Following Jesus completely flips our societal power structures and dynamics on its head. Whereas the world tells us that you've got to be a leader to get ahead, that you have fight, push people out of the way, and step over them, Jesus entirely inverts this paradigm. In Matthew 20:26, when James' and John's mother asks for her sons to sit at Jesus' side in His Kingdom, He informs her that this was a large ask and up to His Father. He then proceeded to tell the disciples that unlike the Gentiles who lord their power over people, those who desire to be great must become a servant.
In other words, authority in the Kingdom of God doesn't come from being the most well known minister, from having a title or a lot of money, it comes from desiring to serve others well.
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Jesus further inverts our perceptions in the Beatitudes - He tells us that the ones that are truly blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. A.W. Tozer says that this idea of the poverty of spirit is, "an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets."
It's a recognition of our total dependence on the goodness of God, a recognition that much as a beggar needs the goodness of others to survive, we are wholly dependent on God. We've quoted DT Niles before who stated that, "Christianity is just one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread." We have to understand that even though we are full of the goodness of God, we are not the source of that goodness, we are simply beneficiaries of it.
I like how the Message Bible paraphrases this first passage: "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and His rule." That's a concept that we are familiar with, being at the end of our rope. We've done all we can do. We're out of options. Anything that we need can only come from outside of us, there's nothing left internally.
“Poverty of spirit is an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets.”
While society tells us that we need to be strong, we need to be self made people, and sometimes you've got to run over some people in order to get to where you're going, Christianity tells us the opposite. That the way to increase in the Kingdom is to serve others.
This thought pattern continues on throughout this passage, flipping all of what we understand about society upside down. In verse 7 of Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that the ones who are are merciful are blessed, for they shall be shown mercy. I've worked for a large company for a number of years, and I've seen in corporate America, mercy is not a thing that is offered often. Sadly, in my years of working within the Church, I find that mercy is often lacking there as well. But Jesus again inverts the power structures. He tells us that when we're merciful, we'll be shown mercy. This is the principle of sowing and reaping in action: If we want mercy to be shown to us when we fail and miss the mark, we need to intention to show that same mercy to others.
I'd encourage you this week to study the Beatitudes. Look at the words of Jesus through the Gospels. See how what we traditionally associate with power is rendered worthless in the Kingdom and what we decry as weakness is exalted.
The Kingdom of God is truly an upside down kingdom. It stands alone, in stark contrast to the world and its way of existence.
It's time to renew our minds to the way the Kingdom works, to learn that growth and advancement come by serving, that our understanding that we are blessed doesn't come from our abundance of prosperity or material possessions, but by recognizing we are totally reliant on God for everything.
This is God's way of being and doing. This is the upside down kingdom.