Who is “Poor in Spirit”?
You’ll find a huge variety of responses. The most popular: someone who recognizes their own spiritual poverty. In other words, the humble. But it doesn’t say those who recognize, it says those who are. Why would people that have a poor spiritual life be happy?
Francis De Sales and Peter Kreeft have a different take:
“The poor in spirit, who are detached from riches, are the opposite of the avaricious” Back to Virtue, Peter Kreeft p. 90
The term poor in spirit refers to those who don’t care about riches.
I imagine a person, born with great wealth, but without caring about any of the luxuries and amenities it brings. The billionaire who lives in a simple house and drives a simple car. Warren Buffer seems to be this way.
If you care about wealth, whether you are poor or wealthy - you are driven to get in this world. You spend your time enjoying all the pleasures the world can offer.
Sometimes people don’t pursue riches because they are lazy. Or they lack the courage to try. But the person who has the courage and energy, and even has the wealth - but cares for nothing that it brings - that is the person poor in spirit.