P ♰ C

by Jean Allen

Ah…the impossible Beatitudes. They are so counter-culture in every age that, historically and up to this day, Christians have had a very difficult time incorporating them into their faith lives in a way that makes the rest of the world sit up and take notice. Yet, they are absolutely crucial to growth in the Spirit. What we are called to do is to absolutely be counter-culture – but in a way that is completely non-violent. That’s the part that trips us up every time because our egos thrive on violent reaction.

Man, does it feel good to get really angry about something. It makes us feel like we’re exercising some sort of control. Being angrily against something feels righteous and good, but the problem is, Jesus explicitly did not, and does not, ask us to try to control the values and actions of others, whether they’re of society as a whole or family members. He asks us to be meek, poor in spirit, merciful and pure in heart. 

Hungering and thirsting for righteousness means thirsting for one’s own righteousness, not the righteousness of everybody else around you. Don’t point out the splinter in another’s eye because you’ve definitely got a log blocking your own. Could you be called a peacemaker – or someone who reacts with heat if someone else crosses a perceived boundary? 

Please realize that the Beatitudes are a beautiful description of nature of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity calls us to nothing less than who they are themselves: meek, humble, merciful and so pure of heart that no anger and violence can find a home in them. They cannot be found making anything other than peace. If we can’t experience their peace, it’s because we are allowing our egos to dictate how we react. It’s not that we are ever pushed out of the Kingdom of God… 

…it’s simply that we have chosen to live in the smaller, cramped and more self-centered kingdom of Me.