Matthew 5:3
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Ask anyone on the street what the first Beatitude means and they will probably say those who are not rich will be blessed. If they happen to know their Scripture (Don’t hold your breath), they may even say Luke backs this up by recording Jesus saying simply, “Blessed are you who are poor…” This would seem to also back up Jesus saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle easier than a rich man can enter heaven. But is this verse really about class struggle? No.
Being poor in spirit means being bankrupt of anything that would commend ourselves before the holiness of God. True, many of the early believers were not wealthy, but this only made it clearer that they were paupers before the Judge. Those 1st century poor, mostly slaves, widows, and orphans, needed a benefactor to survive and to have any value at all. They had to throw themselves at their mercy. Without the charity of one who loved them, they would die.
The wages of sin is death. You are loaded. You have vaults filled with the stuff. When it comes time to cash in your loot, you will get what it is worth. Death. Nothing you say or do can change that. Your baptism and confirmation certificates are as worthless as your cash. Your Sunday School attendance pins are just shiny trinkets. The spare change you threw at the poor is just litter. You are a pauper in need of a benefactor. Praise the Lord that Jesus came to pay your debt on the cross! You need only believe and throw yourself at the mercy of the Lord with nothing in your hands. Cling to the cross. You will be blessed. You will be rich. The kingdom of heaven is yours.