life, but a new beginning.

DEVOTIONAL INSIGHT

When we sense our spiritual poverty, we are ready to receive the King’s riches. The kingdom is not for the graspers, but for the broken—those who reach the end of themselves and approach God with empty hands.

OBSERVATIONS

The phrase “kingdom of heaven” occurs throughout Matthew and is generally synonymous with the “kingdom of God.” It describes the true, peaceful, pure, and joyful life that is realized in communion with God. Such blessings confront our idols—the gods of comfort, success, and national pride—and promise something far greater. Indeed, idols are merely the profane and twisted parody of which the kingdom is the satisfying reality. So, Jesus frames his Beatitudes with reference to the kingdom: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3; cf. 5:10).

Notice how Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven as “theirs.” The positioning of this word at the beginning of the clause gives the sense that the kingdom is for this particular group, the poor in spirit, the marginalized and forgotten. It’s not for those who are content with life and consistently in control. It’s not for those who believe in themselves, who have the natural ability to win the day. As Martin Luther proclaimed from his deathbed, “We are all beggars; this is true.”

APPLICATION

Many of Jesus’ contemporaries expected a deliverer like Joshua or David, a military commander who would vanquish the Romans and establish an earthly kingdom. Instead, he became known as a friend of tax collectors—a circle of traitors who aligned with the political enemy.

In keeping with our Savior’s example, we don’t always need to defend ourselves or have the final word. Christians who are poor in spirit can live with being maligned and misunderstood. We can be like Jesus before Herod Antipas—silent. Such poverty is essential when we are tempted to excoriate our “enemy” who thinks differently about a social or political issue.

How will you embody poverty of spirit, even among those who seek to argue?