By todays standards & expectations, Jesus would fail miserably as a motivational speaker. He probably wouldn’t sell too many books with words like these….
“Blessed are the poor in spirit”
“Blessed are those who mourn”
Hardly the sugar coated stuff that tickles our ears in the 21st Century! Its not very affirming is it?
John Calvin sums it up well; “He only who is reduced to nothing in himself, and relies on the mercy of God, is poor in spirit.”
But, what about a Christian’s self esteem? What about all the ability you have, all your confidence and self reliance?
Jesus is pointing out firstly – so there can be no confusion amongst his disciples – that there is nothing good in any of us.
If we are to follow Him, everything about us, all our confidence, is to be found in Him only.
Maybe this offends you?
I ‘think’ Jesus knew it would
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Starr, who is now a teetotal and has quit his 60-a-day cigarette habit, said that religion was one of the most important aspects in his life.
“The institutional churches are human structures. They bring with them all of the failings of the human condition. In their internal processes and in the myriad maze of man-made rules and regulations, they sometimes lose their core message – the Jesus message.”
