How do you get what you want?

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:5; Psalm 37:3-11

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. And in order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.]

⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.   NIV

 

When my daughter was in high school, she wanted contact lenses. So, she wrote down, and presented to me, a list of all the reasons why it would be a good idea for her to have contacts. She correctly anticipated any objections that I might have… like the cost. Basically, she made a sales pitch to get what she wanted.

 

Different people use different methods to get what they want.

 

In the Old Testament, the Lord made a covenant with Abram and his descendants to give them the Promised Land. Only, it wasn’t like it was a vacant lot, or that they had a deed, or a bill of sale to show their rightful ownership. In fact, there were generations of people who lived there.

 

The Jews had to make a decision on how to get what they wanted; how to get their land. Would they remove the people by brute force or assimilate and adopt their culture and gods or trust the Lord?

 

When Jesus said the above beatitude, the verse that would have come to the mind of any self-respecting Jew was Psalm 37:11.

 

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.          NIV

 

This was an obvious reminder of the Promised Land, and was reinforced in the psalm with the words “dwell in the land” or “inherit the land” appearing seven times. But, there is also a strong emphasis on trusting the Lord, which is also mentioned seven times.

 

Unfortunately, the Jews had trouble trusting the Lord. You could say that it was a control issue or a pride issue or a sin issue or a doing anything to get what they want issue. These were all true of the Jews, and are true for us today.

 

Who then will “inherit the land”? The world tells us that it will be those with power; with money; with information; with strategic planning; with manipulation; with intimidation. Jesus tells us that it’s a matter of simple humility before the Lord.

 

⁵ God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.              NLT

 

With the Beatitudes, Jesus was turning the world upside down for his disciples. Today, Jesus is still turning the world upside down.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams