The Beatitudes for Our World Today

Words to live by in these difficult times

By S. A. K. Arthur, author of The Last Heir of Arthur and *I Am Yeshua*

Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash

There is much in the world that deserves our attention and empathy. There is much happening today, particularly in the United States, to be concerned with. This is especially true if we consider ourselves kind and decent people…people who live by and defend what’s right [1] for everyone, not just those we consider to be like us.

So, perhaps it’s time to reenvision the Beatitudes for our world today.

Imagine, then, a person you respect, standing before a multitude, speaking these words…

Rejoice! And hear. Understand! And great will be the reward.

Blessed [**2] are the poor in spirit, the downcast, and the barren, for it is they who most deserve heaven,[[3]](#_ftn3)** and to whom we are to give solace.

Blessed are they who do not shame or put down but instead offer love and a hand to lift up, for they will be among the first to enter heaven.

Blessed are they who feed and clothe others in need, for they will be honored in heaven.

Blessed are the homeless and outcast, for it is they we are to welcome and give shelter.

Blessed are those who mourn, for it is they we are to give comfort.

Blessed are the meek, for it is they who will inherit the Earth.

Blessed are the lonely and the solitary, for it is they we are to offer kinship and family.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they are nearest to the perfection of mind and spirit.**[4]**

Blessed are the merciful and the good, for it is their footsteps we are to follow in.

Blessed are they who are kind to all living creatures, for it is they we owe all manner of kindnesses.

Blessed are the persecuted for doing always what is right, for it is they we owe the greatest respect.

Blessed are they who seek not the material nor the transient, wealth nor dominion, for it is they we owe our reverence.

Blessed are they of the middle way,**[5]** who follow the honorable path, for it is they we owe all honor in recompense.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for it is they we are to give cloaks of glory.

But woe to you who are rich and whose bellies are full, for you have received your consolation in the world of today, yet will not in the heaven of tomorrow.

Woe to you who laugh at the misery of others today, for you will mourn and weep in the heaven of tomorrow.

Woe to you who impose your morality and laws on those who believe and act and love differently than you, for the doors of heaven will be closed to you.

Woe to you who call for harm in the name of your god or law, for there will be no room in heaven for you.

Woe to you who raise a fist, for in the end, you will be the fools — the lost sheep the shepherd seeks not.

And woe to you who lack love and compassion, for you will be among the lowliest.

After all, are you really so innocent? Have you not made mistakes? Have you no flaws?

How can you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye and not the log in your own?

Are you and your fellows not the blind guiding the blind? Will you all not stumble and fall?

I say to you, then, seek perfection of spirit, deeds, and words.

Do always that which is difficult — seek wisdom, love those who hate you, bless those who curse you, forgive those who abuse you, accept those who are different from you. For if you love those who love you, it is love, but it is not enough. If you do good to those who do good to you, it is goodness, but it is of little credit to you.

If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer them the other also. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second. If anyone takes what belongs to you, give them their leave and your blessing.

To those who ask, give. To those who search, help them find. To those who knock, open the door.

If you have a home and possessions, give them away. If you have money, give it freely to those who have nothing.

Above all else, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.**[6]**

Be not boastful or prideful, be honorable and honest, for then your words will be enough.

Be not daunted if you stumble on your journey, for the journey matters also.

Be nurturing of mind and body, for they are the sinless center of life, wisdom, and love.

Be not angry with a brother or sister, friend or stranger. Harm no one and nothing, or be forever looking over your shoulder.

Be obeisant of the good laws and resistant in peace of the bad.

Be not like the zealots or the despots. Be not like those who cast blame and dispersions. Be not like the tyrants who demand everything and give nothing. Be not like the hypocrites who preach the good yet shun and harm. For they are the ones who will forever be on the outside, and never in.

The sun rises, and the rain falls on everyone in equal measure. The places they come from, the gods they worship, the languages they speak, the persons they love — it matters not.

Be responsible for your own actions. Earn the forgiveness of others.

Do not blindly believe. Seek always the truth. Trust in the evidence of your eyes. Believe in the wisdom of the truly wise.

Do all that I have told you. Then will you become the perfection of the beginning,**[7]** the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.

Together, create the heaven of tomorrow. Not in the sky, but in the here — around us, inside of us, and outside of us. With new eyes, see the world anew. Let the two become one. Let the outside become like the inside. Let the below become like the above.**[8]**

Then will tears cease, and peace and joy reign.

May you be content with the bread of today. May you be free of sorrow, want, and pain. May you always have hope. May you be forgiving and forgiven. May you be steadfast in your kindness. May peace and joy envelop you all your days. May we be together one day in the heaven of our creation.

[1] — Core Right: compassion, kindness, courage, cooperation, sharing, fairness, tolerance, humility, integrity, uprightness, justice, nobility, honor, patience, and respect. See What’s Right, What’s Wrong — Article 1: Getting to the Core of Right.

[2] — Blessed: divinely or happily favored; fortunate to have, do, or experience something.

[3] — Heaven: a place or state of supreme happiness.

[4] — Spirit: an attitude or principle that inspires, animates, or pervades thought, feeling, or action.

[5] — Middle Way: the Golden Mean. The perfect place between extremes.

[6] — Predecessors of the Golden Rule: “Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.” — Thales of Miletus; “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the whole Torah.” — Talmud; “That which is unfavorable to us, do not do that to others.” — Padma Purana; “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.” — Analects

[7] — Plato, *Timaeus*: “The demiurge…put intelligence in soul…soul in body…[and] framed the universe to be the most fair and excellent work in the order of nature.”

[8] — Gospel of Thomas 22 and 3