When I was a teenager, my oldest brother was already married. I was the “last” child at home and I must admit I was drawn to my two brothers and what they thought and how they lived. My oldest brother was delighted one Christmas to receive a tee-shirt that said, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” I thought, at that time, it was so funny. As I reflect o nit now, I realize it was merely a symptom of the time – accumulation of material possessions in many forms. I will say that my brother didn’t have a lot of “stuff”, but he was very interested in building his assets and ego. Let’s be clear here, that was a long time ago and we have all grown and changed.

With that said, this reading reminded me of those days. There was not much time spent on self-reflection, especially on our flaws. We lacked the maturity to understand this verse. For us, the thought that “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” seemed absurd and simply not to be believed. How could this be? Quite a paradox!

However, maturity guides us to clarity. We discover that spiritual poverty is not about possessions or financial situations. Spiritual poverty is a deep humble awareness of our need, our desperate need for God. Some would even say “spiritual bankruptcy”. We must depend, not on ourselves, but solely on God. We must be humble and ask for His help. It might feel hard to say, but we are accepting that we will need God for everything. Without God, we are spiritually empty. Perhaps the hardest part of being humble is letting go of worldly things – status, wealth, ego. We must make room to receive the gifts God has for us – grace, love, fulfillment, true blessings.

So today, I ask you, “Where is your heart? What fills your heart? In Matthew 6:21 we are challenged by these words, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Where or what is your treasure? What makes you feel blessed and rich? If things are a part of that equation for you, do these things make your proud and/or arrogant? Do they make you feel complete? Do you still feel vulnerable? Or, when you truly look at the “stuff” in your life, are you trying to conceal or hide behind your flaws?

Hopefully, you have grown to know spiritual poverty and reach out to God for a path that is quite different and leads us to the kingdom of heaven. Letting go of worldly attachments and recognizing our utter dependence on God requires profound humility and “letting go”.

Oh, and that tee-shirt I told you about earlier, there was a follow-up tee-shirt revealing the futility of gathering more and more; “He who dies with the most toys still dies.” It’s a sobering thought for sure.

I’m taking a long, hard look at my life and heart today. I believe that God requires me to be humble, to recognize the emptiness and the extreme need for Him. My heart’s desire is to be filled by God’s grace and to know that we all need God, not “stuff”. Suddenly, the kingdom of heaven belonging to the “poor in spirit” no longer seems absurd.

Lord, our God… grant us the grace, love and open hearts to understand the path you require us to travel. Help us to recognize that our hearts and treasure must align. Reveal our many over-looked blessings and remind us our true blessings are far more important than “stuff”. Remind us God what you require of us and of our lives. We ask these things in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Lisa Blackwood.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.