No one is actually being told that they are better off for being poor, for mourning, for being persecuted, and so on, or that the conditions listed are recommended ways to well-being before God or man. Nor are the Beatitudes indications of who will be on top “after the revolution.” They are explanations and illustrations, drawn from the immediate

We’re commanded to “not be haughty in mind but to associate with the lowly.” There is to be no sense of superiority in our actions or attitude as we relate to those who have hurt us or those who are different from us.