Blessed there in the Greek text, where Makarios is written, it means "very prosperous, exceptionally happy, provided with abundance." Jesus was intentionally contradictory in saying that prosperous is he who is poor. Think of a beggar at the roadside asking for alms, it is not an image of someone who seems to be very prosperous and happy, we do not notice any wealth there, no abundance of provision. It seems like a password to say that a beggar can be prosperous.
Because Jesus was wanting to pass a profound and important lesson and for this he expressed himself to pay due attention to the term "poor in spirit".
Our society usually reverses things.
An example is the term "poor in spirit." Some in order to offend to call the other poor in spirit, or want to pass the pejorative idea of someone without virtue, low, vile, heartless, without affection, rude. That is common sense! I have already seen sentences saying:
Envy is a thing of poor people in spirit.
Do not expect noble attitudes from people who are poor in spirit.
While the wise person is grateful, the poor spirit demands.
That is not what poor Spirit means. In fact it is totally opposite. Poverty is not defect, nor poverty of spirit. Poor in spirit is one who, regardless of the material or social conditions in which he finds himself, knows that he depends solely and exclusively on God and that in himself he is nothing. He knows that only in the Lord is he to have the provision to be happy. In short, it is a humble spirit.
On the contrary, whoever believes that he can provide everything to be happy, is perceived rich, healthy, beautiful, talented, is seen as an excellent being and full of virtues, and that does not need God to be happy can not be called "Poor in spirit, this is the one who trusts in his own resources to conquer his happiness, in short he is an arrogant and proud spirit.
Jesus does not call the "full of himself" of blessed, on the contrary, he says that the "emptiness of himself" the poor in spirit, this is the exceptionally happy. The full of himself is the vain man, deceived in his appearance and his vain beauty.
Jesus exalts the poor in spirit and would certainly reject modern humanism, that is, the belief that the human being, full of virtues and abilities, is capable of prowess that will overcome any difficulty, "man is enough to himself, he does not need God nor religion "this is the motto of humanism. Devastating belief for humanity.
But how can we be happy if, often, the poor spirit goes through grips, struggles and difficulties? Jesus is teaching the poor in spirit not to look only here, to his local and social reality, to teach to look at the reward, to look at the treasure promised to the humble of heart, the inheritance in glory, the Kingdom of Heaven.
Victory is beyond sight, in glory where no human eye has ever seen. The wonders are incalculable, perennial and immeasurable.
The Poor in spirit is aware of his condition and dependence - he is totally unable to be happy on his own, to trust his resources. The majority of the poor in spirit do not really have many resources to trust, but there are also some poor in spirit, who are humble and do not trust themselves and their goods, among the rich and rich men of this world, they are rarer but they exist.
To be poor in spirit you do not need to be materially poor, but it is easier when we get to the bottom of the well to acknowledge that we depend solely on God. Our pride is broken more easily when we perceive that only God helps us.
The question is not to hide from the heart what we have ... the question is to attribute Glory to the Lord. The proud sees himself as full of virtues, qualities and resources, but does not recognize that only Christ to grant him eternal happiness. It is molded by the spirit of humanism.
It is not difficult to answer which of the two will be eternally happier, the humble or the proud of spirit. "Our God will welcome the humble to be his people and his inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven.
