You See Poverty, We See Grace (Matthew 5:5)

Scripture
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." 
Matthew 5:5

Blessed (Fortunate) are the meek (humble), for they shall inherit (will obtain through inheritance) the earth (from among those of the earth).

TAKE AWAYS
  • This is a great passage for those who preach the prosperity gospel, if you don't mind ignoring the life and message of Jesus. He is not talking about material possessions here.
  • Blessed, yes, but in peace and contentment rather than in stuff, even good stuff! Translating it as "fortunate" also conveys the idea that it is not our effort that is bringing this about, but it is God's. 
  • Also, translating meek as "humble" seems appropriate. Often when we think of the idea of meek, we connect it to weakness. I don't think we need to be weak to be meek or humble, in fact, I believe it takes great strength to be humble.
  •  Jesus has so much to say about humility. He was humble. (Matthew 21:5) I don't ever see Jesus as being weak. Now the leaders He confronted, that is another story. They were so full of pride, but yet so weak in faith and character.
  • Also, translating shall inherit to "will obtain through inheritance" seems to be a better interpretation based on my Greek dictionary reference, and more in line with what I believe Jesus would have said. As children of God we have an inheritance based on the gift of sonship through Jesus.
  • Lastly, I would translate the earth to "from among those of the earth," Perhaps it is my distaste for the way that this verse could be used by the prosperity gospel preachers that guides me here, but to me, this fits better with the overall theme of the message. Rather than inheriting a planet, the heirs come from those of the planet.

APPLICATION
  • The difference in interpretation makes a huge difference in our understanding of what Jesus was saying. We go from the idea that  control of the earth will eventually be given to those who are currently under oppression, (this includes the idea that those who are in power currently will now be our subjects, and seems to be in line with the idea of social justice) to the idea that those who are truly humble are those who will given the kingdom of God through the act of God adopting us as sons and daughters. Which message fits better with your understanding of Jesus?
  • Even as I write this, I chanced upon a song and heard the lyrics, "You (the world) see poverty, we (the redeemed) see grace. That is humility, when we what God has given us in light of His ultimate purpose for us rather than in light of what our own desires are. That is humility. That takes strength.

PRAYER
I pray for a humble spirit. I pray that my understanding of Scripture is based on the truth of what God intends me to know rather than what I want it to say. I pray that a right understanding of the intentions of God found in Scripture will guide my understanding of His word.

Bonus
This is the song I happened upon. Was it the YouTube algorithm or the Holy Spirit that chose this song at this moment? 

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