For a few weeks now I’ve been exploring the Beatitudes in Matthew. I have found that God has given me opportunities to live them through life circumstances. This might be cliché, but for me, this was the first time I approached the Beatitudes as “attitudes” that God desires for us.
God is impressing upon me the importance of my attitude in general, especially my attitude about work. Like any job, mine has its pros and cons; however, lately the cons have been definitely on the forefront of my mind. God made us for work, and I have found that the past few weeks, the beatitudes are particularly relevant to the mindset I can have toward my job. I desire to honor the Lord in my profession; however, the cares of this world seem to choke out that desire at times. I’ve found that not only does my attitude affect my ability to honor God at work; it also affects my ability to do my job well. Therefore, I’m learning that in order to live out these principles in my life, I must be the one to guard my attitude about work. If not, the results are negative attitudes and outcomes in my work life. The Beatitudes; therefore, provide ways for me to protect myself from negativity. Posts on all the separate beatitudes, and how they influence our work will follow this entry.
Beatitude #1:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Poor in spirit means to recognize what one is lacking in spiritually. Basically, it is to humble yourself to see you are in need of God’s intervention. Obviously, the heart of the Gospel is that we need God’s forgiveness. In His amazing judgment and love for us, He provided a way for us to have that forgiveness through Christ. Recognition of your need for God is crucial for salvation.
For work, I have come to the point that I absolutely need God’s help, not only in my daily duties there, but also in my attitude toward it. Even though I am imparted the righteousness of Christ, that doesn’t make my attitude completely pure toward what I do. I still struggle with my sin nature. I still struggle with my flesh. So, this beatitude is particularly helpful for me. I long for Christ to help me with my attitude. I ask Him to help me remember that I can’t do my job without His power. The Holy Spirit is called my Helper. However, I still have to submit to the Holy Spirit with my heart. He helps change my attitude from negative to positive. But, it requires a humble, “I can’t do this on my own” kind of response to the Lord.
Humility is also important just in approaching any kind of work. You need humility to submit to your boss. You need humility to not assert yourself wrongly to achieve favor, status, or a higher pay. You need humility to serve those whom your work benefits. You need humility to take responsibility and admit when you have made a mistake at work, intentionally or unintentionally.
The promise in this beatitude is that you will receive the kingdom of heaven. Humility results in reward. It may not be in this life. But God promises it to those who are poor in spirit. I have found that it often will result is some sort of reward in this life as well. Having a humble attitude at work causes me to find respect in the eyes of my employer. It helps me reconcile conflicts at work. The rewards may not be tangible, but they bring me peace and joy in a career that can be anything but at times. They indeed make me “blessed” in and from my work. I know my reward will be the kingdom, both now and then. His promise has proven true, as I seek to submit to Him and His way of living life.
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