“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3
Who are the poor in spirit? What is spiritual poverty? Why does it result in people receiving the kingdom of heaven? Spiritual poverty isn’t about money. Rather, spiritual poverty is a deep awareness of what you lack spiritually: true righteousness, genuine holiness, and authentic goodness. Spiritual poverty is the profound awareness that when you come before the Lord your God, you have nothing to offer to your credit or in your defense. Spiritual poverty recognizes our desperately hopeless spiritual condition before the God of absolute holiness, righteousness, and purity.
Those who aren’t poor in spirit boast in their goodness: good deeds, righteous rule following, generosity, and church attendance records. They see the good they imagine to be in themselves and offer that to the infinitely perfect and holy God of the universe. However, the imperfect can’t ever be perfect and our efforts can’t ever save us. We are spiritually bankrupt in fact. The question is whether we recognize this reality.
The spiritual poor know with every bit of their soul that they can’t save themselves. They know that despite their best efforts, they have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. They know that even their best efforts are themselves tainted by sinful attitudes of pride, applause seeking, and a desire to manipulate God.
It’s only when we’re poor in spirit that we stop trying to save ourselves and cry out for a Savior. It’s only when we’re spiritually poor that we’re at last willing to kneel humbly before Lord Jesus and ask for Him to save us. It’s only when we’re spiritually poor that we’re willing to quit trying to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and simply cry out to Jesus, confident that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is why the Kingdom of Heaven belongs only to the poor in spirit. Are you poor in spirit???