Christ starts not with ‘Blessed are the pure in heart’, but ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’. The lowly may come. What does it mean? It means this: supremely happy and fortunate are those people who have made an inner evaluation of themselves. They have come to understand they are not fit for God, not without his converting power and transformation and his forgiveness. We come to see our spiritual poverty and bankruptcy. At some point we have said to ourselves, ‘I have not worshipped God. I have not been thankful to him. I have not been obedient to him. I have not thought about him. Instead of serving him, I have spurned him. Spiritually, I am poverty stricken before him and I deserve only to be condemned by him.’ Blessed are those people, supremely fortunate, are they. They are standing at the threshold of conversion to God; they are standing at the door of heaven and all God’s blessings, because they have discovered what it is to be poor in spirit. This is how we are converted; this is step one. Without conversion we are like rough sleepers on the open street. We have no fixed address; we have lost all our papers; we have no passports; we have almost lost our identity because we are in such a state. We cannot claim any benefits. We haven’t got any means of identifying ourselves. Viewed spiritually, we are far from God. We deserve nothing from his hand. When we come to realise that, our eyes are opened and we begin to feel as we should before God. These are the ones who are going to repent of their sin and trust in Christ and know the blessings of salvation.
Before conversion I do not want to hear this – that I have no character, no spiritual life. We will not accept that we are in poverty. We have to be brought down before we can be lifted up. This must be the great discovery of life. Previously we are always looking on our good points. We need to realise that we are away from God. ‘I see I am lifeless – living at the level of an animal. My spiritual being is not alive. I used to imagine I could squeeze into heaven, but I realise I fall far short of his standard. Previously I went jauntily through life, but now I see I am made by God, sustained by him. I depend on him for life, mercy, breath, and for heaven. He must bless me freely.’ The world says that self-esteem is essential to you, but Christ says, ‘Blessed are those who say that in spiritual matters they are unqualified, inexperienced, poor, even sick.’
Poverty of spirit is the identifying mark of the believer. If you need to be guided, you will put your opinion to one side. ‘I do not possess the ability to see the end. I depend on the Lord, and if I go wrong I will be chastised.’ Be prepared to see the worst about yourself. ‘I am thinking this way because of my pride.’ It will not crush you, because it will bring you to your knees before God. Seek to be made holy. ‘How can I advance?’ See how bad you can get. Consider what you should have done. If you lose your temper with someone else, you do not spend the next six months justifying it. ‘No,’ you say, ‘this is wrong, I should not have done that.’ There is also a lack of worthiness. ‘Lord, use me, sinful as I am.’ It is the same with fellowship. Come to him and say, ‘Lord, I need a more outgoing frame, one that is interested in others.’ This is how we get the help and the blessing of God.
As a Christian you must never lose your complete dependence upon Christ and him alone. You must never be confident. You must never feel, ‘I have been a Christian 5, 10, 20, 30 years. I have now acquired certain knowledge and certain understanding. I can stand on my own.’ No. While we must improve in righteousness and strive by the power of the Spirit to be better, nevertheless all through life we remain dependent on the price paid by Jesus Christ.
This is not about earthly poverty. Some think so. ‘If I become a monk, God will recompense me’, or, ‘If I have less than others in this life, I will have more than them in the next.’ No, poor and rich both need to be humbled before the Lord and to see their spiritual state. Sin is in every human being. It may express itself differently under different circumstances, but it is still there. The rich boast of their wealth and put their trust in it, but the poor can be full of resentment and envy. All true riches must come from God, and no one can receive them unless they see they are bankrupt before him.