The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11) can be real head-scratchers. From the world's standpoint, being meek and merciful are surefire ways to get treated like a doormat. And yet, there they are-- counterintuitive attitudes bearing the Messianic seal of approval and divine promises of blessing.
As many a stranger's first point of contact with our church, I have the privilege of being the benevolence ambassador for the down and out looking for a few dollars or a meal.
There are lots of homeless (or one rent payment away from homeless) people in my part of Fayetteville, North Carolina. I've heard every hard luck tale imagineable. Several of these folks, I suspect, have strung together a list of helpful churches and are merely "making the rounds." For others, the bag of groceries, the chicken dinner, or the bus ticket I help them get is the difference between life and death.
So, am I chump? Are people taking advantage of me? Yes. Some are. But one only has to help out a seriously disadvantaged person one time to begin to touch the concept Jesus described in the beatitudes: blessedness.
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