In a recent sermon, Joe AC, pastoral director of Parkdale Neighbourhood Church in Toronto concluded with these modern day Beatitudes from the perspective of our contemporary, self-satisfied church culture.

by Joe Abbey-Colborne

Blessed are the well off and those
…with ready answers for every spiritual question;
…they have it all.

Blessed are the comfortable;
…they shall avoid grief.

Blessed are the self-sufficient;
…they wait for nothing, they have everything they want,
…and they have it now.

Blessed are those who are not troubled by
…the injustice experienced by others;
…they are content with realistic expectations.

Blessed are the ones who gain the upper hand;
…they take full advantage of their advantages.

Blessed are those with a solid public image
…and a well hidden agenda;
…they are never exposed and see people
…in a way that suits their purposes.

Blessed are those who can bully others into agreement;
…they shall be called empire builders.

Blessed are those who can point to someone else
…who is a worse person than they are,
…they will always look good by comparison.

Blessed are you when people praise you, give you preferential treatment, and flatter you because they think you’re so great. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because it doesn’t get any better than this.

This is the way our church has always made celebrities of the best and brightest.

http://empireremixed.com/2010/10/08/the-beatitudes-of-our-current-church-culture/