How do you survive a great white shark?  Poke the thing in the eye.  That's what Jason Cull of Australia did on Saturday.  Today's New York Times tells us how Mr. Cull relied on his wits and thumbs to defeat the fierce predator.  He's a happy man this morning.

What would make you happy today?  As we learned yesterday, Jesus promises that his followers will find true happiness if we will learn to use nine keys, all found in the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount.  The first is translated by the NIV (together with all more literal versions) as: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).  The Greek rendered "poor in spirit" literally means "spiritually destitute."  This Greek word does not describe the person who has nothing to spare (penes), but the person who has nothing at all (ptochos).

"In spirit" shows the kind of poverty Jesus has in mind.  So The Message renders the verse, "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope."  The New English Bible catches the sense best: "Blessed are those who know their need of God."

Why?  "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  "The kingdom of heaven" is the place where God rules, where his will is done, where he is King.  Only when we know how much we need God will we make him our King.  If we will admit our need of God, we will be his servant and he will be our King.  Otherwise we forfeit his power and grace.

This is the foundational issue to all genuine success, joy, peace, and happiness in life.  Who is king, you or God?  Are you poor in spirit, or not?

When we are king, church is a civic organization with a Bible study, part of the culture but nothing more.  We attend church in the same way that we attend other civic or charitable functions.  We are religious in the same way that we are Republicans or Democrats--our faith is a compartment of the lives we control.  But we are king.  Then Christianity exists to help us succeed.  To give us peace and happiness; to help us with our problems; to help us accomplish our goals and fulfill our ambitions.

But when we are poor in spirit, we trade in religion for relationship.  We worship God not so he will bless us but because he has.  We read Scripture and pray not to impress God but because we do.  We give our time and money not to pay our debt to God but because Jesus already has.  So when the sharks find you today, admit your need of God's help and hope, and they will be yours.  Let's continue tomorrow.