Monday, July 21, 2008

A Little Help, Please

"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Matthew 5:3

1) The economically poor are blessed. How are they blessed? Their spirits are blessed, or they are spiritually blessed, or their spirit is heightened.

2) The spiritually poor are blessed... Those lacking in spiritual characteristics, works, or evidences.

3) Those lacking spirit, the depressed... Are blessed.

4) Those lacking spiritual confidence... Those with a deep sense of spiritual futility... Are blessed.

5) None of the above.
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7 comments:

Bekah said...

I vote three and four. but that wasn't an option. Can i make my own option?

7/21/2008 4:31 PM
Malott said...

I just really have never understood this verse... It could mean different things.

So if you have an explanation, I'm ready to hear it.

7/21/2008 5:08 PM
Bekah said...

Well I don't know that I understand it either, but I always have two cents, so you can have them.

My one study Bible says poor in spirit means the opposite of spiritually proud and self-sufficient (like the pharisees, I guess?) And it says that blessed in this way means a distinctive spiritual joy.

When I looked at the root word meanings, I found this: poor means helpless, powerless to accomplish an end (hence my number 3 vote), OR this, which I thought was extremely interesting, given Jesus' audience. "destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford." I figure the well-schooled were probably very rude to the non-educated and he was trying to give them hope that they weren't out of luck because they didn't have the official education, maybe? (this fits in with my number four vote)

I also asked my Dad, who is, you know, a walking commentary...and he said he thought the whole point of "poor in spirit" was humble.

So maybe that's just even more confusing, I don't know. But i really like the angle of the "destitute of learning" definition.

Sorry so wordy. I guess it was more like 8 cents.

7/21/2008 10:44 PM
Malott said...

Thanks Bekah,

I know more now.

I heard recently that the literacy rate during the time of Christ was about 5%. That might go along with your "destitute of wealth of learning" idea.

And... It's good to hear again from my favorite teacher.

Though I still think Mrs. Lamb was my best teacher, your dad was second best, and definitely my favorite. (He will remember Mrs. Lamb and he will most likely agree w/ me.)

Thanks again for your 8 cents... Always worth reading.

7/22/2008 8:05 AM
SkyePuppy said...

The first time I saw this, I thought you were being facetious, because you didn't finish the verse, but your conversation with Bekah said otherwise.

Because of the rest of the verse, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," I go with number 4 (or like Bekah, number 3.5). The poor in spirit are the ones who know they don't deserve heaven on their own. They're very aware of their need for God. They--not the "righteous" ones like the Pharisees--are the ones who (through the grace of God) will heve the kingdom of heaven to claim as their own.

7/22/2008 1:06 PM
Bekah said...

That's really interesting about the 5% literacy rate. i'd never heard that. That really does put it in an entirely different perspective.

And as for your favorite teacher...I hear from him a lot. :) The other day on the radio, I caught him using "I" when he should have said "me." The man never messes up in the world of grammar. NEVER. You can know I was on the phone in 2.5 seconds to tell him I'd caught that one. Now if I can catch him in 257 more, I'll be even on the amount of times he's caught me....

Fortunately he is a VERY good sport. I guess a house full of daughters teaches you to be a good sport.

7/22/2008 1:11 PM
Tsofah said...

I think the perfect example of this verse is Tev Revnya in "Fiddler on the Roof". His song, "If I Were A Rich Man" is priceless when one thinks of "poor in spirit".

7/22/2008 1:55 PM

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