Poor In Spirit

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." 1 Peter 5: 5,6

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."

In the business world, the higher up the corporate ladder we are and the more successful we become, the more we are looked up to. Every day people are doing all they can to climb to the top of the hill. Most of us, whether we own a small company, or,  the CEO of a large corporation, are in this position. I have a good friend and business associate, who because of the name he bares, and the  success he has achieved, is admired and looked up to by many people. People want to tag onto his name, associate with him in business, and just be like him. Yet, he is one of the most humble people I know. He has every right to pump himself up and to let pride rule his life. God has truly blessed him, and without hesitation, he will take every opportunity to give God the glory for all he is and has. With all the material possessions he has, he consistently proclaims - " it is all going to burn one day anyway." He truly lives in a state of bliss of just being a Christian and the joy of His blessings

Whether being on top of the world, or like most of us, just being somewhere in the middle, we are to live a life that is poor in spirit. Theologians tell us that to be poor in spirit is to live as though we are in absolute and object poverty. I guess my friend has the right idea in living as though all we have is going to burn today. We then would live as having no earthly possessions, and thus, we put our total trust and confidence in God. To live otherwise is to live a life filled with pride. Pride is a hard thing to control. We are taught every day to be confident, positive, influential, and rich in spirit. Yet, many passages in the Bible tell us that pride is the worst of attitudes. "The Lord detest the proud of heart." Proverbs 16:5. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16: 18.

The opposite of pride must be humility. To be humble then would be to not cling to who we are or the family from whom we come. "Who being the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant." Philippians 2: 6,7. Humble people do not grab power or position, but wait for God to add to their influence. Humility does not lord over, but shows respect for the lowest of positions.

A humble person is teachable and never stops learning. He is always growing in wisdom and knowledge. A humble person also has the right priorities, and places the goals of the company, it's people, and it's clients above himself.

But also, neither is a humble person poor in abilities. Our attitudes and strengths come from God and He uses them to help us climb to the top. Only pride keeps us from getting there. Humility is also not to be poor in finances. Some people you see their wealth first, others you see them and discover they are wealthy. Applause and the lime light follow success, it is how we deal with it and use it that counts.

Jesus says that such a poverty and humility belongs the kingdom of Heaven. I heard Bruce Wilkinson state one time that if we could spend just five seconds in Heaven, we would come back and never be the same. We pray for God's kingdom to come, but do we  mean our nation or city, or, do we include ourselves as well. We tend to pray for His kingdom to come into our lives but spend most of our time building our own kingdom.

The entire kingdom of Heaven is available to those who think they deserve it the least.