The Poor are Blessed

When I decided to try to learn golf, my husband had only one rule: He wouldn’t coach me since he coached the sport for a living. He would only instruct me if I asked but wouldn’t give me unsolicited advice.

This put my stubborn self in a predicament; I didn’t want to admit that I had no clue what I was doing and needed help. Finally, after hours at the driving range and mounting frustrations, I went to my husband and asked if he could help me with my swing.

Humbling ourselves to the point where we ask for help is not something most people like doing. Many of us would rather struggle alone than admit our inadequacies. Unfortunately, not much growth can occur until you do. In Matthew 5, we get this group of teachings from Jesus called the Beatitudes. He starts with verse 3 because we can’t learn the rest unless we learn this. He tells us that those poor in spirit will be blessed and inherit Heaven.

So, what does it mean to be poor in spirit? Simply, it means admitting that we are sinful and need Christ. It’s to believe that without Christ, our spirits cannot be whole. We must humble ourselves enough to seek God because we know we are nothing without Him. We can’t learn how to be good enough on our own; our strength will not make our spirits whole.

Until we seek after God with a humble spirit, we are unable to learn and absorb the teachings of Christ. The Holy Spirit has no room to move inside us if we stand proud of our abilities. We must ask Christ for help with the knowledge that we cannot do this life on our own. If we do, we are promised the most incredible gift: eternity with Him in Heaven.