The Devil's Beatitudes
First let me take a moment to remind everyone what God's Beatitudes are:
Matthew 5:3-10
(3) Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(4) Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
(5) Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
(6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
(7) Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
(8) Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
(9) Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
(10) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
NKJV
Now... if the devil were to write his beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:
(1) Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians,
for they are my best workers.
(2) Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked for something and then expect to be thanked,
for I can use them.
(3) Blessed are those who stop going to church because they once were offended,
for they are my missionaries.
(4) Blessed are the troublemakers, the discouragers, and the judgemental,
for they shall be called my children.
(5) Blessed are the complainers, the murmurers, and the self-pitied,
for I am all ears to them.
(6) Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes,
for they shall get nothing from his sermons.
(7) Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church,
for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
(8) Blessed are the liars, gossipers, those who criticize and the accusers,
for they shall cause strife, discord and division that pleases me.
(9) Blessed are those who are easily offended or always make excuses,
for they will soon get angry and quit.
(10) Blessed are those who do not give their offering to carry on God's work,
for they are my helpers.
(11) Blessed are they who professes to love God but hates their brother and/or sister,
for they shall be with me forever.
(12) Blessed are you who, when you read this, think it is about other people and not yourself,
I'VE GOT YOU TOO!!!
I personally know of 4-5 things that I, myself, am guilty of in "The Devil's Beatitude". Now that it has been brought to the forefront of my attention... I definitely want to work on these areas of my life.
I'm sure those of you reading this are also guilty of 3-4 things. Prayerfully, you will also keep it in mind and make a commitment to improve in that area.
For those of you whom this DOES NOT apply to at all...
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
You have just proven to be the number (12) of "The Devil's Beautitude."