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PROGRAM D-7732
What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Have you ever thought about that? At this time of year when buying things and giving things and receiving things are uppermost in our minds, it’s very important as believers that we bring ourselves back to what is eternally important, and it is not things!
There’s a wonderful reward for those who are poor in spirit; Jesus said that they will have the kingdom of heaven. But most people miss this great offer because they are not willing to be poor in spirit. Poor in spirit means seeing yourself as possessionless. Regardless of what’s on your list of assets, if you’re poor in spirit, you know that everything you have is a gift to be used, a resource on loan to you from God. In your spirit you are a poor person.
Now, poverty is not something we would voluntarily choose. But poverty of spirit is something every Christian should desire and pursue. Why? Because it’s so easy to be possessed by our possessions and therefore to miss the eternally important values in life.
How do we achieve this poverty of spirit? It’s a life-long process. Some people literally get rid of all earthly possessions and own nothing. But for most of us it’s a change in attitude.
I had a dear friend who spent a couple of years on a missionary assignment, and as she was returning home, she gave away almost everything she had accumulated while there. And she realized as she was packing that everything she owned at that time would fit on one shelf in the closet. She said, “Mary, I had such a sense of freedom, to realize that I owned practically nothing. I was not a slave to possessions, because I had none.”
That’s the attitude we constantly need. And it takes prayer and a daily commitment to the Lord. Very often I hold up to God all that I call my own, and I confess to God that they are not mine, they are his. For I am possessionless; I am poor in spirit.
Why would anyone want to do that? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Let me tell you, that’s a bargain! I relinquish ownership of a few measly earthly possessions, and in return I enjoy the riches of heaven.
In this season when we are more than ever bombarded with materialism, ask yourself if you are poor in spirit. Do you have a spirit of being possessionless? How we need Christians in this world who refuse to be possessed by possessions.