An Unbelievable Declaration

Are you feeling a touch worthless today?

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Darkness. Despair. Depression. The loss of everything. Nothing remains except perhaps a breath and a pulse. The heart has been wrung out like a damp rag. Every drop of hope has evaporated, and what remains?

Spiritual Poverty.

A recent Gallup poll is finding more adults are exhibiting symptoms of anxiety or depression than ever before in the history of the Gallup poll.

Seems about right.

They think this might be the next global pandemic – a worldwide mental health crisis.

So, here’s a lifeline tossed your way. Something more relevant and powerful than any of today’s headlines.

Let’s Begin.

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When it comes to fear and despair, you don’t have to participate. Politely decline the invitation. Tell all dark forces and moods that you will not be attending. You have something better to do.

Fear and worry may come close to taking us out, but there are things we can and should do every day to (a) reduce these problems if we have them or (b) prevent them if we don’t.

Take your vitamins. Yes, those vitamins, especially B’s and D3. And reduce empty calories as much as possible. Get outside. Take a walk. Take deep breaths. It costs you nothing.

Talk and share. You are not alone. Open up. Be honest. Make it your new normal.

Of course, you don’t have to tell everyone everything. In fact, no one recommends it.

You need some trustworthy people who can hold confidence and encourage you when you are down. And they need to be able to rely on you as well. This isn’t a one-way street.

Get rest when you can and make it a habit to turn off phones and computers before bedtime. I know it’s hard. I struggle with this one myself. But it’s important. Learn to just stop already.

Now, in that empty, annoying space where you feel your jitteriness, start a simple thank-you prayer.

Time for a Story.

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When Jesus was walking this earth back before cars and cell phones, he gathered a large following of mostly poor hopeless people. On the periphery of this mass of humanity stood some of the leaders. They were always around to make sure the masses didn’t get out of hand. This is because they knew that if the crowd ever attempted to break free, the Romans who controlled everything would probably crucify these leaders as a first act. To be a leader back then was basically feast or death. Not much middle ground.

So, basically those who followed Jesus around, other than his students, were the real poor and those trying to hold on to what power they had.  Not much different today except now, in our particular first-world society, there are a lot more of us who are not completely destitute — at least physically. We stand on the periphery mostly observing the misery of the world’s masses — and our greatest worry is we might join them.

With tons of people seeking to be close to Jesus who was healing everyone and periodically feeding them as the backdrop, we can now listen in to some of his words about the situation. This is what Jesus told his students as he looked out over a sea of needy people (at least this is my interpretation of Matthew 5:3):

“You know who the blessed ones here are? Those who don’t have anything at all, and the reason is because they have access to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Of course, this is meaningless to those on the periphery who have enough to keep them focused on accumulating more in this world. They believe that in order to survive in this dog-eat-dog life requires complete dedication and focus on the schedule, the bank account, and the book of references and leads. Avoid all distractions. Keep your eye solely on the target. There is not much room at the top of this pile of humanity, so don’t work too well with others. Remember, everyone is out to get you.

Of course, accumulation in this world, comes with a price.

First, it will be paid back. No one takes it with them to the next life, whether they believe in one or not. That’s an observable fact at every funeral. Whether you are pharaoh or a popper, everything remains here and eventually it falls apart or is transferred to someone else for their brief season of ownership.

The second price will be pulled out of your heart. It is the replacement of spiritual blessings like happiness, peace, joy, and true love with the miserable emotions described above – despair, depression, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, even in the midst of all the accumulated things that advertisers have constantly told us will make us completely and permanently happy. Advertising is just a form of lying after all.

So why are the spiritually poor blessed according to Jesus?

Because they are free of the world’s temptations and distractions keeping them from seeing that the kingdom of heaven exists right here and right now.

Only those with things here that seem critically important believe heaven is for another time.

On the other hand, those who willingly change their title from Owner to Caretaker of things receive full access to all that heaven can provide right now as well as for eternity.  

That’s what it means in the Lord’s Prayer when we say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We want heaven brought to earth right here and right now – smack dab in the midst of all the fears and problems surrounding us. In our spiritual poverty, we have secret access to a joy-filled life brought to us in God’s mighty Spirit.

And when I think about this, it just makes me giggle.

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