“Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Excerpt, Gospel Reading, Monday 10th June 2024 – MATTHEW 5:1-12.
So, Scripture scholars have posited that they expression, “Poor in spirit” means those who in word, in deed and in truth have renounced material wealth and have focused on God Almighty.
Some of us are so destitute that we have been passing the nights sleeping under the shed in front of the market on the bare floor or on torn cartons.
Others not so different, however, more privileged, have a place under the bridge where they sleep.
The more endowed among us have actual roofs over our head.
It really doesn’t matter if we live in thatched or concrete houses, it is sufficient that we have roof over our head and a place to come to and sleep peacefully.
Then there are those of is who live in palatial homes with almost every trapping of wealth and luxury completely available.
However, there is a common decimal recurring among all of us that dwell in all of these places.
The common thing is, once we lay down our head, we sleep soundly until at dawn.
Nevertheless, there are however some little differences between the seemingly destitute and those who dwell under a roof.
While some of us who have a comfortable bed and guards at our gate to ensure our safety while we sleep, we yet still need sleep inducing medications or other enhancing substances to induce sleep.
Meanwhile, the seemingly destitute or those in very less comfortable abodes just drift to sleep once we lay down our head.
Again, those of us in luxurious abodes more often, have bedside alarm clocks to wake us up at dawn, whereas, a good majority of us have never had the need to use any of such.
Now, have we noticed a trend or occurrence among the classes of people?
The more unattached to wealth or the less wealthy one is, the better the life or strain on life or stressful is life and vice versa.
The man who sleeps in luxury requires money to buy sleep inducing medications, pay guards to mount his gate and buy alarm clock to wake him.
So, Jesus’s teaching that heaven is for the poor in spirit, is only a background to further teachings stating that, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” – LUKE 18:25.
We mustn’t get this twisted, God is not against having wealth, neither is he against those who are rich. As a matter of fact, God is the giver of wealth.
God is only concerned about we turning to the wealth He permitted us to have for security instead of relying on Him.
Sometimes, it is also how we were able to get such riches that could also get us to becoming docile to the assured protection from God.
Now, if one were to be God, won’t we deem it treacherous if that same who slept on the bare floor and relied completely on God for everything eventually grows to become that person in a palatial house who now relies on his money to buy him sleep and safety, and waking up?
Now, the difference between these two kinds of personality may not necessarily be the riches, but probably how they were acquired.
And that, my dear friend, is God’s concern.
We must be wealthy, but ensure that we are also poor in spirit rather than become rich at all cost for temporal luxury in this world and lose the Kingdom of Heaven.
Have a fantastic day and a fulfilled week ahead folks.
#Blessed_Carlo_Acutis! ##Pray_for_us!
– Akase F. Agabo.