Being “blessed” comes from my attitude
Matthew 5:1–12; Luke 6:20–26
As we saw last week, when Jesus says a person is “blessed”, it is not the Greek word for receiving a gift; it means being content in all circumstances; being grateful despite your suffering; being happy in the truest and fullest sense but, as Aristotle said, it is not a feeling and it does not happen in just one day or one moment.
A blessed life is slowly built through imitating and developing the attitude of Jesus. Fortunately for us, both Matthew and Luke record and give us two different perspectives on Jesus' attitudes.
20 Then looking up at His disciples, He said:
You who are poor are blessed, because the kingdom of God is yours.
21 You who are now hungry are blessed, because you will be filled.You who now weep are blessed, because you will laugh.
22 You are blessed when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.
24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry.Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.
Luke 6:20-26
We see the true blessed life is directly connected to our character and attitudes. This is because life is built on character, character is built on the choices you make every single day, decisions are based on values, and all values must be accepted by faith.
We see this requires both salvation and practice and those who don’t see the connection, Jesus says, “woe to them” because faith is not just believing the right thing or just doing certain things; it is an inside-out transformation of your heart with the goal of being a better person: like Jesus.
1. My attitude toward my self & my sin
"The one who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe."
Proverbs 28:26
Your life is built on your character and your character is built upon choices you make and those decisions reveal the values you hold dear. All of this defines and shapes who you are. This is why your attitudes must not be left to chance, you must choose your values.
But how do we choose our values? By choosing a standard and, for us, that’s God’s word and God’s will. We need a standard because we all have physical drives, passions, and emotions which lead to just plain old stupidity. Ex: robbers with magic marker
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5–6
Last week we saw that being blessed begins with being “poor in spirit” which is accepting you are a sinner. You must admit you are prone to selfishness and that the sin you allow in and around your life can destroy you and those you love which is why we also need to be meek.
Meekness is not weakness. Being meek is the practice of having your own power under control but you can’t control something (like your thoughts or emotions) unless you acknowledge they can’t be trusted. This is why scripture says we can’t trust what our hearts tell us.
Of course, today some people say, “God wants me to follow my heart! That’s just OT-angry-God stuff.” But that’s not true. Jesus goes further,
“…from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, self-indulgence, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a person.'"
Mark 7:20–23
This is why Jesus wants us to change from within. We are commanded to trust Jesus and have compassion for those who are confused about who they are and who they should be.
2. My attitude towards others
For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.
Gal. 1:10
We are warned to not fall into the trap of living for the sake of others but you must also not hate or neglect others either. It is this balance that is so difficult. On the one hand, we want to be liked. EX: We don’t want people to be angry with us so we sometimes err by ignoring sin.
The problem with this plan is that if you ignore sin long enough, it becomes normal. Once it becomes normal, sin becomes a joke. If we laugh about sin, it’s not a big deal but Jesus said,
Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep.
Luke 6:20-26
Jesus tells us we should not laugh at the sin around us because this attitude is evil. If you treat sin like a joke, your children will pretend sin is not a big deal and, if it’s not a big deal, what’s the harm in trying it out? If they fall into sin, you will mourn because it may lead them away from the faith. If we placate or condone the sin around us, we are no longer the salt of the earth.
Immediately after the beatitudes, Jesus warns that if no one is ever offended, you are not standing for God’s truth and you are not doing your job.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.”
Matt 5:13
Jesus’ point is that, if sin flourishes around you, your faith is worthless. The answer is to stand on truth and love the sinner but not the sin. Sin is evil. All sin, no matter how small, corrupts and woe to those who don’t see it. And, if you are doing your job by trying to help people understand, you will inevitably offend some people but that shouldn’t matter because of...
3. My attitude towards God & the world He created
All values are accepted by faith. Ex: If you believe all people are equal, there is no physical law to prove it. It is based on faith in something. If you believe that men and women are equal in value, physically there is no way to prove it. It is based on faith. So, where is their faith?
Every time someone says that something is wrong or right or evil or good, they are making a statement that has nothing to do with logic, it is grounded faith. The fact is that different nations and cultures disagree. Different individuals disagree. There is no people-group on the planet that agrees on everything and yet each group claims they have the truth on their side.
Ex: When a socialist says we need to eat the rich, the rich disagree. For every old grumpy Baptist who thinks playing cards is a sin, there are others who disagree. It doesn’t matter what you think or feel, at the end of the day, value and worth are in the eye of the beholder unless there is a metaphysical, otherworldly reason to believe it. Ex: evolution tells us we are all just animals with meaningless lives because chance, like rolling dice, does not have meaning.
We believe we have purpose because created things have purpose. We believe people have inherent value because we are made in the image of God. We believe that our bodies are made good because God said he made our bodies to be good. We believe the earth is good and should be protected because we are told in scripture that God created the earth and gave it to us as a gift.
Of course, I can’t show you a chart to prove God created purpose. I can’t show you a fossil that proves God gave us consciousness. I can’t find the archaeology to prove we were made good or that the earth is a gift. I believe it on faith but so does the atheist.
Spiritualists, Wiccans, and so on can’t prove their faith any more than we can. Atheists can’t prove consciousness is an emergent property any more than we can. You know why? Because the scientific method demands two key ingredients: the ability to observe and test an hypothesis, this is because science can only deal with what is, not what ought to be.
This is why atheism among other views can’t be proven in the scientific sense; none of us were there at the moment of creation and it can’t be repeated or tested. Of course, we can all argue and reason for our beliefs, but none of us can prove it which means we are all taking our view on faith and that is why people get so angry; when you disagree it is an attack on their faith.
4. The road is difficult but the destination is worth it
All ethics, morality, and values must be chosen by faith. Plato even argued that if he was in charge of a city he would invent a myth in order to control meaning and morality which is exactly what the devil does but we are different. We do not create truth, we submit to it.
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Hebrews 11:6
Jesus ends his beatitudes with rewards. This is because life and obedience to God are difficult but we are given hope in the future based on the rewards found in heaven.
Jesus said, “You are blessed when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man.”
Jesus warned us ahead of time that some people would even say we are evil all because we believe what Jesus said. Today, in Iowa City, the schools celebrate religious festivals and honor religious holidays but they exclude Easter and Christmas.
Today, the University recognizes and teaches a limitless number of genders because the DSM states that gender is “mulit-dimensional.” We are insulted and accused of hate and even worse, we are called evil and hated simply for believing what scripture says about gender.
We are hated for standing on the same truth Jesus did; God’s truth. Of course, scripture teaches we are to live as peaceably as possible with those outside the church but we are also commanded to never affirm or placate or applaud or encourage sin. Paul says,
"Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them."
Ephesians 5:11
And if someone says, “that is not very loving!” We respond with God’s word,
"Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth."
1 Corinthians 13:6
Those outside the church don’t understand that we disagree and tell them because we love them.
…they flaunt their sin. They do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought evil on themselves…Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them, for what they have done will be done to them.
Is 3:9-11
We do not condemn the world; it condemns itself. Isaiah explains that they will bring upon themselves the very evil God warned them to avoid. God warns us because he loves us.
This is why when you come to church, I don’t preach hate or condemn the world. I warn you to be better, to do better, and to try harder. We don’t expect the world to agree but we will not pretend that sin is good or ignore hard topics to avoid controversy and for that we will be hated.
Those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven…
Mt 5:10–12
The hard part for you and me is to know how to navigate this life, and the sin around us, while still remaining faithful to God’s word but the answer isn’t pretending sin is not a big deal. It’s found in a godly attitude towards your own sinfulness, your attitude towards others, and our attitude and trust in God’s grace and rewards. If you believed being hated was actually worth it, you wouldn’t be so hesitant to have that hard conversation with a loved one.
I love the Christian philosopher G. K. Chesterton. He received a lot of heat for defending the faith and he said, ‘I like getting into hot water. It keeps you clean!’
What we all need to pray about is how we can live our faith and stand for truth while trying hard to not be jerks about it. How do we stand for God’s word but not shove our truth down people’s throats? The answer is our attitudes.
As we continue on next week, we will look at what righteousness actually means and how we can walk that line in a way that honors God and prepares us for whatever comes.
pray
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