Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 5:3)

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 5:3)
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There were two friends,  one very rich and the other very poor.

For the outsiders the poor man seemed to be rich as he spent money lavishly using the rich man's purse.

But the rich man seemed to be poor as he spent money thriftily for himself, at the same time leaving his purse at the disposal of the poor man.

The poor man was very much attached to money, though it was not his. (He should have followed his friend.)

But the rich man was very
much detached from money though it was his.

The poor man was rich in spirit.

The rich man was poor in spirit.

Jesus is the Creator of the whole universe.

The whole universe belongs to Him.

But He chose poor Mary to be
His Mother.

When people created by Him were living in palaces and big houses Jesus chose a cattle stable to be born a human baby.

He chose a manger for bed.

"Jesus told him, 'Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air their resting-places; the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head'."( Luke.9:58)

We know that these words were said by Jesus Himself.

He became the poorest of the poor to save us from sin.

He was born poor, lived poor, died poor and buried poor.

He was born in a stable that was meant for cattle.

He was buried in a tomb that was meant for Joseph of Arimathea.

He Himself was poor in spirit before He taught us to be so

He didn't merely advise us to be poor in spirit, He practiced His precept Himself.

We call ourselves 'followers of Jesus'.

Do we really follow Him or go our own way, merely proclaiming ourselves to be His followers,?

Let us just compare our life style with that of Jesus to see if we are really following Jesus.

Some may argue that Jesus lived in the first century and we are living in the twenty first and times have changed.

Times may have changed, but neither Jesus nor His teachings have changed.

We sit in cushioned chairs and meditate on the crucifixion of Jesus!

We pray, "Give us our 'daily' bread"  at the same time amassing wealth to last for many generations!

We talk about the poverty of Jesus at the same time spending many crores on building Churches for Him!

In many Churches we have given one side of the Altar for our living Jesus, giving the centre of the Altar  to His worded message!

We spend thousands to celebrate the poor birth of Jesus!

Just for a few minutes thought:

"How much have you spent for Christmas dress?"

"Around twenty thousand."

"How much for Jesus?"

"For Jesus?"

"Yes. For the poor and needy around you."

"???"

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for

theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

If we are not poor in spirit?

Infer the answer from the words, "theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Lourdu Selvam.