Blessed are the poor in spirit – what does that mean?

click here to read about how this series came to be. I speak in italics, and our Lord in bold print.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Do you know what this means?

That it is the humble, the lowly, that inherit the Kingdom.

No. It is more than just being humble. If that is what I meant, I would have said, “Blessed are the humble in spirit.” To be poor is to be poor. You have seen material poverty – what is its impact?

It creates a “survival” mentality. When one is poor, they don’t have the luxury of planning for the future, of saving for a rainy day, of ease and comfort. Rather, life is merely a constant battle to remain alive the next day. It is constant struggle, unending fight, and the only pleasures are simple provision and gratitude to have breath in one’s lungs.

Yes, this is what it is to be poor. And spiritually, this is what it means to be poor in spirit. Desperate each day, recognizing that it is a daily, non-stop battle spiritually simply to survive. Finding pleasure and gratitude in surviving another day, and ready to wake up tomorrow to seek me for one more day’s life and provision. “Give us this day our daily bread.” For the poor in spirit, this is more than enough. And it is the poor in spirit that will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the Lord.