The Beatitudes Series #1

"Don't Worry - Be Happy!"
Matthew 5:1-12

What would it take to make you happy? That question was asked of 52,000 Americans in a survey conducted by Psychology Today a few years ago. Here are some of the top responses: friends or social life; a job; being in love; recognition and success; sex; personal growth; a good financial situation; having a house or apartment; being attractive and beautiful; religion; being a parent; marriage. The interesting thing was that almost every answer said that happiness comes from external things.

One popular idea is that happiness comes from having the right circumstances. It’s an example of "when and then" thinking. "When I get out of school, then I’ll be happy." "When I get a job, then I’ll be happy." "When I get married, then I’ll be happy." "When I have kids, then I’ll be happy." "When the kids leave home, then I’ll be happy." "When my health gets better, then I’ll be happy." "When I get rich, then I’ll be happy." When the right circumstances come along, then I’ll be happy. Do you see the problem with that? It’s the three "Cs": Circumstances Constantly Change! God’s way to lasting happiness is not in having the right circumstances, but in having the right attitude.

Jesus’ famous Sermon the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7, begins with eight positive statements about happiness that we call "the beatitudes." Each beatitude begins with the word "blessed," which is an Old English word that simply means "happy." It’s interesting to me that of all the subjects Jesus could have chosen to speak on when he started the Sermon on the Mount, he chose the subject "How to Be Happy." Why? Because Jesus knew that people everybody search for happiness but very few find it. Listen again to Jesus’ words,

"Happy are you if you’re poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of heaven... Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted ... Happy are the meek, for they will inherit the earth ... Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled ... Happy are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Happy are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Happy are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God. Happy are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mt.5:1-12).

When you hear those statements, don’t some of them sound contradictory? Happy if you mourn... happy if you’re poor ... happy if you’re put down and persecuted. That does not sound like the path to happiness to me! What’s going on?

Perhaps Jesus was trying to tell us that our happiness is not ultimately determined by what’s happening around us, but rather by what’s happening in us. Friends, if you have to have all of your problems solved and everything perfect before you can become happy, will you ever be happy? No. Maybe life hasn’t turned out quite the way you thought it would when you were younger, and you are having to deal with the reality that life can be tough. If you happiness is tied only to your circumstances, it will be fleeting.

Jesus said that we can learn to be happy in spite of our circumstances. Lasting happiness depends on choosing the right attitudes in response to your changing circumstances. In the next few weeks we’ll see what that means.

This morning let’s start by looking briefly at the first beatitude or, if you will, the first step to happiness. Matthew 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Good News Translation of this verse: "Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor." Who are the poor in spirit? Simply put, they are the people who depend on God. People who are poor in spirit are humble, willing to admit they don’t have all the answers, they don’t have it all together, that they aren’t the sum total of the universe, that they’re not perfect.

The opposite of poor in spirit is arrogance or egotism. Jesus said if you’re full of arrogance and egotism you’re never going to be happy. Happiness and humility go together. If you want to have lasting happiness, the first step is to learn humility.

How in the world can humility increase our happiness? First, humility reduces our stress. When we’re humble we realize that we don’t have to have all the answers and that we don’t have to solve all the problems in the world. When we’re humble we don’t have to pretend that we’re perfect because we know God doesn’t demand that we be perfect. It reduces stress when we’re humble. When we are humble - poor in spirit - we begin to walk in dependence upon the Lord. That, in turn, reduces the stress in our life, and as our stress goes down our happiness goes up.

Second, humility improves our relationships. How many of you enjoy being around people with big heads? Selfish, self-centered people are an irritation. Nobody likes to be around them. On the other hand, how many of you like to be around humble people? They aren’t always trying to impress you; when you tell a story they don’t always have to have a better one. The poor in spirit don’t think they are better than everyone else. Because of their humility they tend to get along better with other people. Humility doesn’t mean you think less of yourself; it just means you just think more about others.

It improves you relationships with other people. I don’t know about you, but I find that when I’m full of pride I bruise easily. I’m more sensitive to other people’s comments. When I’m pumped up, trying to impress people, and someone says something that really shouldn’t bother me, it hurts. It’s like sticking a pin in a balloon. A proud person pops easily!

On the other hand, I’ve discovered that when I’m walking humbly before the Lord and just being who I am, being honest and depending upon God, I’m not nearly as easily hurt by insults. I can walk before God with the attitude that they may be right and they may be wrong, but I’m just trying to please the Lord. If you find someone who is very sensitive to criticism it’s because they haven’t taken this first step toward happiness: Becoming humble or poor in spirit.

Humility reduces stress. Humility improves relationships. Third, humility releases God’s power in your life. James 4:6 says, "God gives strength to the humble, but he sets himself against the proud." Would you like to have God’s strength in your life? The Bible says that the secret of spiritual power is to walk humbly before the Lord, to realize you have to depend on him.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The Phillips translations says, "Happy are those who know their need for God, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs!" All that God has to offer is available to the person who walks humbly before the Lord. All that God has to offer belongs to us when we live in dependence before the Lord.

The fact is that every one of us need Jesus Christ in our life. If you walk out of here saying, "I don’t need God in my life to make it - then good luck! You’ll have to solve all of your problems by your own ability and strength, and you’ll soon wonder why you’re tired all of the time and why you’re not happy. When you walk before the Lord and say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Apart from him I can do nothing" when you have that attitude - then God will give you power to work on those problems you’ve tried to change and couldn’t, those areas of your life you tried to get control of and can’t, those relationships that are falling apart and you can’t do anything about. That’s what it means to be poor in spirit: trusting God in your life and being humble enough to admit that you need God’s help. It is a first step toward happiness.

Circumstances constantly change, and are never perfect. However, our peace and happiness can be constant when we are humble enough to admit our dependence on God. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their’s is the Kingdom of God!