In our Sunday evening series, we studied Matthew 5:3, “A Happy Humility.” We made three observations.

1. Happiness and God-wrought, Godly Humility are NOT at Odds! The world would never reach this conclusion, and neither would we in our sinful, fallen state! The way of the flesh is to pursue fleshly desires, self-interest, and believe that happiness rest on a bed of pride. Nothing could be farther from the truth! It’s pride that says we are always right. It’s pride that causes us to lash out in anger when others disagree with us. It’s pride that moves us to always assume the negative in the actions and motivations of others. It’s pride that makes it so easy for us to assume our way is always God’s way! Happy humility is not the way of the world, but it is the way of godliness, the way of discipleship, the way of Christ! It is precisely the radical difference of happy humility that forces others to take notice! Not so much that believers are humble, but that they are joyful in their humility. That is too radical to not be noticed! There are only two possible explanations for such a life. Either we are insane or we have a treasure!
2. The Happiness of Godly Humility is Grounded in Eternal Realities. How can a believer be happy and humble? A believer’s fulfillment is not getting his way or his rights. A believer’s fulfillment is in what Christ has already given him, the Kingdom of Heaven! A believer’s life is not wrapped up in self, status, or what he can achieve. A believer’s life is wrapped up in Christ! A believer can see what the rich young ruler could not, namely, that what he has in Christ far surpasses whatever he might have in this life!
3. Who are the Happy Humble? It is clear by now that the Beatitudes are not so much prescribing behavior for believers as they are describing the behavior of believers. Believers are the happy humble because believers are the inheritors of the kingdom of heaven! Nothing is a happier, more humble occasion than coming to Christ. Repentance and faith require a lot of humility. One has to admit their insufficiency and his total dependence upon Christ! It is a happy, humble time! Then, a believer discovers in the Christian life that cross-centered living is really more joyful than me-centered living! It is really more blessed to give than to receive! FInally, as with every other Christian virtue, as saved sinners, we drift out of humility and into pride at times. It is then we become miserable until the Lord corrects us through the Word or the Spirit or fellow believers. We repent. We humble ourselves before the Lord, and we are joyful again!