Be-ATTITUDES

Every preacher has probably preached on the Beatitudes at some point in their time in the pulpit. There are probably a few people who can even quote them.  A lot of people reading the Gospel of Matthew probably skim over these nine verses just to get past them since the passage is so familiar.  The verses can even be found on knick-nacks at a discount store. Nothing here to waste time on.  HOLD ON a minute, turns out Jesus had a lot to say about the ATTITUDES prevalent in our society right now. There are more solutions in this passage than in any other media available.  What? Well, take a better look at it ONE VERSE AT A TIME.

Matthew 5:3-11 are the BE - ATTITUDES…

1) BE POOR IN SPIRIT – Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

How do you think of yourself?  In humility or pride? If in humility, then what form of humility?

There is vanity when one considers how much was sacrificed in giving.  Being proud of how much offering was given or how wonderful it was of us to give those groceries to the needy.  Being proud of how “un-wealthy” we are is just as bad as King Midas counting every one of his gold coins.

Be poor but not proud.  Job was as thankful for the “taking away”; as he was for “the giving”!

Be humble and lowly.  Matthew Henry puts it this way:  “accommodate ourselves to our poverty…not in pride or prejudice….not throwing away what God has given us…be as little children in our opinion of ourselves…”

2) BE MOURNFUL – Receive comfort

Has this verse ever been used for anything other than during the occasion of the death of someone?

We are to be mournful.  Not the sorrow of life in this world but mournful over sin.  We must feel the sorrowfulness for our sins.  Sins which were paid for by the high cost of a blood sacrifice.  Mournful enough that we are apologetic for our sinful nature. Life must be lived in repentance.

There is a second reason for being mournful.  We need to have sorrow for the sins of others.  Do you feel the sorrow watching your fellow man wallow in his depravity?  Jesus did.  That is why he blessed those who mourn.  In Luke 19:41, Jesus wept over Jerusalem and its “state/condition”.

3) BE MEEK - and inherit the earth

This word IS NOT even a part of our vocabulary today.  What does it mean?  You have heard the expression: “Google it”.  Well do that and you will find this definition:

 “quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive”

That entire definition is so opposed to what is broadcasted from every angle of culture and society.  Look for an example of a person around that fits this description of being meek.  How many can you list?

For a follower of God, this one should hit them in some sensitive areas of their lifestyle and attitudes. What a directive on how a child of God should live and conduct themselves daily. It is also a VERY SIMPLE answer from God on how we should be reacting to the strange chaos we are finding ourselves living in today.

Then there is submissive.  An entire paper can be written on that.  Submission is expected to both authority here on earth and in heaven.  We are expected to be submissive in our homes, marriages, jobs, and authorities.

This is “Quiet Submission” to God and man. Not boastful about that submission or humility.  Calling attention to the fact that you are being submissive is false humility.  Titus 3:1-2 dictates that we are to be gentle in dealings with the evil of men.  Not allowing ourselves to being provoked.  OUCH, does that mandate what our reaction is to look like?

4) BE HUNGRY AND THIRSTY FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS – and you will be filled

Thriving constantly for purity.  Not for perfection.  When are you hungry?  Have you ever missed more than one meal?  Your stomach starts talking to you.  When you have that kind of desire for God’s Word and for being in the presence of God you are getting closer.  Unlike eating food, you will never reach a full “stomach” until you are standing before the throne of God.  Our goal is to be as much like Jesus as possible without the self-righteousness displayed by the Pharisee in scripture.

5) BE MERCIFUL – and you will obtain mercy

How quick are we to snap a response at the actions of those we see on media today? We are very quick at pronouncing our judgment.  This does not mean or dictate we condone a sinful life style.  A sinful life will send the soul to Hell. Period, end of story!  BUT, there is NO SOUL THAT IS NOT ABLE TO BE SAVED! 

How much do we assume the afflictions, problems or needs of others?  To little time in our seemingly busy schedule to bother with them.  Where is the compassion and care for our fellow man?  Scripture is filled with examples of mercy.  There were those who lowered their friend through the roof just to be healed.  Boaz allowed Ruth to get food from his fields.  It is also filled with those who treated lepers as outcasts and did not show mercy.  Which form of mercy do you display?

6) BE PURE IN HEART – and you will see God

Cleanliness of the heart.  If your heart has never made a commitment to Christ, then none of this will mean anything to you.  The first thing needed is a heart that has been totally surrendered to God and has agreed to Him being the master of everything.  Once that has happened, priorities begin to change and these Be-Attitudes begin to make sense.

7) BE A PEACEMAKER – to be called the children of God

Are we striving to obtain peaceful solutions or are we always an instigator to say or do something to cause dissention or unrest.

8) BE RIGHTEOUS AND PREPARED FOR PERSECUTION

This covers both blatant persecution and the suffering that comes as a result of standing for the righteousness of God. Persecution WILL COME for adherence to righteousness!

Those living in America have not known true persecution. Are they prepared for it?  There are those who have given their lives for the Gospel.  Persecution can come in many forms from simple name calling and false accusations. However, are you prepared for persecution that results in not having food on the table or a home to live?  How about the loss of a job to pay the bills UNLESS you agree to a lifestyle or organization that denies Biblical principles?

Remaining true to convictions and righteousness is the most difficult of all these.  Being rooted in God’s word will be the greatest weapon available to the children of God.

Each of these BE-ATTITUDES builds upon one another. They were not spoken by Jesus to be used as just another common liturgy or as a cute plague on the wall of an office. Better read them slowly again and pay more careful attention to them before quoting them.

Revising The Three R's - Part 1: RESPECT

There was a time when the emphasis on instruction was a focus on teaching the three R’s:  Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.  At our point in history those three R’s have now changed but we need to get back to stressing their importance. The Three R’s that need to be emphasized:

RESPECT – RESPONSIBILITY – REVERENCE

Do these three exist in our world today?  What are they and why are they of any importance?

RESPECT

What is Respect?

Society puts high importance on Academia, so let’s see what their definition of the word is.  Two well established dictionaries define the word as follows.

From Merriam-Webster dictionary:

“An act of giving particular attention: CONSIDERATION”

“To consider worthy of high regard: ESTEEM”

From Oxford dictionary:

“A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or

achievements.”

“Due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others”

Those definitions are great stand alone statements which do not appear to bring up any issues in themselves.  With that reasoning, then there should be no issue with the single word that those statements define.   Somewhere along with the passage of time, the definition has come to be broaden to include some other words: desires, wishes, sin and immorality.

Just because respect can be defined as “regards for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others”. Does that mean that all morality and sense of correctness is tossed aside? Items that are detrimental to the life, safety and well-being do not need to be allowed in order to provide respect.  Decline in morality today stems from the huge importance placed decades ago on defending “the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others”.  Tolerance and Deference have both been misrepresented in attempts to provide respect.

Tolerance

Respect is often tied to the word tolerance.  Society screams for tolerance for opposing view points and ideas.  In order to provide for tolerance, society has made an allowance for blatant sinful living. When tolerance allows items that affect others in a manner that is unnatural to the laws of God; it has become a shield for making sin permissible when needed in order to respect the “…feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.”

On the subject of respect; tolerance does not dictate an allowance for disrespect being shown to people or things that should automatically receive that respect.  There are many examples of this, but let’s deal with a simple example that is far too common today.  That is respect or the lack of it being shown to the flag of a country.

By definition a flag is a representation or symbol for a country.  Regardless of personal beliefs or political opinions; as a citizen of a country RESPECT is owed to the flag.  It is a symbol to represent the country.  Lives are lost fighting to defend it.  There is also a REVERANCE when offering RESPECT to the flag.  The “awe” of what has taken place to enable its citizens to stand there in FREEDOM to view that flag.  The prices paid in life and liberty does not give an allowance for disrespect.

In many cultures that disrespect could lead to the loss of liberty and even life. Disrespect for a flag gives the appearance (intended or not) of disrespect for what that flag represents and the millions who have died to defend it.  To not salute is an act of childish rebellion and is no different than a child telling a parent they refuse to do something.

This is but a small example to illustrate how tolerance has destroyed respect.  With more respect being shown there becomes less dependence upon tolerance.

Deference - Respect for others

Deference is a huge portion of Respect.  Deferring to others in an attitude of humbleness that places the other person FIRST IN EVERYTHING regardless of how it may inconvenience you or interfere with what you are doing at that very specific moment.  It is the act of placing that individual in highest esteem regardless.  Esteem others higher than yourself.  If there is a question, the other person always comes first in every action or reaction during the course of the day.

This can be seen in the simple illustration of the act of opening a door for someone.  Regardless of the individual’s sex, age or gender there is a statement being made.  The other person SHOULD be BEFORE me.  I will step to the side in humility and let them proceed uninterrupted in their busy day.  Allowing someone to go ahead of you in a waiting line creates the same effect.  By doing this, the other individual is being elevated to show how important they are.  Not doing so shows an indication of how little others are esteemed and in how high regard we hold our self above the other person.

There are examples every day.  Watch vehicle drivers cutting one another off in traffic instead of practicing patience and waiting.  Pedestrians walking into the path of vehicle traffic without concern because they are busy on an electronic device.  The attitude being displayed is “traffic will stop for me, if not I’ll sue them”.  Where does the attitude originate?  It comes from a lack of respect for another individual.  Placing more importance upon ones self without any amount of humility. 

It is seldom, but we do see respect in some areas of society.   There is the quiet or hush that happens moments before an “important person” steps to a microphone.  Respect is often displayed from a crowd at a sacred monument or service. However, it has all but disappeared in other areas of life. Where has it gone? It belongs in all areas of daily life.  All interactions of the day that involve another human being demands and dictates RESPECT being shown to others.

What does God think of Respect?

Genesis 4:4-5 - God showed “respect” for Abel’s offering but not for Cain’s

Why did God have respect for Abel’s and not Cain’s?  Abel did what was due to the “God of Creation” and out of respect he gave his best in offering.  Cain instead offered second rate gifts as something he had to do.  He was wrong!  He would ultimately pay for that decision to disrespect the offering due to the Almighty!

Today, we do the same thing as Cain.  We do not offer our best.  We give second rate effort in everything.  We do not have any respect for the fact that God or any other individual deserves it simply because of who they are. Then our attitude even turns to one that expects to be protected from any results of our laziness and doing wrong.  We then; like Cain, will take our vengeance out on those that did what was correct or proper.

Romans 12:10 (NIV)  “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

(KJV) - “….in honor preferring one another.”

Philippians 2:3  “…in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

According to God, others are MORE IMPORTANT than ourselves!  So why do anything to promote self or personal agenda?   That would be the most foolish, self-centered, hypocritical, sinful thing to accomplish  while living on this planet.

1 Peter 2:13-17 says:

“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.  As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.  Honour all men.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God. Honour the king.”

(continued on Part 2) (all verses King James unless noted)

Revising The Three R's - Part 2: RESPONSIBILITY

RESPONSIBILITY

This word is often defined in reference to responsibility as being something that is given to an individual.  As we can see with the examples of parents giving responsibility to children or an employer who gives additional responsibility to a subordinate. There is more to responsibility than that.  There must be a move to understand that responsibility must be taken upon oneself.

Definition:

Merriam-Webster defines responsibility as:  “The quality or state of being responsible: such as a moral, legal, or mental accountability.  RELIABILITY, TRUSTWORTHINESS”

Cambridge Dictionary defines the word as: “Good judgment and the ability to act correctly and make decisions on your own.”

Responsibility as we see it today

There are many examples in our world today of people not willing to take on responsibility for their actions. Look at the warning labels that companies must place on cleaning products to state that eating the product may cause harm.  There was the lawsuit against a restaurant chain for coffee being “too hot”. At some point, humans decided to throw out their responsibility for personal actions taken.  People began to believe that there was nothing to take responsibility for.  The consequences of actions taken could be left as the fault of others.  It got easier to hire a lawyer to sue than to acknowledge one’s own simple stupidity.

There was a small story in the news as this was being composed.  Public libraries in a particular U.S. state were set to begin removing fine penalties.  The change was to prevent offending low income individuals who do not pay the fines.  Instead of addressing the lack of responsibility to simply turn the books in.  There would be no need to be fined. There was more concern with offending someone in a particular society labeled economic class than there was to fine laziness.

Media takes the lead in emphasizing responsibility is not important. Often advertisements for credit card companies attempt to get more clients by promising customers: “Don’t feel guilty, it’s not your fault you are in debt….get our card”. It is an individual’s choice to keep purchasing on credit. If it is done then responsibility for that debt is that of the borrower. It is the borrower’s fault to be in debt!

Have things changed?

It may come as a surprise to many to see how often this topic is discussed in scripture.  Scripture has many examples of individuals attempting to shift responsibility for the actions they took and blame the guilt of those consequences on someone else.

The Blame Game Club started all the way back at the beginning after creation.  Here is a list of members of this club.

Adam blamed Eve and indirectly God for giving the woman to him - Genesis 3:12

Eve blamed the serpent for making her taste the fruit - Genesis 3:13

Sarah blames Abram for having a child with a handmaid that Sarah herself gave him – Genesis 16:5

Aaron blamed it on the entire Israelite people for HIS decision to build the idol - Exodus 32:22

Saul blamed the people for his own disobedience to following God’s directives – 1 Samuel 15:20

It does not end there.  Jump to the New Testament Gospels and find:

Pilate believed the simple act of washing his hands dissolved him of any responsibility in the death of “a just man”.  He found Jesus innocent but yet condemned Him!  The crowd on the other hand acknowledged that they were accepting the responsibility for his death!

Peter denied the Lord and did not accept responsibility of being a follower of Christ.  However, he later accepted the fact that he denied the Lord and accepted responsibility for doing so and took on himself leadership in the upper room.  In contrast, Judas could not accept responsibility for his deed and hung himself.

Responsibility Rewarded

The Bible deals with responsibility when it addresses the sin of man and man’s rewards for what he has done.

Proverbs 12:14 “The recompence of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.”

Isaiah 3:11  “Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”

Isaiah 5:15 “The mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled…”

Jeremiah 32:19  “…to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

Galatians 6:7 “...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

1 Corinthians 3:8  “…every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labor.”

 A burden or a duty

Galatians 6:2-5  “Bear ye one anothers burdens….let every man prove his own work….every man shall bear his own burden.”

Contradiction? No, we are to go out of our way to help make the life of others easier, but while doing so, we need to be continually testing what we ourselves are doing.  Are we doing all we can do?  Are we doing the best we can so that we do not end in a position where we need to have help from someone else to carry our burden.

Jesus “shouldered” the burden of the cross.  He took on the responsibility of a death on Calvary for us.  If he could do that, what small thing is it for his children to take upon themselves responsibility for their actions?

(continued on Part 3)           (All scripture King James unless noted)