Issue 205
Do you believe that God really wants your work to go well? With all the teaching about sacrifice, commitment, the path of the cross and the troubles of this world you may carry a subliminal feeling with you each day that things going well are not on God’s agenda.
In addition, when you do feel you are succeeding, prospering or achieving you may feel that somehow you have fooled the spiritual system and at the moment you are getting away with it. A sneaking feeling of guilt creeps into your soul as you become a tad embarrassed at your riches. You may find yourself deeply uneasy about the concept of Christian prosperity but nevertheless naturally want things to go well. Nine times in the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses a positive, affirming word. It is a word which means a radical kind of happiness, a holiday island pleasantness and a deep sense of well-being. It is a state not dependant on circumstances or comings and goings, but is an inner certainty.
This word is ‘blessed’. The concept is healthy and encouraging. The nine statements are not aspirational – they are descriptions. We can only grasp them if we use slightly quaint language, such as “oh the blessedness of” or “how blessed are” because there is no verb in the original. Jesus is saying this is how it is (it is worth noting that he is making these statements and the whole sermon from a sitting position which indicated the authority and importance of his words).
So what does it mean to be blessed at work? Jesus gives us nine descriptions. Actually there is one with eight further angles to help you get the point. The blessed person is the one who is poor in spirit, and the content of the blessedness is the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven has broken into your soul, your emotions, your mind and work; God is in charge and love is permeating every cell of your body. All is well, everything is resolved and the future is certain. That is what this means. But the requirement is to be “poor in spirit”. To summarise, you and I have no currency to gain ownership or citizenship of the Kingdom of Heaven. You have no financial currency; you have no intellectual tools, no emotional resources and no amount of physical skill or willpower that can achieve it. You cannot buy, think, feel, force or manipulate your way into this blessedness; it is for the poor in spirit. The first issue is to realise your helplessness. That is what ‘poor in spirit’ means. We are all bankrupt when it comes to obtaining Heaven. Once realised, it leads to a deliberate and total dependence on God. The poor in spirit throw themselves into the arms of God and trust him to catch their lives and work.
The poor in spirit will grieve over their failures, have an accurate self-image, crave getting it right, be kind to other strugglers, be single-minded and transparent, bring quarrellers together, and probably face a great deal of stick for their troubles. Those who refuse this approach will attempt to be self-reliant, find it hard to admit their mistakes, practice variable ethics, be hard on others and themselves, allow their minds to be polluted, not resolve conflicts fully and seek the approval of others.
One approach leads to satisfaction and fulfilment, the other to constant striving for more. One goes against the stream, the other goes with the flow. If you start with poverty, you end with reward. If you start with self-reliance, you lose yourself. It’s the long-term view but it’s the real deal. In short, one is the way of the blessed; the other is the way of the stressed.
Matthew 5:3-11
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
In preparation for the next GEOFFSHATTOCKweekly, do feel free to email us your thoughts to wtw@worktalk.gs or leave a comment on our Facebook or Twitter profile. You can also visit our YouTube channel - get inspired and share Worktalk's vision with others.
Work well
Geoff Shattock
© Copyright 2024 Geoff Shattock
All GEOFFSHATTOCKweekly archives are for personal use only. For permission to use for any other purposes please email using the address below thank you.
WORKTALK LEARNING
1 Washington Villas, Hythe Road, Marchwood, Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 4WT United Kingdom
T:+44 (0)23 8086 8543
http://www.geoffshattock.com
comms@worktalk.gs
