I’ve been thinking about how different the ways of Jesus are from the ways of the world. Here’s a worldly twist on Matthew 5:3-10. It pretties up Jesus’s “liberal and unworkable” ideas.

Blessed are those who are spiritually self-sufficient.
Blessed are those who manage to escape too much suffering in life.
Blessed are those who embrace personal pride, since meekness is, after all, weakness.
Blessed are those who don’t fret too much about God’s definition of righteousness.
Blessed are those who acknowledge that winning leaves little room for mercy.
Blessed are those who accept imperfection because purity of heart is, let’s be honest, unrealistic.
Blessed are those who wage war.
Blessed are those who are smart enough to avoid their own persecution.

(Funny how hip that all sounds.)

I feel like there’s this newfangled evangelicalism that says, “Blessed are the superior, like us!” But Jesus, per usual, says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” You have to sit with that for a long time. Then decide. The beautiful ways of the world or the beautiful attitudes of Jesus.