Being the Attitude

We've all heard the Beatitudes a million times. Even growing up, I stood in front of classrooms having to recite them, scared to death at getting "kingdom of heaven's" and "peacemakers" confused. Each one states it's case for how we should live our lives, and how those who do live that way our rewarded. On this upcoming Sunday, we'll receive another wake up call in the realm of the Ten Commandments, when Jesus himself goes through various aspects of those rules that were set in place so long ago.

By really listening to something like the Beatitudes, all sorts of emotions can arise. Something that comes up in my mind is simply...fear. As comforting as the name of them seems to be, and as nice the rewards seem, sometimes I struggle to relate to the descriptions of each entity or case that Jesus talks about.

We've got time, let's break em down.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..."

Yes, I would love to go to heaven, I'm pretty sure everyone else would love that too. Yet, how poor is my spirit? I don't think this one is talking about the amount of(or lack of) cash in your wallet. Maybe it's about those who have gone through the toughest hardships of life, and have struggled through keeping their faith because of that. They're trying though, and maybe looking for some help, that's where those who have been given a little bit more come in, and maybe they can share in the kingdom as well.


"...Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted..."
Well, this one is fairly self explanatory, as obviously many people in the world are in mourning this very moment. Take a step back, and think about the pain some people are suffering right now. For many of us, our daily dramatic "problems" are nothing compared to this...something we all need to put into perspective. Instead of worrying about those simple problems that might seem big, why not fulfill the second half of this Beatitude, and be the ones who do the comforting.

"...Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land..."
Not everyone has the most outgoing and powerful personality. Everyone's different. There is nothing wrong with that kind of attitude, unless it is used to impose a certain will upon others. Maybe those are the people that Jesus is describing as "meek." You think about something as concrete as land and realize that those with power usually take over the less powerful's land. But then again, Jesus isn't always talking about the actual possessions or objects in his stories or parables. Sometimes, those people lose themselves, either by way of brute force by others, or with the inability to do anything for themselves. The land is their way of life. It's almost like God knowing the world isn't fair, and sometimes people are helpless to change their situation, and must change themselves to make it in today's society. Jesus is blessing them here, saying that someday they will become themselves again.

"...Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied..."
God doesn't need a lot to grant us His Grace. He wants our love and trust that's all. At times, that can be easier said than done. But if we strive to be good people, God will eventually reward us. All of us have had that feeling that we catch tough break after tough break. We sometimes hear that saying, "Bad things happen to good people." I think that's dumb. Bad things happen to everybody. It's how we react to them that determines the kind of people we are. And even in the midst of the worst crisis, if we still look to God for help, we need to trust that we will be rewarded.

"...Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy..."
This one is right out of the "Do unto others as you would have done to you" mold. Now it's never taught that we should do things for others to get something back. We should never expect anything back, other than our own self satisfaction of helping another human being. But being good to others has its benefits, and God is telling us that if we do live that kind of lifestyle, a certain sort of Karma, to steal a Hindu term, will be with us in our own lives. Even if you don't receive the mercy directly from the person you were merciful to, rest assured that that person might just spread your good will to someone else.

"...Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God..."
That's a great reward...being able to "see God." Something that anyone would love to do. But then again, maybe it's not necessarily seeing God in heaven in a physical kind of way, but in other things. Being clean of heart might be living without that cynicism that surrounds our society today, and seeing God in any aspect of our lives. It might be a rainbow, a good person or even in a tough situation. For our lives on earth, that might be the closest we get, just because of a positive outlook on our lives.

"...Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God..."
Jesus tried to make us all peacemakers in his works, creating problems among the doubters with His good will. He did all of that, so that we could create peace. He wants us to follow in His footsteps, and become a child of God. We do call Him our Father after all, so let's deem that true by acting more like Jesus did.

"...Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..."
The fact that the "kingdom of heaven" is mentioned as a reward twice fascinates me. It always made it a little easier to memorize, but now it has an even greater meaning in this Beatitude. This one goes along with all the others, building up to standing up for what's right, which is exactly what Jesus did. What we do doesn't always have to be the most popular action, especially if we want that reward. But we live in a world of peer pressure and societal norms. That scares people into going with the flow, which separates us from God. The only thing that can get us through those pressure situations is God though, and by following our heart, we are led in the right direction, even though the people closest to us might not like it very much. Taking a short cut might seem beneficial at the time, but doing something right will be beneficial for all time.

Finally..."Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

That one stand for itself.

So maybe they aren't that scary after all. By really looking at them, it's a simple blueprint for living a happy and healthy life. It doesn't have to be so hard all time. People often ask what the meaning of life is...well Jesus gives a pretty solid outline for how to live right here, so start here and see where your heart takes you.

Then maybe, someday, the kingdom of heaven will indeed be yours.