by Bruce Mackay |
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Jesus taught that true happiness is based on our attitudes. He sat on a mountainside and taught His disciples regarding attitudes that bring blessing, contentment, peace and true happiness.
The Bible speaks of nine gifts of the Spirit and nine fruits of the Spirit. The following passage lists nine attitudes that Jesus taught us regarding true happiness.
'And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you".' Matt 5:1-12.
The word 'blessed' used in these verses is sometimes translated 'happy', and means 'favoured by God'. In this article, we will refer to 'blessed' as true happiness.
Attitude One: An Attitude of Spiritual Poverty
In this statement, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven', Jesus was teaching on the need to have an attitude of total dependence on God; to not be self-sufficient or self-reliant.
Many are raised and taught that being independent and self-reliant is something to seek after. This is not what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that true happiness cannot be experienced without an attitude of total dependence on God; a person who is not puffed up in their own attitudes and opinions. A person with an abundant pride is not poor in spirit.
Every ability and talent we have has come from God anyway. There is nothing we can boast in of ourselves. We must not confuse independent, self-reliant attitudes with hard work and living in an accountable way. Jesus did teach us to work, but to remember that it is God who gives us the strength, talent and ability to do it. So, even in achievements, we remain poor in spirit.
Being aware of our spiritual poverty is the first attitude toward true happiness. This attitude of being poor in spirit causes us to turn to the source of life. We realise how helpless we are to live as we should apart from God. When we come in sin and weakness to God, we discover His love, His mercy, His graciousness, and we experience His forgiveness and His strength to live His life, which results in true happiness.
To summarise, the first attitude to true happiness is to acknowledge our own utter helplessness and put our whole trust in God for our spiritual, emotional and material well-being.
Attitude Two: An Attitude that Grieves and Mourns
When Jesus said, 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted', He was speaking hope to us all. We have all known times of grief. We are rarely prepared for it as it often comes suddenly. Sadly, many do not find comfort, only deeper sorrow, despair and loneliness.
When we grieve and mourn, well-meaning comments like, 'She'll be right mate', 'Hang in there', 'You'll feel better in a while', or 'Look on the bright side', do little to bring comfort. Before we look further at the comfort Jesus was speaking of, it may be helpful to understand a little more about the attitude of mourning.
The mourning that Jesus speaks of is not self pity or the bitter cry of the victim. It is the mourning of the culprit, the guilty. It is a mourning for our sin; our recognition of our offences before a loving, holy God. The Bible says godly sorrow leads to repentance. It causes us to hate our sin and turn from it. Self-centred sorrow only leads to bitterness that is never satisfied.
Only when we mourn in this way can we be comforted. There is comfort for the person who sorrows with a godly sorrow. It is the comfort of Christ who fully identifies with us. The Bible says that Jesus has compassion and is gentle toward those who are ignorant and going astray, since He Himself was also subject to weakness, having been tempted at every point as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus lived without sin, yet having faced every trial, temptation, pain, suffering and grief that we face, He is able to comfort all who mourn.
Attitude Three: An Attitude of Meekness
'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.' Matt 5:5.
Meekness is not a word commonly used in our everyday vocabulary, nor is it commonly practised. To be meek is to be humble, submitted, gentle yet strong. A good definition would be 'bridled strength'. Not unbroken and wild but bridled, able to be led and directed. Jesus said, 'Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.' Matt 11:28-30.
Through being yoked to Christ, we can have a change of attitude. Instead of being reactionary, angry, sulking and full of complaints, we can have an attitude that gives value to others without being undignified ourselves; showing self-control, rather than angry outbursts, even when we are unjustly treated. With an attitude of meekness we can be friendly, caring, encouraging and gentle toward others because we are strong in our identity through Christ. Such a person experiences true happiness. They are no longer fighting the world. They can now inherit all the good things God has placed on this earth and are laying up treasure for the new heaven and new earth that Christ will bring about.
Attitude Four: An Attitude that Hungers and Thirsts for Righteousness
'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.' Matt 5:6.
We can all relate to being hungry and thirsty. When we are thirsty, nothing else satisfies like a long, cool drink. I remember many occasions travelling through India being hungry, hot and thirsty. Each time the bus stopped, eager sales people would be selling roadside food and homemade soda water. I would longingly watch as locals satisfied their hunger and quenched their thirst. What I would have done to join them; except that the potential risk of contaminated food and polluted water left me unsatisfied. I must ask myself: do I have the same longing for righteousness? Or, am I happy to fill my life with things that pollute? The things I read, look at and talk about?
'Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.' Phil 4:8.
Jesus calls us to an attitude that longs for righteousness as we would hunger for good, satisfying food and thirst for good, pure water. He doesn't want to fill us with things that will destroy us. Rather, He fills us with His righteousness.
Jesus said, 'For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.'Matt 5:20.
When Jesus was speaking about righteousness, He was not referring to moral goodness or law keeping. That was the righteousness of the Pharisees. He called us to be filled with a righteousness that is not bound by our assessment of right and wrong. It is not us trying our hardest to be better. It is being hungry and thirsty to be in right relationship with God and with man. And Jesus promises that He will fill us with His life which enables us to live right in every situation and context.
Attitude Five: An Attitude that Shows Mercy
Jesus said, 'Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy'. Firstly, what does it mean to be shown mercy by God? God shows us compassion and pardons our sins. He hears us and forgives us, even when we have been stubborn and rebellious.
King David sinned against God. He had taken another man's wife and, in the process of trying to cover it up, he deceived and plotted the man's death. David cried out to receive mercy. Let's read his cry for mercy.
'Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitudes of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.' Psa 51:1-3.
God heard his prayer and David received God's mercy. If we are to receive mercy we must also be merciful. We must forgive if we are to be forgiven. True happiness is found when we have an attitude of mercy, showing compassion to others.
Attitude Six: An Attitude that Turns from Sin
Jesus taught, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God'. Pure in heart! How is that possible? We were born in sin. We have all sinned. There is none pure, only God. It's because our heart is sinful that we must have an attitude that turns from sin. An attitude that is quick to acknowledge our sin and bring it into the open. The attitude that David had when he prayed,
'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.' Psa 51:10-12.
Sin separates us from God. There is no true happiness when we are separated from the source of all love and joy. Sin causes us to withdraw because of shame. We try to cover our sin up and put on a good face, but it has a way of eating us out on the inside. Sin finds us out, regardless of how well we have hidden it. When we are trying to sleep, our sin is before us. When we wake, it comes to mind again. There is no happiness in that way of living. Jesus taught that if you want true happiness you need an attitude that turns from sin, confessing it to God and forgiving one another. This is the only way to have a pure heart and see God.
Attitude Seven: An Attitude that Makes Peace
'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.' Matt 5:9.
Jesus taught that if you are to be a son of God living in true happiness then you must be a peacemaker. Quite a challenge in a world that seems to have little peace! From the extremes of the battlefields to the overstressed mum in the kitchen, the common statement is, 'Can I just have a bit of peace?!'
Before we can live at peace in our day-to-day living with our family and where we work, we must first make peace with God. If our relationship with God is broken, we have no hope of making peace with our fellow man. We make peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus taught that if we are to receive forgiveness from God we must forgive others. We must make peace, where possible, with all. Jesus showed us the way of peace. It was through offering up His life. To be peacemakers we must put off every personal attitude and prejudice that hinders us from forgiving others and living in peace with them.
Attitude Eight: An Attitude that Doesn't React Against Persecution
'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' Matt 5:10.
Jesus does not give a 'glossed over' view of what it will be like to be one of His true followers. Followers of Christ will suffer persecution. It happens because of Jesus. He taught that if He was persecuted then His followers will be also.
This proved to be true. The first-century Christians were persecuted constantly. Instead of decreasing, persecution has continued to this day. In fact, in the last one hundred years there have been more followers of Christ persecuted and put to death than in the previous 2,000 years put together.
There is a deep hatred that exists towards Christ and His followers, particularly from the world's system of politics, finance and the media. Persecution is happening and will continue until the end.
Jesus promises that when a person is persecuted for the sake of His righteous life and they have an attitude that doesn't react against it, they will be blessed and favoured with His joy and true happiness. They will experience the joy of eternity in heaven.
Attitude Nine: An Attitude that Doesn't Retaliate When Falsly Accused
'Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.' Matt 5:11.
Jesus emphasised the need to have such an attitude because there will always be those who speak all kinds of evil lies about followers of Christ. He said that in the last days the love of many will grow cold. People will become offended and betray one another.
It is extremely challenging when falsely accused to not retaliate and try to defend yourself. Jesus is our example. If our joy is to be full, and we are to rejoice and be exceedingly glad, we must learn the way of Christ.
Peter, a follower of Christ, expressed it this way. 'For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.' 1 Pet 2:19-23.
If we live by these nine attitudes we will find favour with God and experience eternal happiness in Christ.
- An Attitude of Spiritual Poverty
- An Attitude that Mourns and Grieves
- An Attitude of Meekness
- An Attitude that Hungers and Thirsts for Righteousness
- An Attitude that Shows Mercy
- An Attitude that Turns from Sin
- An Attitude that Makes Peace
- An Attitude that Doesn't React Against Persecution
- An Attitude that Doesn't Retaliate When Falsely Accused
Author: Bruce Mackay | Citywide Christian Fellowship - Cairns | CCFC
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship | TCF
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