In His Sermon on the Mount, the first thing Jesus is recorded to say in this sermon is >
"'Blessed are the poor in spirit,
. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'"
. . . . . . . .. . . . . . (Matthew 5:3)
According to my Strong's Concordance Greek dictionary, "poor" can mean crouching, or having very little and being a beggar.
One thing I think of about begging is how someone can be grateful for whatever you give the person. So . . . if we are grateful for whatever God pleases to share with us . . . ours is "the kingdom of heaven."
They seem to have a certain honest and true assessment of themselves.
Luke 18:
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and despised others:
10 Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank You that I am not like
other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the tax collector, standing afar off,
would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven,
but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner!
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other; for everyone
who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Luke 7:
36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house,
and sat down to eat.
37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that
Jesus sat at the table
in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,
38 and stood at His feet behind
Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears,
and wiped
them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed
them with
the fragrant oil.
39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw
this, he spoke to himself, saying,
This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman
this is who is
touching Him, for she is a sinner.
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you.
So he said, Teacher, say it.
41 There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the
other fifty.
42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me,
therefore, which of them will love him more?
43 Simon answered and said, I suppose the
one whom he forgave more.
And He said to him, You have rightly judged.
44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, Do you see this woman?
I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped
them with the hair of her head.
45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.
46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.
But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
48 Then He said to her, Your sins are forgiven.
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves,
Who is this who even forgives sins?
50 Then He said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.
These may not correspond precisely to the expression "poor in spirit", but the Lord did use
these stories to illustrate something that moves me deeply.