Jesus opened His first and longest sermon like this:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

With so many things to talk about, with so much to teach, God-in-the-flesh started out by declaring that the poor in spirit are blessed and own heaven.

Being poor in spirit, of course, has nothing to do with having little money. Spiritual poverty means we realize our spiritual misery without God. Our pride is broken. We acknowledge we know nothing and are utterly helpless without Him.

If we think about it, it makes total sense. How can anyone seek the riches of learning, unless they consider themselves spiritually poor? How can one accept a new teaching unless there is real humility to admit ignorance or error?

The first words in His sermon were meant to let us know that unless we are humble in our spirit, we wouldn’t understand a word of what He would say next.