Thought Processes

I have been studying the Sermon on the Mount since July or August. This is a very complicated section of scripture for me because everything is very backwards. What Christ tells us to do is completely opposite of our instinct and what seems natural. Let me take you on my small journey of learning about this.

Lately the Lord has been teaching me to give up my need to be right and has been challenging me to adopt this thought process in every area of my life. For those of you who know me, you know that this is no small feat. On that note let me get back to the Sermon on the mount. I have done a few bible studies and now I am digging into each section. So far and have just been processing the first three Beatitudes.

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit. From what I am learning, being poor in spirit is actually being broken over our sin. Not just being aware of the fact that we are sinners but really being broken over our offensive sin nature. Being Poor in Spirit is recognizing you will always be left spiritually wanting, if you don't allow the Lord to work in your life and if you don't allow Him to correct you. I look back on my life and seriously question how often I have recognized how sinful I am. Usually I look back and realize just how right I am and how wrong others are. What's that called? SIN!!!!! (can you hear the game show buzzer going off in the background)

Blessed are those who Mourn. This is said at all funerals because the second part of it says that people who mourn will be comforted. In my reading and my spiritual walking I am learning that this is not what mourning means at all. What I am learning is that when we are aware of just how sinful we are every second of every day we will begin to mourn over it. God wants us to mourn because when we mourn we grow in our reliance on Him. We don't like to be uncomfortable, but I think that is exactly what we need. We need to be a little uncomfortable over our sin, otherwise we won't mourn about it.

Blessed are the Meek. This one has been the one that has taken me more to really grasp therefore I will need you to bear with me as I write this out. Being meek does not mean being mousy. Being meek does not mean not being able to be successful. Being meek means that you are capable of controlling your power and not abusing it. This means that once you are aware of your sinful nature and need for the Lord, you mourn about that sinful nature and everything gains a new perspective. No longer is there a need to prove you are right because the Lord will do that for you. This is backwards living. We are told that we are supposed to exert our power and push our way to the front. Let people know what they are doing wrong so that you can get yourself ahead. God wants just the opposite, put others first, be willing to be last, give up your need to be right.

If only this method was followed, do you think that we would be in the same state that we are in right now? If people had listened to Christ's words do you think that we would need to bail out these huge corporations? Would we really have to have discussions about CEO's being greedy? Would our government be in the deficit we are in? Would our divorce rate be so high? Would we have as many people in prison? Would we have so many people on welfare? In my opinion no. I know this is a huge sweeping statement, but think about it. If we would allow the Lord to work in our lives and convict us of our sin, we would be able to confess our sins, be forgiven for them and then allow the Lord to be the provider and the fixer of our problems. I have found that even when truly trying and failing miserably at it, if there is surrender in our hearts the Lord can and does move mountains. Now... if only I wouldn't suck so much at needing to be right! I am getting just a smidgen better though.