When I was nine I memorized the Beatitudes so Walla Walla First Church of the Nazarene would pay some of my cost of going to summer camp. So I have known the first one, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” for a long time.” Most of that time I haven’t really known what it meant—still don’t probably. But I think I have run across a couple Southern expressions that might help unpack some of what being poor of spirit is and isn’t.
I think being poor in spirit isn’t what folks in the South call poor-mouthing (po-mouthin). This, at least as I understand it, isn’t the same thing as bad-mouthing someone. Poor-mouthing is always talking about how poor you are and how you just can’t afford this or that. A po-mouther might look at someone’s new car and say, “Wow, that’s a mighty fine car. It must be nice to be able to afford a car like that.” Or, “My goodness, this old dress, it ain’t new. I haven’t had a new dress for years.” Some do this about their health and make everyone afraid to ask, “How you doin?”
Another kind of po-mouthing is done by those “humble” church folk who are always telling others what they aren’t able to do. We can also spiritualize this by explaining that certain kinds of work or service aren’t our calling or gifting. Sometimes we can po-mouth ourselves right out of obeying God. Moses tried this and sorely tried God’s patience. And if you think about it, the guy in the parable with one talent did some po-mouthin when he explained why he had hidden that talent in ground instead of investing it. Po-mouthin is an enemy of faith.
The motives for poor-mouthing probably vary, but the result is usually the same: everything becomes about the person, how little they have, how little they can do, how poorly they feel. Po-mouthers can fool themselves into thinking this is being poor in spirit—when it is just being poor in the mouth.
Another expression that may point the way, one that may just be old-fashioned, is “much obliged”. Like many pleasantries, this can be said without much thought, but if you think about it, “much obliged” says more than “Thank you.” It is both an expression of gratitude and recognition of an obligation.
Gratitude and a sense of obligation are key characteristics of those who are poor in spirit. The poor in spirit recognize that all they have is a gracious gift from God—each breath is a blessing. The blood of Christ has purchased us and we are God’s possession: we are much obliged to him. We are only one member of the whole Body of Christ; we are much obliged to all the other members. And to those who founded this country, who pioneered it and fought for its freedoms, we are much obliged.
Perhaps the breakdown in community parallels the loss of the saying, “Much obliged.” The web of obligation between neighbor and neighbor and individuals and the community are what keep us “doing for” one another. Some observers have said we now live in an age of entitlement where most think about their rights and what they deserve. The myriad lawsuits certainly indicate this. And the greater the affluence, the more we can live the myth of self-sufficiency and being self-made men. During the great depression, “much obliged” was heard the day long.
There is probably more to being poor in spirit, but part of it, I think, is having a heart “Much obliged.”
