David begins Psalm 41 with a beatitude. He said, “Blessed is anyone who cares for the poor and the weak.” He goes on to explain how God favors people who cares about the hurts and pains and needs of others. God does this, but looking out for others is the way to get ahead in our world. J. B. Phillips, in his book “When God Was Man,” gives this version of the Beatitudes:
Happy are the pushers, for they get on in the world.
Happy are the hard-boiled, for they never let life hurt them.
Happy are they who complain, for they get their own way in the end.
Happy are the blasé, for they never worry over their sins.
Happy are the slave drivers, for they get results.
Happy are the knowledgeable men of the world, for they know their way around.
Happy are the troublemakers, for they make people take notice of them.
But that’s not who God blesses. Jesus once said, “Blessed are the poor…” If you look through the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament you will see that God favors the poor and those who look out for them. From God’s perspective there are many advantages of being poor. Monika Hellwig listed these advantages for us.
1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.
2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.
3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.
4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance, and no exaggerated need of privacy.
5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.
6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.
7. The poor can wait, because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience born of acknowledged dependence.
8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.
9. When the poor have the Gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not like a threat or a scolding.
10. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated totality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything.
In summary, through no choice of their own—they may urgently wish otherwise—poor people find themselves in a posture that befits the grace of God. In their state of neediness, dependence, and dissatisfaction with life, they may welcome God’s free gift of love.
Chuck
“We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth,not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” (Psalm 39:6-7)