Have you ever woken up with a bad attitude? Maybe your slept poorly, or your first coherent thought was about yesterday’s argument, or maybe your early morning news routine was a bad idea with its foreboding and negativity. For me, a bad attitude then begets a worse day. Everything gets filtered through my mood and things just go south. 

Today’s passage is a reminder that Jesus has a model for what our attitudes should be. In the Sermon on the Mount, he lists eight aspirational characteristics of Kingdom citizens; this is how Jesus wants his people to be. If you adopt his “be attitudes,” they will beget a reward unlike anything we can obtain on earth.

Our Common English Bible translation uses the phrase “Happy are those” in place of the more common “Blessed are you.” To be blessed is to be happy in the present tense, teaching us that these things are both current possibilities and promises of what earthly life in God’s kingdom looks like.

Matthew 5 (Common English Bible)

³ “Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

⁴ “Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad.

⁵ “Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

⁷ “Happy are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Happy are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God.

⁹ “Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children.

¹⁰ “Happy are people whose lives are harassed because they are righteous, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

¹¹ “Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. ¹² Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you.

Jesus’ message introduces a new kind of kingdom that was radically different than the one they were living in. It was a reversal of everything, where the marginalized and poor are elevated over the wealthy and powerful. He focused on inner transformation and inward righteousness in a society that was still trying to be pure under the Law. He emphasized that happy blessedness comes from a deep and intimate relationship with God, not just the outward appearance of piety. 

Jesus’ blueprint for this new kingdom was counter-cultural in the way that it turned expectations upside down. The poor in spirit receive the kingdom of heaven. The mourners will be made glad. The meek inherit the earth! Hungry people will be filled. Those who have shown mercy will be given mercy. Peacemakers and the pure in heart will enjoy an intimate relationship with God as children of God. And persecution and being reviled for Jesus’ sake turns out to be a good thing that we can rejoice over, as it will usher in a reward from heaven. All they had to do was be everything he described.

It must have sounded crazy to the people gathered on the hillside listening to him preach. All of the existing structures of power, wealth, and authority were undone in that one message. 

This message is timeless for every believer. Do you need to be more righteous? More pure in heart? More hungry and thirsty for God’s word? Be smart and ask God for an attitude adjustment.

Bee Blessed Today by Becca Ziegler