Be Blessed: The Beatitudes

Supreme blessedness, grace, bliss: a few ways to define "beatitude." I'm not sure this all requires such lofty words, so I'll introduce this as "The Good Life." It would take at least 66 books and a lifetime of experience to define "goodness" as properly as possible. This may seem an impossible task, leaving one discouraged; for that I recommend living life. Revolutionary, I know. It may be an obvious thing to do, but for someone who tends to live in his head, it's a reminder that's desperately and constantly needed. Nothing we learn in the pages of the Bible or in any other book out there means anything without actions to follow the information up. We still need the information, though, and the Sermon on the Mount is a great place to start. So I figure, we should spend some time studying it and seeing what we can learn.

Welcome to the League

"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them..." (Matthew 5:1-2)

I love basketball, that's no secret, so I tend to relate a lot of what I learn to my own experience with the game. I've never played in the NBA (though maybe someday I will, who knows), but something that us fans of the game love to see is a rookie's "welcome to league moment." It could be the kid getting his ankles crossed, or he gets dunked on, anything that might jolt the young rookie into reality. This is a new game that I'm playing. The physicality, the speed, the intelligence of the competitors, the size of the crowds, the paycheck, there is so much for a youngster to adjust to; but it seems every rookie has that moment, and the difference between those who make it in the league (and beyond) and those who don't is the way they respond to that moment.

The Beatitudes are Galilee's "welcome to the league" moment and, by association through adoption, they're ours. Those of us in "the Western world" have grown up aware of the principles Jesus teaches, certainly in the southern U.S., but the source is often lost. We're told this is just the way things are done. But having fallen so far from the source of these teachings, we fall back into our Nature and things get messy. When Jesus first arrived on the scene, John the Baptist would preach, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Turn away from your old ways, there's a new sheriff in town. Essentially, we're playing a new game, one whose rules are a bit backwards to those used to the way things are just done.

Jesus showed up and started healing masses, freeing them from their diseases and sufferings, and He quickly grew to be very famous. Nowadays, many of us are well acquainted with this side of Jesus: the miracle worker. He's the One that everyone is seeking, the One who will make pain and suffering go away; He promises to do it–He did it when He died on the cross and rose again and gave us access to God, yes. But this access has a way about it, it requires of us a different way of life. No longer does the richest or strongest or smartest man win. No, instead it's the poor in spirit, the mourning, the needy, the merciful, the pure, the peacemaker, the persecuted. This isn't a game that many of us are born ready to play, but that's why we suffer. So, welcome to league. How will you respond to the moment?

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The Good Life

Neediness Breeds Gain

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:3)

The King's decree starts with knocking down what we in the West tend to place as paramount: Abundance. This isn't to say anything about physical wealth or well-being, though. This statement of ownership has everything to do with the heart. "Poor in spirit" is a measure of neediness. How badly do you need God? Are you even aware that you need Him? Rather than puffing up the culture of hyper-independence, Jesus tells that only those who are needy will have ownership in the Kingdom. Not that they're God, but that their hearts are yielded enough to God that He can trust them.

The beauty in this statement, and the many that come after, is the certainty. Jesus is saying that our inheritance is secure when we find our security in God. Nobody can take our place in the Kingdom away from us, but we have to understand that it's in our neediness that we find it. It's in our neediness that we will truly seek and find the Lord waiting to embrace us. The more control we grasp for, the more status and self-elevation we seek and engage in, the less room there is for God to do what He needs to do inside of us.

It's important to note again that this isn't anything to do with monetary wealth or lack thereof. It's just as possible that God blesses a rich man and a poor man with finances. The truly blessed individual will find contentment and security regardless of the number in their bank account. This is easier said than done, of course, especially in a world where finances are so clearly important–and they are important, we're called to steward whatever portion we're given; but true blessed living comes when we put our trust more in God, Himself, than in any gift we could be given. To be blessed is to recognize our need for God–to be poor in spirit.

Vulnerability Breeds Safety

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

I've wrestled with loneliness at many times in my life, and I've learned over time that it's often my own doing. Long story short, it's hard to be known when we only give the world a piece of us; even harder if we're wearing a mask and covering everything up. We live in a world, especially with social media, that emphasizes "the vibes," I'm guilty of it myself. We post the best pieces of our lives for the world to see, and maybe we're celebrated for them, but without any place to bring the bad and the neutral, we're left feeling stranded and alone. This is about vulnerability in a world that isn't very kind to those who are hurting. So many of us pull into shells and suffer alone.

This is no way to find comfort, though. As long as we're relying on the way the world looks at us, we're slaves to their attention and are led to do whatever it takes to keep it–usually overplaying our greatness. Jesus says that those who mourn, those who are open and vulnerable about what they're going through, are those who receive the comfort they're looking for. Rather than putting walls up for "protection," we're better served letting people in and creating space for others to open themselves up. In doing so, we're able to better accept who and where we are, and we're likelier to make the connections that each of us longs for. To be blessed is to be vulnerable and to open the way to true community, connection, and comfort.

Self-Control Breeds Freedom

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5)

Meekness tends to be thought of with a negative connotation. We tend to think of it as being small, being shy, or being "unproblematic." All this thinking actually leads to is being deeply weak. The original word is translated to something more like "gentleness." Think of a parent dealing with a young child. There's a clear imbalance of power and ability. While we can teach a baby to be gentle, they're not likely to cause too much trouble in a fight. But we can all clearly see the problems in an adult who would be aggressive toward a child. In the same way, those of us who have any measure of power (and you have a lot more than you know) are responsible for power.

This can be physical control, of course, but it's just as important to be mindful of the emotional weight of your actions. This is something that I'm still learning in my relationships with friends and family. If you've got people who care for you it's important to spend time with them. If there are people dependent on you, it's important to think about their well-being. The person who stewards every measure of power they have (physically, emotionally, socially, etc.) is the type of person God can trust. And that person can conquer anything. You can conquer anything! But not before exercising self-control.

Righteousness Breeds Satisfaction

"Blessed are those who thirst and hunger for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6)

Righteousness is a fancy word for "right with God." It may seem like an unattainable aim, but in reality it's as simple as having a relationship with the Lord, and caring for the relationship. How many of us run into issues with communication simply becuase we have taken the time get to root of an issue. The longer we spend on the surface of relationship, neglecting to dive deeper for whatever reason, the more we build a bank of misunderstandings and problems unsolved. This is true in human relationships and it's true in our relationship with God.

The unanswered prayers, the lack of direction, and the suffering each of us faces comes certainly from a measure of worldly circumstances; I won't ignore that fact. But a great measure of these comes from a lack of relationship with the Father. Thanks to Jesus, we have a mediator (the Son) and a helper (the Spirit) whose sole purpose is leading us back to our originial relationship with the Father. With God is the only place we'll find our satisfaction, and blessed living is chasing after that relationship as hard as we can.

Kindness Breeds Kindness

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

Everyone desires that the world would treat them kindly, but many of us overcomplicate the path to that place. Jesus doesn't teach that there's any special hoop to jump through in order to receive favor, it's not something to toil after as though it were undeserved (even if it is). The fact that everyone is looking for kindness makes getting it so much simpler than we make it: just be kind. With the Kingdom of Heaven at hand, we no longer have to slave away for favor; rather, we're encouraged to simply love others well and this alone will open us up to receiving more than we can ask for.

On the other hand, now, if we walk through life with transaction on the mind–I'll do this in return for that–we build an atmosphere of unhealthy competition and we close ourselves off from receiving grace and generosity. If our instinct is to give to get, then no one feels inclined to give from their own kindness, rather they'd do it out of contempt (if at all). Blessed living isn't doing whatever it takes to get whatever you want, it's living life kindly, loving your neighbor, and seeing how blessings flow from there.

Purity Breeds Clarity

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)

To be pure is to see things as they were designed to be seen. If we can reconnect with original design, then we're able to look up and know that what we're experiecing is in-line with reality. Look at a glass of water for example. On it's own, it's clear and healthy to drink, good for rinsing and cleaning. What sin does is throw mud in the water, and the deeper we are in sin, the foggier and dirtier the water gets. Eventually, we get so used to seeing water as dirty and muddy that we reject all together and turn to less healthy alternatives–like juice, soda, or alcohol. On their own, these things aren't evil and each of them even has a little water in them. But each of these things brings with them the complications of sugar, calories, inebriation, and all the consequences that come from over-doing these things.

In life, clear water is a money, sex, food and drink, exercise, relationship, and even possessions. On their own, none of these things is evil, they can even be really good in the proper contexts. But because of sin, we've developed unhealthy relationships to each of these things (and more), and if we spend enough time in sin, we're led to believe that these things can't possible be good or that God can't possibly be found in these things. This changes as we're made clean in the Word and through relationship with God. As we realign ourselves to Him, we pass the mud through a filter and make our way back to seeing the water clearly and seeing God in the original. Blessed living is asking the question, "How did God design this?" and aligning our vision to that answer.

Love Breeds Glory

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God." (Matthew 5:9)

One of my mentors gave me a great analogy for glory, I was struggling with the notion. He asked this simple question: If I were to look into your room, could I tell it was yours? A room that screams "this is Kevin's" is a room that glorifies me, it's a proper representation of me. In the same way, anything we do when we hold claim to the "title" of Christian is telling the world a story about who God is. Jesus says that those who make peace, rather than division, bring glory to God and can properly be called a child of God–one who relies on Him and learns from Him.

This is in-line with God's emphasis on love and with Jesus' dissapproval of the Pharisees, the religous teachers of His time. Rather than leading people to love one another, the Pharisees focused more on legalism (doing things to the letter of the law) and they ignored the relational aspect of God. The teachers saught to elevate themselves and prove that they were of God with their appearance and fancy teachings. Jesus says relationship and unity come before the perfection, and the Word goes as far as saying that love is what fulfills the Law. Blessed living is valuing the person over the perfection and, in doing so, bringing glory to God.

Faithfulness Breeds Reward

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:10)

It's easy to give up on something when things get difficult. It's tempting to give up on the sanctification process and a later reward in favor of a spurt of good feelings. It's even more difficult when it seems that things are actively going against us; but if start running the race by our own rules, then we lose out on the actual reward and exchange it for something that isn't as valuable in the long run. The Word uses athletics to bring this analogy to life, but we can even see it in our day-to-day. The best things are those which take some time and effort to achieve.

The issue here is that we tend to take physical things and use those as markers for what's happening to us spiritually. While the two are certainly linked, it's vital that we remember we live in a broken world ruled by Satan–whose only aim is to kill, steal, and destroy us. When bringing light to a world of darkness, it's invevitable that the world will bite back every once in a while–we're disrupting their comfort. Blessed living is staying faithful to God and keeping our eyes on eternity, even when everything around us seems to be falling apart.

Persistence Brings Inheritance

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so they prosecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:12)

Jesus' reign has brought about a new way to reach the aim that's tucked inside all our hearts: relationship with God and everythigng that comes with it–safety, peace, love, joy, goodness. Humanity, for so long, was separated from God and the certainty of Heaven. There are roughly 400 years between the last ministry recorded in the Old Testament (Malachi) and Jesus' ministry; after a history of kings, propehts, and promises, I'd imagine the Israelistes were discouraged, maybe losing hope for the coming of their Savior. Even now, after His time on Earth, most of us act in a manner that shows a lost hope. In our separation, we've lost sight of the original reward, the place which we belong and should hope to return to: Heaven.

We've turned vices into our means for satisfaction, but these methods and idols all pale in comparison to the beauty of the Kingdom. The things we've resorted to for sources of identity–our performance, our appearance, the people around us, our hobbies, etc.–they all fall short of our original identity as children of God. The Old Testament is all about God giving humanity the chance to make up for their sin, but we're incapable of doing so without some help. So God came down as Christ and offered help. He gave us some words to live by to reset our systems and some guidance on how to do so. The world has its own rules and cues for what blessedness looks like–wealth, popularity, health, perfection–but the Beatitudes break those down and put new cues in place. Blessedness is a matter of the heart.

Jesus is sure to warn us that claiming His name (as followers) brings a reaction. We'll want to pull back and hide, but it's not us that they're mad at, He says, it's Him. But we are asked to take the persecutions and the attacks and strand strong in the midst of them, He's at work. And this isn't just for the sake of taking a punch on the chin, there's a reward to be mindful of and grateful for, and it's a piece of the invitation. The words we're going to be looking at are Jesus' first public words. They're important. And I'll say a lot about them, as I break them down, but the key is this: we don't have to wait to experience God's blessing, we simply have to be blessed.