Life Changing Lessons From Jesus
The Bible: New King James Version
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffet display a large amount of frugality, despite their mass wealth. I mean, Mark Zuckerberg often drives a family car and Warren Buffet has resided in the same $31,000 house in Omaha, Nebraska since 1958. The key point I suppose is to live just a little under your means, there’s a time and place to splash the cash, but that shouldn’t be often; if you wish to create wealth.
“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth.” — The patient people who embrace the pain/the grind/the hard work, now, for some greater goal are those who really get to the top. In Christianity, this is those who take the long pledge to test their faith and eventually find God (to keep it short). In everyday life, this is people like Bill Gates who had ’10 dark years’ in which he didn’t leave the house or take a day off so he could work on Microsoft.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” We often hear musicians and sportsmen talk about being the ‘most hungry’, hinting at their pursuit to be the greatest. And it’s the hungriest of them all, such as Michael Jordan that mark their names in history as the greatest. For Christians, there is a drive to be the greatest Christian they possibly can be by having things like full faith in God, being altruistic and obeying the Ten Commandments.
“Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” A self explanatory quote, ‘going the extra mile.’ This is cliché, yet extremely powerful. If you spent that extra hour in the gym, that extra hour each day studying, that extra hour grinding even when you were tired — how much better would you be at your craft? For Christians, this is doubling down I suppose. Maybe attending Church twice on Sabbath or helping out with the service.
“I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you.” I believe Jesus was saying we must use our enemies as people that drive us forward and also people that force us to deeply reflect (the last part is hard). I’ve personally found that whenever I have to compete in the classroom, the gym or the football pitch, the opponent more than often brings out the very best in me. The opponent especially forces me to reflect on where I am weak and where I am strong. Friedrich Nietzsche alluded to this when he compared the mind to an ‘impenetrable fortress that can only be penetrated by friends & enemies.’
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the Plank in your own eye?” Avoid being a hypocrite and so judgemental, when you are not perfect nor in any position to judge anyone. I recently watched a family member judging the Kardashians… as she watched them on television. Had she removed the Plank in her eye, she would have realised she is wasting her time and only making them more wealthy.
“Do not give what is holy to dogs; nor cast your pearls on swine.” Jesus was handing out quite a bitter pill to swallow. We should not waste our time on ‘dogs’ — people or maybe even things that are aggressive, abusive and hostile. Nor should we try to change people (for the better) that our completely stuck in their ways. We’ve all come across that person that we try to help, that reacts harshly and sparks argument. It is important you have humility, as well as most of those you spend your time with.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” We must have the humility to ask questions, the aggression to find the answers and persistence to get to the end. Ask, seek, knock.
And here’s a final one to leave you on, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who are in by it… Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
~ Tyler
