The Secret of Happiness – Matthew 5:1-10

1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

No sooner had Jesus begun his earthly ministry than great multitudes began to follow him. One day, the Lord entered the Mount of Olives with his disciples. When he sat down, he began to teach them the basic “Rules of Life” for Christian conduct, commonly known as “The Sermon on the Mount.” As I see it, these golden chapters of Matthew, five through seven, are like a companion manual or a primer within the Bible for all of the Lord’s disciples. Want to learn how to live an obedient, happy, and content life as a Christian? Let’s join the disciples as they sit at Jesus’s feet.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

To begin with, you should know that this word blessed means happy, supremely blessed, and well-off. Christ taught his disciples that those who follow these golden principles will know true happiness. It has been said that these eight virtues are the principal graces of the Christian.

Christ lists the first virtue of the Christian life to be poor in spirit.  This speaks of humility. People who are poor in spirit comprehend their standing before a holy God. They see themselves as lost, needing a Saviour. Once saved, theirs is the kingdom of heaven! Throughout their lives, they learn it is a contradiction for someone to profess that he or she is a Christian and not strive to learn and practice humility. The  foundation of all the subsequent principles is laid in this essential virtue of humility.

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”

There is a worldly sorrow and a godly sorrow. Those of us who have brought up children quickly recognize worldly sorrow. It is an insincere sorrow that is concocted only because someone got caught! Complete with crocodile tears, it is a temporary, counterfeit sorrow.   A true godly sorrow leads us to mourn over our sin, and it breaks our hearts to see the sins of others. Sin holds no gratification to one who understands the price Jesus paid for it. It should not bring satisfaction to any Christian who knows of someone who once professed Christ but has turned their back on the truth. That is nothing short of tragic. Christians who keep a close check on their lives and who endeavor to keep themselves unspotted from the world will be glad they did so once they get to heaven. Heaven will be a place of unimaginable joys for the child of God. “…for they shall be comforted.”

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

Meekness toward God is a firm belief and trust in God’s goodness and control over any situation. It is the opposite of self-will. This is the lifelong work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  And truly, those who strive to possess meekness are happy because they are most like Jesus. And they will be happy residents of the perfect world to come. (Incidentally, Matthew Henry wrote a powerful little book entitled, “The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit.” I’ve read it more than a few times. It’s not an easy read. It’s one of those that when you read a few paragraphs, you find yourself saying, “Wait. What?” So you go back and read it again- but it is life-changing, and I highly recommend it.)

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Hunger and thirst are appetites that return often. This perfectly describes the sold-out Christian. Matthew 6:33.

And I say “sold-out” because there are Christians that drag their feet. It is certainly possible that they could do more for Christ. They could be more. And undoubtedly they could love him more. Christ spoke of this once when he was invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee. A woman was present who demonstrated her profound love and gratefulness to Christ by anointing his feet with expensive perfume. Now, as is typical of a pharisee, he began to judge her because he knew what kind of sinner this woman was. But the Lord corrected him, stating that though this woman’s sins were numerous, she has been forgiven much. He then contrasted the woman’s great love for Christ with Simon’s lack of love for him, affirming that those who have, in their estimation, been forgiven for just a little, tend to love little. The pharisee was so arrogant that he didn’t even do the basic things typical of a host when receiving someone into their home, such as wash his feet or give him a customary kiss upon arrival. This is a simple story of the connection between forgiveness and love, revealing that those who have experienced God’s forgiveness will naturally express their love for him in any way they can and as often as they can. Her focus was solely on Christ and how much she loved him. This beatitude is so potent. Christ gave his word that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled with those blessings which accompany righteous living. They are especially happy because this grace proves they are a child of God.

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

Essentially, mercy is compassionate and kind treatment that goes beyond what is required or deserved. Wouldn’t you agree that the merciful just make the world a better place? They have compassion for others; they are helpful, good, and kind. And God will show his mercy to those who are merciful. Psalm 23 encourages us that as we go through life, we have only to glance behind us and see that goodness and mercy are following us all the days of our lives! God’s Word has many things to say about the blessings and rewards of one who shows mercy, and the Christian should never be unwilling to demonstrate it.

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

True Christianity lies in the heart. Everything comes from the heart. The heart is like a fountain, the words are the streams.  Jesus, surrounded by the Pharisees one afternoon taught this: “A good man out of the good

treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

And then he added a kind of, “by the way…”

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

The pure in heart have been converted. Their hearts have been changed. They are different. They do not want to continue in sin; nor do they justify it. Not perfect, but learning, applying, and growing. In Psalm 51, a broken-hearted David cried,

“Create in me a clean heart, O God…”

So the “Pure in heart” and only the pure in heart are blessed and supremely happy because one day they will be in the presence of God. They shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

These extraordinary people make everything and everyone calm and peaceful. Never contentious. Never antagonistic or hot- headed. Honestly, where would we be without them! Peacemakers shine because they are so very gracious and discerning. They have a way of bringing drama down to a valid and credible perspective. These beautiful souls make everything serene and are wonderful representatives of “The Prince of Peace”. By means of their gracious and agreeable manner, they very naturally point souls to Christ; so clearly, they shall be known as God’s children.

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

This seems to be the greatest contradiction of all, for how are we supposed to be happy if we are being hurt, rejected, betrayed, and condemned? Well, the main reason is that it proves you

are a child of God! Consider it- the devil does not persecute his own. And the enemies of righteousness are, in actual fact, enemies of Christ! When our Lord presented this principle, he was teaching the disciples that day, and all of us who would come after them, not to center on all of our troubles. It is not the end all for the Christian. Know of a certainty that when you are persecuted (and sometimes at the hands of your own loved ones), rejected, threatened, wronged, and even despised for Christ’s sake, for living the life he has commanded us to live and exemplified for us, you have great rewards in heaven.

Well, just in case the disciples may have been thinking, and or you may be thinking, “But Lord, it doesn’t feel so great to be persecuted right now…”, Jesus gave them great exhortation and encouragement and that is how I’ll end this article.

“Ye are the salt of the earth:” You are saved for a reason. There is much to do. Christ let this small band of devoted followers know that the whole earth would be blessed because of them! Maybe they were thinking, “But what could a handful of salt do? We are so few…”. By living according to the principles the Lord had just presented, their lives- our lives– would have a tremendous impact on the world, for good. Salt has many wonderful qualities, but one of the most effective is its ability to penetrate. When we live as those who:

Walk in humility

Take a stand against sin

Have complete trust and confidence in God

Seek to live righteous lives

Demonstrate mercy and compassion

Keep our hearts and minds pure

And live as peacemakers who add so much quality to the lives of others

Well, that’s penetrating. That’s convicting. That’s convincing!

But Christ was not finished. He presents another metaphor.

“Ye are the light of the world.” This world is in darkness. People often stumble in the darkness, and multitudes lose their way. Jesus Christ is the light. His light is truth. We as believers ought to have a clear and brilliant impact on this world, reflecting that light and leading the world to him.

But how does the world see this light in us? Well, I think we all would agree that the world watches us. They regard us. They know who we are. They see us Sunday after Sunday, Wednesday after Wednesday, taking our family and Bibles to church. They see how we dress, how our children behave, how we walk and talk. They mark us by our good works. They see that we choose to follow Christ’s commandments and never compromise. So we do have a great influence.

So what will be the results of following these principles? Of being the salt and light of the world? There will be those throughout this world who, by observing our love for Christ and the message we bring, will be convinced of the excellency of Christ, and by that, glorify our Father which is in heaven.

What a privilege.

Thank you so much for reading,

Liz