Skip to main content

The Beatitudes

             “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:3-6)

 

            Today’s passage is the first four verses of the Beatitudes. They’re part of a sermon Jesus gave, and He probably preached the same sermon, with slight variations on verbiage, more than once or twice. I had thought to go through each verse separately, and I probably did so at one point, but looking at them today, these four clearly belonged together.

            The first thing that these verses have in common is need. One of the things both Dallas Willard and John Ortberg talk(ed) about a lot is need. Maslow developed what he considered to be a hierarchy of needs.[1] At the lowest levels were physiological needs (things like oxygen, water, food, and shelter) and safety needs. At the top is “self-actualization.” Whether or not I agree with the top depends on one’s definition of “self-actualization,” but as I look at the needs that Jesus described, they aren’t physiological or safety needs. I’m not even sure they’re psychological needs, which are the next two levels.

            What this means is that Jesus isn’t telling those with lots of possessions that they aren’t blessed any more than He is telling those who have nothing that they aren’t. These needs involve things beyond the mere physical. And it is those who recognize their needs beyond the physical whom Jesus describes as blessed. Some tell us that until the lower needs are met, the higher needs don’t matter, but when allied troops went into the concentration camps to release the prisoners, I’ve read that at least on one occasion, they took lipstick with them, because the lipstick returned humanity to the women – not food, not shelter, not relationships, but a sense of identity or self actualization.

            Ultimately, it tends to be those who recognize their needs who are blessed. I suspect this is partly because when you need something, you seek it.  Those who think they have it all, or those who reject the idea that these things are needs, are the ones who miss out.


[1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs2.svg/250px-Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs2.svg.png

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more