Be—ATTITUDINAL; it’s not what you think: part 1

In the last eight days, I’ve been in board meetings and training sessions with agencies and advocates serving some of Michigan’s most vulnerable people. And let me tell you, these folks are some of the finest human beings God ever dropped on this planet—no exaggeration. They’re out here doing the work, serving victims of violence and those the system conveniently forgets.

And how are they rewarded? With cuts in funding that impact the most vulnerable. Helping people is just too expensive. Meanwhile, the folks making these cuts won’t miss a dime of their salaries. It’s funny how that works.

Now, not everyone I’ve worked with shares my particular faith in Christ, but—wild concept—they actually live out His teachings better than a lot of folks who love to shout His name but conveniently forget the whole “love your neighbor” part. The Beatitudes? These advocates walk them out daily—no fanfare, no megaphones, just relentless, compassionate action. Imagine that.

And Honestly, I love working alongside people with a Beatitudinal mindset rather than those who claim Christ but whose attitude couldn’t be further from what Christ taught. So, I wrote this sermon and prayer practice—if you’re so inclined to read on our blog based on a talk I gave last Sunday below. ❤️

The Beatitudes Are Not a Checklist but a Reality Check.

The Sermon on the Mount outlines the core values, ethics, and behaviors expected of those who claim to follow Christ. What is known as the Beatitudes, emphasizes humility, love, forgiveness, and a focus on the Kingdom of Heaven. It challenges conventional societal norms and calls for a radical transformation of the heart empowered by God’s grace.

These words of Jesus might seem like a “doormat” passage if you don’t know the original language, but they are anything but passive! The Aramaic word Jesus used, translated into English as “blessed,” was ashray, derived from the verb yashar. Ashray carries no sense of passivity; instead, it means “to set yourself on the right path toward the right goal; to turn around, to repent.” These words do not call us to accept abuse or passively endure suffering without recourse. Rather, they embody a justice-seeker’s BE-attitude and DO-attitude. Elias Chacour, in We Belong to the Land, offers a more accurate picture of the Spirit of Jesus—one who constantly calls us to step into injustice on behalf of the vulnerable.

Jesus is not asking us to take the posture of a doormat, but to become a welcome mat, inviting others into the heart of God.

The Beatitudes: Jesus’ Guide to Winning by Losing

Let’s be real: if Jesus had a PR team, they would have begged Him to open the Sermon on the Mount with something a little more… aspirational. Something about how the strong, the wealthy, and the successful are God’s obvious favorites. Maybe a nice, motivating “Go out there and claim your blessing!” speech. Instead, Jesus opens with this list of “blessings” that sound suspiciously like a consolation prize for the people who are losing at life.

And let’s not forget—Jesus begins by sitting down and not standing up, wagging a finger, or strutting around like a bandy rooster. No theatrics, no grand gestures. Just sitting calmly as if to say, This isn’t about power moves. This is about something more profound—human dignity.

Not only are things happening in our nation and around the world, but people are still in need of mercy for their jobs and their children. Family members are still dying, cars are breaking down, plumbing is breaking down, and relationships are breaking down. People need heavenly attitudes that affect earthly reality.

My dad used to say, “If you can’t stand it, sit down,” and honestly, the spiritual practice of regularly sitting down is helping regulate my reactivity so that I can choose a response before I stand up.

So I invite us to sit down with Jesus, shall we, and hear these tender and powerful words from the book of Matthew:

“Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

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

Ah yes, those who don’t have it together feel like a mess and probably sat down to hear Jesus speak because they were too exhausted to do anything else. The kind of people who are desperate right now. And yet, Jesus says these are the very people to whom the Kingdom belongs. Not the self-righteous. Not the ones who have all the theological answers. Nope—the ones who know they’re running on empty.

Our personality strategies keep us from facing our own spiritual poverty. If we don’t confront our illusions of control, we miss out on the grace Jesus is talking about. Turns out, grace works best on people who know they need it.”

To-Do →→ Advocate for policies that protect and uplift the marginalized, rather than punish poverty. Economic justice isn’t charity; it’s kingdom work.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

This one is particularly annoying because most of us would rather not be in a position to need comfort. Wouldn’t it be better to be “Blessed are those who have no problems”? But no, Jesus blesses the people who are grieving, who have lost something, or someone who feels like the ground has been ripped out from under them. And here’s the twist: He doesn’t say, “Cheer up; it’s all part of God’s plan.” He says they will be comforted. Not by clichés. Not by toxic positivity. But by the presence of a God who actually shows up in our pain.

I encourage you to actually feel your grief, not suppress it. Contemplative spirituality isn’t about numbing or avoiding pain; it’s about letting God meet us in it. And it’s not just personal grief—what about lamenting injustice, mourning broken systems? If we don’t mourn what’s wrong, how can we ever long for things to be made right?

To-Do → Mourn, weep, lament with those harmed by unjust laws. Stand in solidarity with grieving families affected by violence, deportation, or systemic oppression.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

The meek? The ones who don’t push their way to the front? The ones who have a narrative that is untrue and get lied about. Yeah, those people. It turns out that Christ’s Kindom-life isn’t ultimately run by the power-hungry or the loudest voices—it’s held together by the ones who persist in patience, and integrity. The ones who aren’t constantly trying to grab control. The ones who, when all the empires fall, are still standing because they weren’t playing that game to begin with.

Let me challenge the driven, power-oriented types to ask themselves: Where am I grasping for control instead of surrendering? Meekness isn’t weakness; it’s radical trust.

To-Do → Resist the arrogance of power with humility and persistence. Don’t play by the world’s rules of dominance; engage with integrity.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Hunger and thirst are not casual emotions. No one is like, Oh, I’m slightly hungry for justice today. No—this is for the people who look at their personal lives, at the world, and feel a deep, gut-wrenching ache because things are not as they should be. The ones who keep fighting for what’s right, even when they’re tired, even when it feels hopeless. And Jesus’ promise? They will be filled. Maybe not immediately. Maybe not the way they expect. But their hunger won’t go unanswered.

Elias Chacour said, “When I understand Jesus’ words in Aramaic, I translate like this: Get up, go ahead, do something, move, you who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for you shall be satisfied. Get up, go ahead, do something, move…”

To-Do → Demand justice through civic engagement, protests, advocacy, and policy reform. Hunger for righteousness means taking action.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

Mercy is not the world’s default setting. The world runs on grudges, payback, and ensuring people “get what they deserve.” But Jesus says the ones who actually win at life are the ones who choose mercy. Not because it’s easy, not because people deserve it, but because mercy changes everything. The ones who give grace are the ones who truly understand it. And the more you give, the more you realize how desperately you need it yourself.

“Mercy isn’t just about what we extend to others; it’s about recognizing our own need for it first. Our personality strategies often keep us locked in cycles of judgment—either against ourselves or others. But when we begin to see ourselves truthfully, with all our blind spots, hot spots, and traumatic spots, we recognize how much grace we require. And that recognition softens us, making mercy not just an obligation, but a way of being. The more mercy we practice, the more we enter God’s heart and receive mercy in return— as the natural flow of a life shaped by love.

Ask yourself: Where am I withholding mercy? Where am I resisting grace for myself? Because, in the end, mercy isn’t weakness—it’s divine strength in action.

To-Do → Challenge policies that criminalize compassion. Welcome the discarded, displaced, dismissed, and rejected; utterly reject the revenge-driven justice systems.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Being “pure in heart” sounds a little too much like something you’d find in a polyannic Girl Scout pledge, but it’s really about clarity. Those who aren’t playing games, manipulating, or putting on a religious performance are those who actuallysee God. Why? Because they’re not distracted by their own self-importance. They’re open, honest, and ready for whatever God is doing next.

Purity of heart isn’t about moral perfection but interior alignment with God’s love. Our personality strategies often cloud our vision—our need to be right, admired, in personal safety alone, or in control. But when we release these illusions, we begin to see with new eyes. Seeing God isn’t about earning a spiritual gold star; it’s about clearing away the distractions that keep us from loving God and our neighbor as we love ourselves. The question is: What are we clinging to that’s obscuring our vision?”

To-Do → Keep our motives clear. Refuse partisan idolizing, no selling out our values for political gain or people pleasing—just a commitment to truth and love.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Here’s a fun fact: nobody actually likes peacemakers. Peacemakers are the ones who ruin an excellent argument by saying, “Hey, maybe we should try understanding each other.“ They get labeled as weak, naïve, or—worst of all—boring. But Jesus says they are God’s own children, because God is in the business of mending, restoring, and reconciling. It turns out that the actual rebels aren’t the ones stirring up drama but ending it.

“Peacemaking isn’t about being ‘nice‘—it’s about radical truth-telling wrapped in love. We each approach conflict differently: some avoid it, some rush in like a wrecking ball, and some manipulate peace rather than make it. But real peacemaking requires inner transformation. It’s costly. It disrupts false harmony. It demands that we face hard truths with compassion. Being a child of God means participating in God’s work of reconciliation—not as passive spectators, but as active agents of healing.”

To-Do → Work against division and scapegoating. Promote reconciliation and refuse to be manipulated by fear-mongering rhetoric.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Don’t expect a standing ovation if you’re actually living out these Beatitudes. Expect resistance. Expect pushback. Expect people to misunderstand, criticize, and even outright reject you. But here’s the thing—Jesus says you’re in good company. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who don’t fit neatly into the world’s systems. So if following Jesus has ever made your life harder instead of more straightforward, congratulations: you’re doing it right.

If your faith is always comfortable, it might not be the gospel. Jesus calls us to a righteousness that unsettles the status quo—not for the sake of troublemaking but for the sake of justice. Our work with the Enneagram of Personality Styles shows how different personality styles handle pushback: some shrink back, some push harder, and some seek approval instead of truth. But real righteousness isn’t about ego strategies—it’s about entering God’s heart for the world, no matter the cost. The Kingdom belongs to those willing to stand in that tension.”

Question: Where am I resisting transformation? Where am I making peace instead of keeping it? Where am I seeking comfort instead of righteousness? Because living the Beatitudes isn’t about looking holy—it’s about being changed.

To-Do → Expect resistance. Speaking truth to power has never been popular, but Jesus never promised popularity—only the Kingdom.

Conclusion: For all my friends facing pain, shame, fear, or violence, Listen to Jesus say, “I am in solidarity with you.” For all of my friends who can help and want to walk into God’s heart in this solidarity, just do it!

If “orders” defy the Beatitudes, then we respond as Jesus did—with truth, action, and unwavering love. We hold leaders accountable, refuse to be complicit in injustice, and embody the Kingdom alternative. Our protest is not just against something—it is for the world Jesus envisions: one where the poor are lifted, the mourning are comforted, and mercy reigns over judgment.

Those persecuted for righteousness sake because you refuse to stay silent or sedentary, do it. Show up, speak up, spit it out! Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. You, like Jesus, will show up in the face of evil and say, “Whatever I can do, in all the ways I can do it, I will stand against evil until God’s Kingdom comes on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Let’s get our hands dirty and build a human society for human beings; otherwise, others will torture and murder the poor, the voiceless, and the powerless. Christianity is not passive but active, energetic, alive, going beyond despair. . .  Get up, go ahead, do something, move.

The Beatitudes Are Not a Checklist; they’re a reality check.

Now hear Jesus’ provocative and empowering words today: “DO IT—All of Heaven is behind you.”

@clareandscottloughrige2025

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Watch for part 2 coming soon <3