![\"happy\"](\"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-content\/uploads\/0521i-Nothing-is-enough-if-enough-is-too-little-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus tells his disciples the simple formula for being happy.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look at verses 5 through 10<\/a>.\u00a0 Jesus begins each verse with \u201cBlessed are\u201d (actually the \u201care\u201ds were added later by translators, originally Jesus said, \u201cBlessed, the meek\u201d, \u201cBlessed, the merciful\u201d) and so on.\u00a0 The word translated as \u201cblessed\u201d is the Greek word, makarios, which means \u201csupremely blesst, fortunate, well-off\u201d.\u00a0 It is closely related to another form, \u201cmakarizo\u201d which indicates large in size or length. He is not talking about being a little blessed, but being hugely, supremely blessed!<\/p>\n- \n
- \u201cthe poor in spirit<\/strong>\u201d describes the humble, those who are destitute of spirit. That doesn\u2019t sound very happy, but it is commonly found that humans do not reach out to God when things are going well.\u00a0 Then they are haughty of spirit, thinking they\u2019re doing fine on their own.\u00a0 When the need to reach out for something beyond their own soul comes, then they turn to God.\u00a0 Once we realize that need, and hold to it, the blessings come.<\/li>\n
- \u201cthose who mourn<\/strong>\u201d Those who are hurting, who weep over the pain of life.\u00a0 \u201cfor they shall be comforted\u201d, refers to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who can move us to joy.<\/li>\n
- \u201cthe meek<\/strong>\u201d does not mean \u201cthe mousy\u201d. In different places the word meek means different things, here it means humble, mild, gentle. It does not denote weakness, but restraint.\u00a0 A meek person knows that he has the strength of God Almighty behind him, but does not try to wield that for personal gain.\u00a0 \u201cfor they shall inherit the Earth\u201d.<\/li>\n
- \u201chunger and thirst for righteousness<\/strong>\u201d The word \u201crighteousness\u201d means \u201ca right standing with God\u201d.\u00a0 It has nothing to do with being better than other people, it has everything to do with being conformed to God\u2019s expectations of us.\u00a0 When we diligently seek to be obedient, we \u201cshall be filled\u201d with the Spirit, and our worldly needs will be met.<\/li>\n
- \u201cthe merciful<\/strong>\u201d this word: eleemon, means to be not simply possessed of pity but to be actively compassionate.\u00a0 The merciful do not simply feel, they act on their compassion.\u00a0 \u201cFor they shall obtain mercy.\u201d\u00a0 When we reach out to meet the needs of hurting people, we receive mercy from God and find happiness in our actions.<\/li>\n
- \u201cthe pure in heart<\/strong>\u201d are the holy.\u00a0 \u201cHoly\u201d means, \u201cset apart for use by God\u201d.\u00a0 These people act through guileless motives, undefiled thoughts, and a clean conscience.\u00a0 The pure in heart do not engage in worldly behaviors.\u00a0 If we hunger for righteousness, we seek God\u2019s approval, not that of our worldly contemporaries.\u00a0 When we succeed, we \u201cshall see God\u201d meaning we will worship Him at His throne when the end of times has completed.<\/li>\n
- \u201cthe peacemakers<\/strong>\u201d are not just intermediaries who pacify, but healers.\u00a0 This word conjurers an image of rejoining or welding two parts back into a whole.\u00a0 These \u201cshall be called Sons of God\u201d.<\/li>\n
- \u201cthe persecuted for righteousness sake<\/strong>\u201d does not include all forms of persecution.\u00a0 Someone can feel persecuted because they\u2019re a busy-body or because they are abrasive and not be counted in this promise.\u00a0 Only those who are persecuted for standing up for God and doing His work receive this blessing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Jesus was persecuted in this manner.\u00a0 The Pharisees hounded Him for his teachings. They tried to shut Him up, and eventually convinced the Romans to execute Him \u2013 thinking that would be the end of His cult.\u00a0 They were wrong. Just as Jesus was raised and restored to the kingdom of Heaven, so shall be those who speak and act upon the word of God through mercy, a pure heart, and humility.\u00a0 When we live out the beatitudes we claim these rewards, and that brings true happiness.\u00a0 Not some fleeting worldly merriment, but being eternally happy.<\/p>\n
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When people are asked what would make them happy, many think of things that involve possessions, wealth, fame, or power. To some, these things bring a fleeting sort of happiness. But pursuit of these things always becomes just that: a pursuit, an on-going chase. A little makes you want more. Then more. And more. This … Continue reading “How to Be Happy: According to Jesus”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[78],"class_list":["post-16528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matters-of-faith","tag-christian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16528"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21402,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16528\/revisions\/21402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- \u201cthose who mourn<\/strong>\u201d Those who are hurting, who weep over the pain of life.\u00a0 \u201cfor they shall be comforted\u201d, refers to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who can move us to joy.<\/li>\n