The “Be Happy” Attitudes

Matthew 5:3-12

Jesus and his students had been traveling all over the regions around the Sea of Galilee for quite a while now. This particular afternoon Jesus noticed that there were thousands of people following them around again, so He lead them to the top of the Mount of Olives, gathered His students close by, and sat all the followers down around them under a grove of trees where He began to teach them some new things. His talk started like this:

3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

In my Bible it gives another translation of the word “Blessed” as “Happy” so I am going to replace the word blessed with happy in these verses. So this verse can also read:

3) “Happy are the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really know what He meant when He said “poor in spirit” so I looked up the word spirit in my Strong’s Concordance and I found that it means “a person’s human rational, by implication their vital principle or their mental disposition.” I know this also may be hard to understand, but I took it to mean what a person thinks in his heart and mind (human rational) and his overall state of mind (mental disposition), like is he depressed, feeling run over, put down, these things would be “poor in spirit.”

Well, by now I am wondering how a person who feels like they have been run over by a Mac Truck, their dog has just died, and they have lost their one and only friend; how can a person in this frame of mind ever be “Happy?” But Jesus words not only implied the happiness of the life to come, they spoke in the present tense. Those who are depressed can find happiness in the here and now by depending on Him to conquer their depression and fill them with the joy of the Lord. But it is our choice to allow Him inside to do the work needed to break down the walls we have built to hold in all the miserable feelings we have allowed to grow and fester in our minds and hearts.

Now I know in a very real and personal sense that He really meant this “Be Happy Attitude;” because He brought me out of some very great mental issues along with severe depression that I had lived in for almost nine years. He took all of that away and gave me a new mind as well as a clean heart when I moved back into the Kingdom of God after an extended sojourn back in the land of the lost.


But Jesus didn’t stop with this remarkable statement He continued with a few other statements of who should be happy. The next one is:

4) “Happy are those who mourn; for they shall be comforted.”

Ok, now a father has just lost his wife and the mother of his children in death, and this man should be “happy?” But Jesus says in his grief his is happy. This makes no sense in my small human mind. How can a person in the middle of grieving for a lost loved one be happy? Apparently it is possible or Jesus would not have told us it was. But he can be happy – full of joy unspeakable and full of glory - in his grief if he knows Jesus; because he knows that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life and that he will be reunited in eternity with those who are also in Jesus that have gone before him in death.


The next one is:

5) “Happy are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

At first glance you might think that “meek” means “weak.” But I wanted to know what Jesus meant by “meek” so I looked this word up in my “Strong’s” too. I found that the word translated meek means: mild, humble, gentle – meek.

So Jesus was saying those who live their lives in a gentle manner, with a humble heart are to be happy because they will gain the earth as their inheritance. Now meekness or humbleness doesn’t mean that we have to allow others to walk all over us, it means that we aren’t pushy, but reserved. They aren’t forceful, but calm and orderly in their approach. They aren’t loud and overbearing, but quiet and gentle in their conversation. They aren’t impatient, but patient, longsuffering and forbearing in their waiting.

So meekness should encompass our whole being and in our meekness we would be happy. Jesus taught that when meekness does fill every aspect of our being; we who are meek would inherit the earth. But this inheritance is not just a future inheritance for eternity, it is meant for today as much as for the future. So how can we inherit the earth today? We inherit the earth today because Jesus bought this inheritance with His death and resurrection. What does this inheritance involve or include? It involves re-taking dominion of all that Jesus gave us control over in the Garden of Eden back from the usurper – satan. When Adam and Eve were placed in the garden “God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28 KJV. We, through our relationship to Adam, were given the dominion – control – of the earth, but when Adam sinned he gave that control over to satan, and now we can reclaim it if we have a relationship to Jesus through Salvation. We can have control over the things of the earth that Paul mentions in Ephesians 6: “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” KJV. And we inherit this when we surrender our lives to Jesus for His keeping and are washed in His blood; then He gives us gentleness – meekness – as one of the fruit of His Spirit dwelling within us.


After that Jesus taught:

6) “Happy are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”

I know we all understand what it means to be hungry and thirsty in some small measure. If we don’t eat, our stomach’s growl and we start to get weak in our bodies. If we don’t drink enough our mouths get dry and it starts making extra saliva to quench this dryness. If we wait too long to get a drink our whole body gets dehydrated, or dried out. But what does it mean to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Well let’s take a look at what the word righteousness means, first. The Strong’s” definition of righteousness isn’t very clear, so I went to my dictionary. It said: the state of being blameless, upright or just. Synonyms for righteousness are Godliness, integrity and justice, among others. I once heard a pastor say that righteousness meant “right standing before God.” This matches up with our dictionary definition of the word.

So if I understand this correctly we will be happy when we are constantly seeking to be blameless in the eyes of God because He is going to fill us with His righteousness or Godliness.


Now Jesus didn’t stop here He went on to tell of other things that should bring happiness to a person:

7) “Happy are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.”

Ok, so what is mercy and how will we obtain it. Again I looked into the “Strong’s” for the meaning of the words merciful and mercy. Mercy means: compassionate in word or deed, specifically by Devine grace; to have, obtain, receive, show mercy. And merciful simply means to be actively compassionate and full of mercy.
This one is a lot easier to understand how a person can be happy. Jesus said if we will spend our lives to show God’s compassion actively to those around us then He will fill us with His mercy. Sharing compassion with others, meeting their needs in small, always puts me in a frame of mind to smile and gives an inner glow throughout my being.


Jesus went on to say:

8) “Happy are the pure in heart; for they shall see GOD.”

“Pure in heart” can also be translated as sincere.

At first glance this “Be Happy” looks very straight forward; if we keep our hearts clean we know that we will be rewarded by spending eternity in God’s presence, so we are happy. But like all of Jesus’ “Be Happy” attitudes I believe that there is an immediate “seeing” of God to be had in our being pure of heart.

I believe this because when I am walking the path chosen for me by Jesus I hear – literally hear – Him singing His songs of praise and speaking the words of His eternal kingdom in my ears. I also “see” Him answering my prayers – both spoken and unspoken.

But when I slip from His side and begin walking my own road - a short cut, if you will – I no longer hear His voice or see His hand upon my life and answering my prayers. It’s almost like I have had a knit cap pulled down low over my face and earplugs in my ears. I can still see through the weaves, though the images are distorted. I can also still hear, yet the words are unintelligible and muffled. So I stumble around on MY path blinded by the darkness and unable to hear the directions of my beloved Master. Thus I become disoriented, lost, alone and much, MUCH afraid. Far indeed from the happiness of His closeness I had felt only moments before. Only He didn’t move . . . I did!



Who else did Jesus say were to be happy?

9) “Happy are the peacemakers: for they shall see God.”

Ok, so those who seek to bring peace where there is none have the promise of getting to see God. The thought alone brings a smile to my face. But is that all Jesus meant in this? In my “Strong’s” is says: one that makes peace, quietness, rest, to set at one again. “To set at one again?” If we look at this in respect to one who is working for peace in a war zone, it would be one who is trying to bring the thoughts and attitudes of the opposing sides into a place of harmony, to one point of view.

But peace is not just the absence of conflict; it is a place of calm within the conflict, something like the calm in the eye of a hurricane or tornado. All around you the storms of life are raging and everything may be falling apart, literally exploding all round about you, yet there is a place of quiet where you can find peace and rest for your mind, body and soul. This is true peace.

So a peacemaker is the person God uses to show others where they can find this place of peace within themselves in the middle of the conflict in their lives. This person has the wonderful promise of being able to see God. I believe they don’t have to wait until eternity to get the fulfillment of this promise. I believe they can actually see God NOW! Not in his “physical” being, but in every situation where they are working to bring peace, they are trying to bring others to a place of oneness with God. So they can SEE HIM in each situation where they have reached their goal of bringing peace. And they see HIM in their own lives, which is full of the same peace they are working to bring to others!


The next “Happy are” Jesus shares is:

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

We already learned that righteousness means being blameless before God. So, lets take a look at the meaning of persecuted. “Strong’s” said: one who is pursued or followed after. This isn’t very clear, so lets look at the dictionary: “To be pursued in order that the pursuer may inflict injury. To be harassed ill-treated or brought to harm, especially because of our religious opinions and beliefs.” OK that helps! So a believer who is being chased down, and harassed or beaten is to be happy because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. And Romans 14:17 KJV says that the Kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Now this happiness is not the hilarity of being entertained by a comedian or other happenings, it is the happiness within ones’ spirit. It is joy! So when we are chased down and/or injured because of our faith in Jesus, we are happy because we have received the Kingdom of God, which is His righteousness, peace AND JOY!


The Last “Be Happy” Jesus spoke was:

11) “Happy are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My name’s sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Wow, what a mouthful. At first glance it looks like Jesus is just repeating the previous “be Happy” thought, but lets look a little deeper. So lets break it down it bite size pieces.

First lets find out what REVILE means: “Strong’s” give this definition; to defame, taunt, chide, rail at, upbraid. So what does that mean? Our dictionary reads: to cheapen, to address with abusive or shameful language, heap abuse upon, to slander (utter false statements about), vilify (to degrade), malign (to speak evil of with spite or ill will), asperse (to spread false reports), vituperate (to blame abusively, berate). OK, to revile means to speak the most horrible, but false, things about a person in order to make others think badly and to want abusive things to happen to the person you are talking about. And Persecute means to chase down in order to cause harm or injury. What exactly does EXCEEDINGLY mean? It means excessively or beyond the limits of all others.

OK, Those who are treated in this manner, because they love and follow Jesus, are not just to be happy, but also to rejoice and be exceedingly glad, gladder than any others could ever be. Because their reward will be very great in heaven, they are among a huge gathering of people throughout the ages; from the prophets and patriarchs of old down through the ages to those of tomorrow around the world that have and will suffer for being believers. All believers will suffer some kind of persecution, but not all will be martyrs for the cause of Christ. This is the group Jesus is speaking about in this “be happy” attitude. I have heard of those in the reformation who not only were killed in all sorts of horrible ways because of their beliefs, but also went to their deaths with smiles on their faces and the praises of Jesus on their lips until they drew their dying breaths. This happiness permeated their whole being even during the most hideous of tortures. This is the happiness Jesus said we could have now in the face of this type of persecution and abuse. He knew that there would be those in the days, years and even centuries ahead that would give their lives because they love Him more than their very lives.


After learning about all the situations we are to be happy in I then got to understanding that “happiness” is not just a feeling it is a choice we make in whatever situation we find ourselves. And when we find ourselves in any of the positions that Jesus was teaching about we have to choose to be full of happiness; full of His joy! We can choose to be happy when we are the poor in spirit. We can choose to be happy when we are in times of mourning. We can choose to be happy in our meekness, our gentleness. We can choose to happy as we seek to fill ourselves to overflowing with His righteousness. We can choose to be happy, as we are merciful and compassionate to those under our care in ministry or family. We can choose to be happy when we are faithfully following the path He has chosen for you. We can choose to be happy as we teach others how to fill their lives with the peace we have found in Jesus. We can choose to be happy when we are being harassed for the things of God that we hold dear to our hearts. And if we are among the few, we can choose to be happy as we follow Jesus in death for our faith in Him.

And for these choices we have made we will receive: The Kingdom of Heaven while we are here on earth. We shall have the Comforter giving us comfort from within. We shall regain our control of the earth and all that is in it. We shall be filled with righteousness and Godliness. We shall be full of His mercy – the unmerited favor of God. We shall see God in us, in others and in the things happening all around us. We shall be His children – joint heirs with Jesus now and forever. We will have all of this now, and great rewards in eternity with Jesus when He passes out the spoils of the victory round His great throne in heaven! Hallelujah!