Two phrases are going to get our attention this week: “poor in spirit” and “treasures in heaven.” I’ll be making the statement, in the sermon this week, that Europeans and North Americans are so affluent that they don’t think they are affluent. If you are homeless in America and take spit baths in a restroom at the park, you have an option that many people in the world simply don’t have. The same is true if you eat on food stamps or at the Rescue Mission. People like me, with the wealth and possessions at our disposal, we have an enormous challenge to ever achieve and maintain poverty of spirit.
You know the saying, “The more you make, the more you spend.” This is a fair assessment of our culture. The average American gives about 2% of his income to charity. Coincidentally, the average churchgoer in American gives 2.3% of his income to his church. In other words, the unchurched are just about as generous as the churched; they both give about 2% to non-profit organizations. All this seems to explain why Jesus spent a considerable amount of time teaching His disciples about financial dangers and priorities. Those dismal statistics seem to fit Jesus’ warning about treasures in heaven verses treasures on earth. 98% of the time, Earth wins. When it comes to tithing (giving 10% of your income to the church), only 14% of American Christians tithe. Now that we have the statistics in front of us, the opportunity still exists for Steve Moore to be an exception. “Poor in spirit” is my choice; spending my treasures for heaven is my choice.
Those two phrases leave the Bible reader with lingering questions. How can God tell that I am desperate for Him? How can our neighbors and family tell that I am desperate for Him? Am I really desperate for God, or is that just a line in a song that we sing once in a while at church?
