turning the world upside down

Matthew 5:1-12

Jesus spends a lot of time on mountains, it seems. A mountain is the setting for Jesus' sermon here - in Luke a very similar sermon is given while on the plains (kind of like the Jewish prairies?). I'm not doubting that Jesus actually preached this sermon on a mountain but I think that Matthew has an agenda in pointing out the location. Because Matthew is writing to convince a Jewish audience that Jesus is the promised Messiah, he wants them to draw a clear parallel between the Law given to Moses (on a mountain) and the new Law given by Jesus (also on a mountain). This is made more pronounced by the fact that Jesus deals directly with some of the laws and traditions that belonged to the old covenant between God and humans ("you have heard that it was said... but I tell you...").
Jesus begins the process of turning the world upside down by giving a blessing to the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry, etc. All the people who traditionally would be looked down on. All the people who "aren't going to make it" according to the rules of this world. In a world that celebrates power, wealth and resiliency Jesus reminds us that the values of God and His Kingdom are very different.
What does this mean for me? It reminds me that I have made God according to my own ideas and imagination. I see God as one who "helps those who help themselves" (even if I would never say that) rather than as one who blesses the poor in spirit and the meek, giving them the kingdom of heaven and this world for an inheritance. This tells me that I have allowed the values and the philosophies of this world shape my own values and priorities and it is through these false values that I filter God's revelation to me. The danger is that I will start to put my energy, time and resources into people who might be able to someday measure up to this false ideal and standard of success rather than pouring my time, energy and resources into people who are meek, poor, hungry and mourning. The other danger is that I will celebrate and hold up in high esteem those who meet the false standard of success and who have inherited the kingdom of this world with all its empty rewards rather than those who have truly inherited the kingdom of heaven. God, help me to read your word and see your character for what it really is and not as filtered through my own ideas and values. Make the glass through which I see you a little bit more clear.