Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
—Matthew 5:3
Tevye, in Fiddler on the Roof, said, “It’s no shame to be poor . . . but it’s no great honor either.”
Financial poverty isn’t proof of poverty of spirit, nor is wealth proof of its absence. The gap between indigence and opulence is not in play in this beatitude. It is poverty of spirit, not poverty of purse, that is commended here.
To be poor in spirit is to admit spiritual poverty, rejecting Pharisaic self-righteousness.
We have nothing to offer, nothing with which to buy the favor of heaven.
Nothing in my hand I bring:
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
Vile, I to the fountain fly:
Wash me Savior, or I die.
Only to the poor in spirit is the kingdom of heaven given: a gift of grace, utterly undeserved.
The kingdom of grace here,
the kingdom of glory hereafter.