A Kingdom of Losers

December 22nd, 2025

Matthew 5:1-6.

We like to win, don’t we? From soccer to the Super Bowl, from Friday night lights to family game night, our culture has a “thing” for winning. From politics to family relationships to worship music, we’ve developed this idea that God’s people are “winners.”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a whole different list of people who are recipients of the blessings of the kingdom: The poor in spirit. Those who mourn. The meek. Those who hunger for righteousness. The merciful. The pure in heart. The peacemakers. The persecuted. This doesn’t sound like a list of “winners” to me.

The Beatitudes remind us that the way of Jesus is the way of powerlessness and loss. It’s the way of humility, sacrifice, and suffering. It’s the way of the manger and the cross.

Jesus “wins” through losing. It could be that all our focus on victories and winning might actually be seductively leading us away from the heart of Jesus. Passages like this teach us that God has a special place in His heart for people our culture might label as losers.

Author: Mark Hendrickson