If You Think You Are, You're Not

The very first sentence Jesus taught his disciples in the sermon He gave on the mount was "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  (Matthew 5:3)   Modern translation of these words from the literal language of the time tells us the 'poor in spirit' are those who are poor in pride, or humble in spirit. He is telling us that before anything else, comes a humble heart, ready to be taught.

It has always been difficult for me to understand the difference between 'pride' and good self-esteem.  But Bro. Hudson explains it so I can understand. Satan wants us to have pride because it is the opposite of humility.  Pride doesn't let us think we are not worthy, but that we are MORE worthy than others, that we deserve more, better, and best, for whatever reason.  President Benson said"  The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not...It says, 'If you succeed, I am a failure."  (Ensign May 1989 4)

I can 'humbly come before Thee now" as the song says , or say "I am very humbled to be here today", but if I say it thinking how lucky I am to be there, or how lucky someone is to have me there, I am not being humble.  If I tell others all the nice things I am doing, all the scripture studying I am doing, all the private feelings I have, I am not being poor in spirit.  To be poor in spirit I need to show that I realize Christ has given me so much, and recognize that it is because of Him that I have the things that I have, not because I have worked for them, or sacrificed for them, or purchased them with my hard-earned money, or read enough scriptures to be blessed with possessions, or any other type of self-inflated ideas.  I need to recognize that Christ is the center of my life, that Christ is the giver of all things, and that I am eternally indebted to him for all that I have and am.  And with that knowledge comes the responsibility to act in a proper way, to give, and be helpful to others. If I remember to do these difficult things, which I can do with the help of the Lord, I will have 'the kingdom of heaven."

If it was just that easy.