Blessed More and Rich in Faith

James 2:5 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not G-d

chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and

heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to

them that love him?


Yesterday's post took a look at one passage where

Jesus taught his disciples about the meaning of

being blessed. Funny, isn't it, that given the

modern mood, people would likely say that if you

were subject to the 'blessings' that Jesus

mentions in Matthew 5, that your life is cursed.

Am I missing something here? When Jesus taught

the disciples, did he really mean that you are

blessed when you live a life of ease and everyone

is your friend, when you are getting over on the

unwary, when you have a comfy middle-class

lifestyle? It sure looks like he was telling the

disciples that there is another dimension to this

life that transcends material well being. You'd

have to imagine that in the days when Jesus was

traveling around the country with his disciples,

that most of the population were relatively poor.

Yet from the scene that's recorded when Jesus

chased the money changers from the temple, things

were not all that different than they are now.

The temptation of dishonest gain is ever present.

And then there is the example of Judas Iscariot,

who sold his soul for thirty pieces of silver.

It's hard to imagine, after all that he saw, he

would choose to sell out. But it provides a

contrasting illustration about the meaning of

being blessed.


Later in the day, I was looking through the

newspaper and found a couple interesting stories.

For the most part, newspapers avoid printing

stories that conflict with our sense of

entitlement. But someone slips up and a story

gets into print once in a while. This was a

story about a family living in India, and their

lifestyle, in what we would consider deprivation.


If you ever travel outside the western world, you

have an opportunity to see that much of the

world's population has a standard of living that

is well below what we take for granted here in

the U.S. Even the poorest here, are better off

than in most places around the world. I haven't

been to every corner of the globe, but I've seen

as much as I'd like to see. From the stories

that I've heard tell, traveling to the corners of

the globe is a stressful and frightening

experience for some Americans. Living standards

in many places are less than they can bear. And

it clues me in on the significance of the

blessings that Jesus taught. A man's life

doesn't consist of what he owns.


Luke 12:15 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware

of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not

in the abundance of the things which he

possesseth.


Since I was a younger man when I was able to see

other places, it helped to shape my view of

things here. Because of that experience, I find

that I don't share the sense of entitlement that

seems to be so much a part of the modern mood.

There is a preoccupation with money that serves

only to entertain a strange sense of fantasy.

And you're seen as odd if you don't share that

fantasy. The real American Dream isn't about the

fantasy of the good life, it's about liberty.

And if anything is obvious, that dream has been

lost. Yeah, in a sense, it's an existential

version of Milton's Paradise Lost, to the degree

that men really are not well equiped to enjoy the

benefits and reject the temptations offered by

liberty. It will make an interesting history

lesson some day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost


I like to see stories about people from other

places, because it makes me appreciate that my

situation isn't as bad it could be. I get no

sense of superiority from seeing the misery that

others experience. What I enjoy was given me by

those who came before. They shared a dream about

making a better life for everyone who would dare

to live in cooperative independence. That dream

is fading away, based on what I see happening in

the present. Like Judas, there are many who are

willing to sell out for a few pieces of silver.

It's a pitiful ransom for the loss of liberty.

It reminds me of the natives trading Manhattan

Island for a few trinkets. As far as we've gone,

it's still better than most alternatives. And

the hope of a better future for the next

generation is still alive, even though the odds

seem to be getting slimmer. So, whenever I begin

to think that things are not heading in the right

direction, I like to be reminded that it could be

much worse.


Most of the time, I don't even want to make any

observations about what goes on around me. The

status quo has become so completely deranged that

it's almost impossible to think of anything

positive to say about it. When you do, you're

labeled a doom and gloomer. Well, when you look

a little farther than your nose, you see that for

most of the world, doom and gloom is the normal

routine, and are forced to question the urgent

impulse that so many share to take all of us to

that level of deprivation. It's not all that

complicated to see that we are on a dangerous

trajectory. Popular fantasy just gets in the way

of seeing any of the warning signs. We're too

impressed with our own careless ease. That makes

it tough to question the assumptions.


As I see it, that's exactly what Jesus was trying

to teach his disciples. He wanted them to look

beyond a desire to enjoy the admiration of the

crowds, and their longing for the kind of quick

fix that entertains the fantasy of a utopian

existence. They wanted Jesus to fix all of their

problems in this life, and Jesus wanted them to

see that this life really isn't about this life,

it's about what lies ahead; the kingdom of G-d.

You see, you really are blessed when you finally

begin to realize that the thing you most want to

find here, is not found here, it's found in the

kingdom of heaven.


So, if that's the case, then the best thing that

can happen to a man in this life is to know only

unending misery.( Ever heard of Job? ) When he

finally sees that this life cannot produce that

which he desires most, then he is freed to enter

the kingdom of heaven. That's the advantage that

the poor have, and the wealthy can hardly know.

They are released from the fantasy that they can

have it all now. It's a hellish fantasy.


Doom and gloom? You decide. Jesus taught us

what it really means to be blessed. My only

point is that we ought to be paying attention to

what he says.


Besides the plight of those suffering deprivation

and hunger in India, I saw a story about a

self-styled messiah living right here in the good

ol' USA. I didn't know that there were any. But

if you read your Bible, you know that Jesus

warned that many would come in his name, saying

that they are the messiah. Whooda thunk it?


Matthew 24

23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is
Christ, or there; believe it not.

24For there shall arise false Christs, and false

prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders;

insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall

deceive the very elect.

25Behold, I have told you before.

26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold,

he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is

in the secret chambers; believe it not.

27For as the lightning cometh out of the east,

and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the

coming of the Son of man be.

28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the

eagles be gathered together.


Matthew 24:28 is a strange idiom, but I take it

to mean that Jesus said that it will be obvious

to believers when he returns, and not to be

fooled by the imposters. Maybe it's just me, but

I am totally baffled why anyone would even want

to make the claim to be a messiah. I mean that's

a heavy burden to bear. If someone came up to me

and said that they were the messiah, the first

question that comes to mind is to ask if they

have been taking their meds. There is one and

only one Jesus. Oh, yeah, one other minor

technicality. He has to be of the tribe of

Judah, the seed of David. Scripture contains

everything that we need to know about him. Are

you paying attention?


Scripture takes a view of what it takes to be

happy and blessed. That view requires that we

are rich in faith. It's the idea that eternity

has a greater significance than the trinkets of

this temporal existence, and that requires faith.