The Beatitudes - Laid forth by Jesus Christ

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We should all find comfort in this gem because it is intended to be the ultimate safety net in our life. Lets analyze it to see what the Lord is saying.

When you are of poor spirit you are ripe for accepting the kingdom of heaven, that's it, the end. In other words, you are in a state of mind that reveals the futility of this world.
So what is the problem? Why aren't we all trying to reign in our spirits so we can inherit the kingdom of heaven?

The day of the poor spirit has been replaced by the arrogant spirit. Being of poor spirit will land you to the back of the line and won't get you noticed. In the wacky world of our value system, being noticed is more important than heaven. The more rich in spirit you are the more blessed you are.

What was the lord thinking? Surely he knows that you can't be successful in Hollywood if you are walking around with poor spirits. And what big time jock is going to admit to a poor spiri? And no politician is willing to risk looking weak by appearing poor in spirit.
Having a poor spirit is just not being taught as a Christian value anymore.

How does one become poor in spirit anyway? Remember, the words rich and poor rarely translate to a monetary meaning when used by the Lord. So, poor spirit in this case is not referring to a soul with little or no cash. Let's face it, poor is a demeaning word that has know place in American culture, so why is the lord using blessed and poor in the same sentence?

You can't bless anything poor because that smells like the makings of a dreaded tax increase.

Though the words rich and poor may not have a monetary meaning to the Lord, heaven forbid that kind of nonsense thinking anywhere else.

The Lord refers to spirit as the real entity behind what you see when you look in the mirror. You can't physically see it but it is in all of us. We try to display it through our actions. It's the actions that get us into trouble. Rather than letting poor broken spirits lay, we try to fix them ourselves through some conceived action that more often than not is not in line with God's will.

Take note the next time you see someone being interviewed who has experienced some type of unforseen tragedy. The poor spirit that resulted from the tragedy often emboldens itself and morphs into a spirit of defiance. You hear things like "I'm gonna make it bigger and better next time" or "I will never be deterred". The Lord makes a clear distinction between resolve and arrogance.

The Lord actually says, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" referring to anyone with poor spirits, so why do we look down on people who possess a poor spirit and feel a need to cheer them on to good spirits?

When you are of poor spirits you develop a seriousness that affects your mood. Spending money or participating in foolishness isn't at the top of your list anymore. Poor spirits can be detrimental to the American way of life.

Top

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

You might think the Lord is being redundant with this gem, as it easily compares with the previous one.
Don't confuse poor spirit with mourning because they are very different to the Lord.

To mourn is to show personal sorrow based on your heartfelt affection. In other words, mourning is a choice not a circumstance. You have to lay aside everything in your immediate space before you can truly mourn. The cause to mourn can result from almost anything that can be held dear.

The act of mourning tramples the actions of selfishness. Laying aside your personal feelings and taking on someone else's sorrow in a true way not only refines the soul but is uplifting to others when they see you aren't bound in such a way and that your life can lend itself to the needs of others.

When you sacrifice your problems for the sake of someone else it helps put life in the proper perspective.

Too often we pre-occupy ourselves with things that are meaningless and insist on clinging to them even at the expense of sharing in the life of a friend in need. This is often caused by the fear of losing or being left behind in the senseless battle to keep up with the Jones. When you stop to mourn it shows a level of confidence and self-assurance that lets you lay aside your personal business without fear of cost.

Before you can mourn you have to care. It takes a certain level of awareness and attentiveness before you can truly say you care. More and more you see people hiding behind "I didn't know" and "Why didn't someone tell me" as a reason for their lack of caring.

Possessing the ability to mourn is powerful stuff.

Mourning takes place inside the heart moreso than through outwardly wailing and tears. Mourning from the heart diverts your thoughts through the filter of the Lord's promises and results in reverence.

If the extent of your mourning is based on how long the story is in the headlines then your mourning wasn't real. Mourning isn't something that is turned on or off by way of television coverage.

Remember mourning requires caring and insight.

Top

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

The meek inheriting the earth flies in the face of a military superpower.

Let me back up and get the definition of the word 'meek'. Here it is: "humbly patient or docile" or "overly submissive or compliant"

The Lord really drives a hard bargain with this gem. This chops us off at the knees when we look at the state of affairs in the world today. The battle between Islam and Christianity comes to mind immediately here. The world is, and always will be, a constantly changing place that gives way to new forces at any given time.

However, the religious battles seem to have the greatest impact on world events.

Does inheriting the earth mean ruling the world? Inherit means "to receive as one's portion" so the plan isn't to go out and take the earth but instead to be meek and receive the earth as a blessing. Does this sound somewhat topsy-turvy to you? Don't we have to kill or be killed? Did the Lord not foresee nine eleven; therefore shouldn't this gem be rendered void?

It is not easy to be meek while living in the belly of a superpower. The very act of staying afloat in a capitalistic nation requires a degree of fortitude that often gives way to a dispirited soul, which can be mistaken for meekness.

Is the context in which the Lord uses the word meek focused on individual meekness or national meekness? It really doesn't matter because meek nations consist of meek individuals. Do you live in a meek nation amongst meek individuals?

The meek are often preyed upon and don't get much representation simply because they are meek. The aggressive style we have come to love does not bare the Lord's favor. Is the Lord being unrealistic when he asks us to be meek?

The nature of the meek is not threatening, therefore co-existing becomes within reach. The meek are finding it very difficult to survive in the world today due to aggression that is fueled by greed. You see something that belongs to the meek, so you take it because you are strong. The meek have very few supporters because everybody wants to be on the side of the strong aggressor.

History has several examples where what appeared to be meekness resulted in the downfall of cultures and civilizations that no longer exist. In there place are a lot of fat cats basking in in false security

Don't confuse meek with ignorant. To be meek is a conscious choice one makes based on one's beliefs.

In one hand you have the option to join forces with power and in the other you have the choice of humbling yourself before God. It requires an almost hypnotic state of self-control to remain meek in the face of injustice, greed, covetousness and other temptations.

The promise of the Lord is the only reward worth enduring the struggles that result from choosing meekness over power.
Top

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are they?

I wish the Lord would have said "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS AS YOU DO FOR FOOD AND DRINK".

Greedy for righteousness, over-weight with righteousness and obese children stuffed with righteousness.

When you hunger and thirst you are not afraid to seek and find. You go out of your way just because you want it. Hunger is a driving force that leads to action.

I don't think the words hunger and thirst need to be defined here, so lets focus on righteousness. Righteousness is a way of life rather than an act in life.
We have been trained to think in terms of winners and losers, so when it comes to righteousness, we tend to think along the lines of either righteous and unrighteous. Man's world is centered around finality in all that we see.

Therefore you must be one or the other. This type of thinking implies once you are righteous, you are a winner, there is no need to continue.

Righteousness is a dynamic work that is never finished. It requires endless diligence beyond any measure we may humanly posses. In other words, you can't achieve righteousness on your own. There are just too many statutes to consider and they govern all aspects of our lives. Your only hope is to ask for the ability to continue the quest for righteousness.

There is an awareness factor to consider also, because before you can get, you need to know what it is you are seeking. This means, developing a knowledge based on the principles of being righteous set forth by God.

Don't kid yourself by thinking the world is looking for righteousness. Righteousness condemns the practices being driven by our nature and causes us to want to distance ourselves from it. There is very little hungering after something you are afraid of or something you hate.

You are going to have to give up some things if you are going to pursue righteousness. The list of prerequisites to righteousness is too daunting for the average, so they don't even attempt that road.

Indulging in filth like depraved music lyrics and movies creates a chasm between you and righteousness. Throw in apathy towards the priciples set forth by the Lord, and you have no chance at righteousness.

Those who search with a passion will be filled. Filled with what? You should be wondering. The answer is the very thing you hunger for, the fruits of righeousness. The fruits of righteousness are contentment, self-assurance, and confidence. Only the Lord can fill a soul with these invaluable qualities. Being filled with them takes away the desire to pursue the fruits of wickedness.

Righteousness-you can't get it unless you truly know it is not attainable by you alone. This concept introduced by the Lord, with the hope being, we will learn to apply patience and forgiveness to all that we do when dealing with others. We see what he does for us in helping us achieve righteousness, therefore we should be willing to do the same towards others-that is the essence of living righteously.
Top

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

This is the easiest gem to comprehend but the most difficult to apply because you have to go against your own desires in order to gain the reward.

We are under constant attack from those who show no mercy. Those who are driven by greed know no bounds and will do anything their corrupt minds can imagine. Your well-being is of no concern to them as they unleash their fury of ill conceived schemes designed to take advantage of the unsuspecting.

It is hard to be merciful when you look at all that's going on around us and the images that are beamed at us constantly depicting the dark side of humanity. The Lord knew these times would come, yet he laid forth this promise. If you show mercy, you will receive mercy. Since we don't always recieve mercy instantly after we show it, the practice has lost it's luster in the eyes of many. Showing mercy often results in unintended consequences brought about by schemes born out of darkness.

You have those using the need for mercy as a crutch and you have those who dogmatically trample your civil liberties in the name of making a dollar.

Now you are in the middle faced with deciding how best to be merciful without being taken to the cleaners. You find yourself picking and choosing who you show mercy to and how much mercy you should apply at any given time. Your mind-set being, I don't want to be naive in mercy to the point where it cost me from having my on.

This seems logical but it is flawed thinking because you are more concerned about having your on than trusting the Lord.

The more merciful you are the more mercy you can expect even to the point where you have no fear of ever being without. We think the only way to keep what we have is to hedge it with caution and suspicion. We inherently choose the road of anti-inferior-ism, therefore always wanting to be seen as keeping up in the eyes of those around us.

Mercy is seen as something you show when all is secure on the home front. It is even sweeter when it comes to the attention of others and there is lots of hoopla surrounding it.

Mercy should be a personal matter that is preferably done anonymously and without any expectant returns.

We all need mercy each and everyday of our lives. Anyone who doesn't think they benefit from mercy is riding in the fast lane on the road to destruction. You can't be merciful if you don't understand how you are living by mercy.

There is a saying that only the strong survive. What it doesn't mention is, strong in what? You can be strong in many things but only mercy qualifies you for the blessing of this promise. To receive mercy doesn't mean you are inferior or incapable of supporting yourself and those dear to you.

Asking for mercy just doesn't seem like the macho thing to do in this selfish power-hungry world. You might say seeking mercy means you can't keep up without being a burden to someone else.

Deceptive thinking is a powerful tool of the devil that causes many to lose sight of this simple promise brought forth by the Lord. Given the perils of day to day living, which we must face, we should be seeking heaven sent mercy in all that we do.

How do we receive heaven sent mercies? Try being merciful in an unabated way.
Top

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

This is a beautiful gem that extends hope to all of us. We only need to look as far as our own heart in order to capitalize on this mighty promise.

We honor accomplishments like best actor, MVP, lifetime achievements, man of the year, and so forth, without any regard for the honoree's heart. The condition of the heart doesn't matter because we can't see it. We honor what we can see and relate to based on our values. That is the extent of our ability to honor.

If given a choice most people would choose a pure hearted school teacher for their child over one whose heart isn't pure. You can apply this to politicians, the people at work, your friends and neighbors and business associates. The reason being: pure-hearted people can be trusted.

To be of pure heart means you have to diligently go about your business in an upright manner, knowing that you are walking before God, so you readily apply all the principles set forth by God.

In other words, the person that does the right thing is a person of pure heart, correct? No, because the so-called "right thing" is based on our values and can be contrary to the Lord's principles. The person who says you shouldn't exploit the poor is saying the right thing but the reality is you shouldn't exploit period.

All the ills of society continue to thrive because they are born out of our hearts. We try to shape our world to our liking by means and methods that society makes available to us without realizing that society itself has been deceived.

Rather than condemn the heart for its impurity, it is easier to justify the heart's nature by claiming its actions were driven by self-preservation. Self-preservation has become somewhat of a code word or an antidote for the masses of heartless souls whose actions continue to spread hardship and chaos everywhere they go.

Selfishly claiming this street, this town, this country, or this world as one's own, enhances the level of bureaucracy and always culminate in some form of social engineering. Social engineering, which is man's ideal plan for correcting a perceived wrong, opens the flood-gates to impure reasoning, even though it is from the heart.

The Lord knew man's lust for covetousness, so he placed this spotlight in his path to prevent him from transgressing into darkness. The heart always cries out when being immersed in darkness and we all have heard but refuse to heed.

No man can physically see God, so what is the meaning of the promise? Think of it like this and it should make sense. We say we see the wind blowing but we really can't see the wind. We can see the effects of the wind but not the wind itself. The same applies here; we can see the effects of God.

The pure in heart readily takes comfort in all the Lord's promises without feeling the need to try and intervene or make corrections as they are unfolding. This comfort comes from their heart.
Top

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

This gem challenges man in the boldest way without any specific promise of reward. No doubt, this is the most controversial of the Beatitudes. What makes it controversial is the promise of being called "sons of God".

In the battles of the religions the prize is to lay claim to the right to be known as the true children of God. With this title, you now have the right to cast judgment and justify your own misgivings, without having to answer to anybody because your way is always right.

Striving for the right to be called sons of God should be the mission of all religions.

How do you merit the title "child of God" without setting yourself on high in the midst of the lowly?

To bestow the title of "son of God" on oneself or on a group creates a situation where you develop a defensive posture and is always bracing for the derision you expect to follow.

In order to benefit from the promises of the Lord you have to apply his principles in the way he prescribes. Trying to partially apply them or creating addendums to them just doesn't work.

The principles are so delicately balanced until the slightest alteration renders them void. In other words, the principles the Lord set forth may be thought of as being set to an advanced form of cryptography that prevents tampering.

Peacemakers will be "called, sons of God", is the promise here. They don't call themselves sons of God, others do.

Who are the peacemakers should be your immediate thought. If you see two people fighting and you jump in and stop them, does that qualify you as a peacemaker? No, because you never knew the root cause of the fight. All you did was stop two people from fighting, they still hate each other.

Peacemakers don't necessarily have to resolve conflicts. Peacemakers can be those who choose not to infringe upon the rights of other, therefore creating a climate of peace.

You can't be a peacemaker unless you focus on the root causes of the matters of contention.

The road to true peacemaking is seldom traveled because to do so means you have to pay the high tolls of honesty and evenhandedness.

The toll free road to peacemaking is the shortcut of choice. You take it and you don't concern yourself with root causes or evenhandedness, perception is what counts there.

Peace broking on matters where you have personal interest always does more damage than good. Mix in the idea of shortcutting and you not only make the situation worse but you open yourself to scorn from all parties involved.

When was the last time you heard someone say, "hey those folks over there deserve to be called sons of God"? We always hear "we are sons of God" making reference to ourselves.

Peacemakers put themselves in the spotlight and are watched and judged by everybody. Perception is the biggest obstacle that prevents peacemakers from achieving their goal. You have to be so transparent in your approach until you often expose the hidden interest you had that lead you to be peace broker in the first place.

We find comfort in the perceptions of peacemaking more so than in efforts requiring substantive dialogue. Peacemaking is about making hard choices and bringing finality to issues and not about finding a solution that is the lesser of two evils. The Lord didn't say anything about choosing the lesser of two evils in order to be called sons of God.

Can you make peace without wanting something in return? Is that what the Lord had in mind, peacemaking for gain?

True peacemakers don't foster conditions that foment reproach and are more likely to lead by example than take on the role of mediator.

A display of noble intentions is not the same as being a peacemaker. Peacemaking usually result in more giving than taking, and don't be surprised by the fact that peacemakers are often despised.

The notion of starting war to create peace is ludicrous and the efforts of peacemakers don't always bare fruit immediatly.
Top

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

  This is the second gem that promises the kingdom of heaven as a reward. This time the focus is on righteousness.

The Lord said if you hunger after righteousness, you will be filled by the fruits of righteousness. The means by which righteousness fills or enriches your life does not always conform to mainstream principals. To buck mainstream principles makes you stand out and often puts you in uncomfortable situations.

The principles of righteousness and mainstream principles have forever been at enmity with one another. It is fair to conclude that moving from unrighteousness to righteousness will result in some degree of persecution. The word persecute means: To oppress or harass with ill-treatment, especially because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs.

Just who is being persecuted for righteousness' sake, and who is doing the persecuting? Let's focus on America today and see if Christians suffer religious persecution and if so, are they taking comfort in this promise from the Lord.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of religion in America is the tax system, and here is why.

  All religious organizations cherish their tax exemptions.
Tax exemptions are the poison golden apple for religion in America. Nobody gets a free ride when it comes to taxes and the church is no exception.

If a tax-exempt groupreligious or secular, promotes ideas which contradict important public policies (like desegregation), then the group's tax-exempt status may not be granted or extended. Tax exemptions are provided in exchange for groups providing services to the community; when the groups undermine important goals of the community, then the tax exemptions are no longer justified.

To be banned from speaking the truth for fear of losing tax breaks is a major form of persecution.

It is just too expensive to have a big church try to stand on it's own in today's real estate market. The property taxes alone looms larger than Goliath. The thought of paying taxes on donations surpasses the unpardonable sin.

Religious freedom is a relative term. The government unspoken rule is, you can exercise as much freedom as you wish as long as you say what pleases me or risk losing your exempt status.

Foreign policy, global issues like trade and immigration, monetary policy and even taxes themselves are all off limits to religious organizations unless you are willing to tow the Government's official line. You are not to relay any visions, speak any prophecy or teach any doctrine that contradicts the official line.

The choice is now between the truth and the dollar and the dollar is trouncing the truth. Being vulnerable to monetary matters like taxes is the primary cause for the watered-down messages that are being passed off on congregations all over the country.

  Messages that are vague and intended to leave the audience thinking this doesn't apply to me but to someone far far away who lived a long time ago. These messages don't address principles of righteousness but instead enables a sense of self righteousness in the listener which says "I condemn those people for crucifying Christ, how dare them?".

Compromising on the principles of righteousness for the sake of avoiding persecution means you don't believe the Lord's promises.
Top

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

We live by the grace of the Lord and should be forever thankful. This gem offers the promise of blessing just for holding true to that thanks through good and bad times alike.

The Lord not only wants you to become accustomed to persecution but to be able to find strength in the face of it.

We go to great lengths to shield ourselves from being reviled. When you are reviled or called out on some issue, it means you have to defend your stance by holding true or deny your stance and offer concessions.

Running from the taunts of man shows a lack of faith and leads to a life of uncertainty. Having the ability to accept persecution and insults and not be moved is one of the greatest blessings one can receive.

To receive physical abuse and remain true to your beliefs requires special blessings and a faith that is rarely seen anymore. We live in a society that prides itself on the execution of justice, so there is no need to have to stand your ground in the face of abuse. If things begin to get uncomfortable there is always someone to call to bring about a form of relief.

A sure way to avoid persecution is to always test the political winds before you voice your opinion, that way you will never be reviled.

Being shielded from persecution and false accusations doesn't make the problem go away. This is a situation we face in the country today. We can't talk about injustice without becoming a target of revilement from the establishment. You can't truly uphold the Lord's principles while dealing in injustice.

In our hearts we know what is right to do but the fear of being used as a topic of a talking point is too scary.

Since the Lord's principles are so contrary to how we live, we don't show any real allegiance to them out of fear of persecution. We cherry pick the Lord's principles based on worldly consensus and turn a blind eye towards the Lord's principles because they condemn us.

When was the last time you were persecuted, reviled or had evil accusations levied against you falsely because you refused to dishonor Godly principals?
Top

The Mooche News Mission & Vision | Staff & Schedule | Site Map | Security and Privacy

The possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy: power over men's minds.

The Mooche beleives that Power comes from your ability to know and understand; therefore the media is an instrument of power. The internet is a godsend to many in that it takes us back to the original intent of the founding fathers vision of information and news not controlled or restricted by government censorship for political or ideological reasons.
Power is dynamic in nature, so those who have it can lose it and those without it can obtain it. Your ability to analyze and understand is the foundation for power. The Mooche tries to help lay that foundation in the selection of material it presents on this site.

--------------------------------------------------------------------