"Clapping"
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We can today at the
thresh hold of a great event,
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both in the life of the United
Nations and in the life of
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of mankind. This universal
declaration of human rights
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may well become the Inter-
national Magna Carta of all men
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everywhere.
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On the 10th of December 1948,
the 58 member countries of the
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United Nations agreed to
The Universal Declaration of
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Human Rights drafted
by the United Nations.
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This was a milestone moment
in the history of the world.
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This document set out for
the first time the Fundamental
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Universal Rights that are
to be universally protected.
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Article 1,
starts with the words:
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The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights sets out a vision
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of a world of freedom
and dignity for every person.
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There never was nor has there
been since a global agreement
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as positive and
far-reaching as this.
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Since then it's been criticized
for falling far short of its
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ideals because of the corruption
and hypocrisy of some of the
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governments of this
world. Yet it has still inspired
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and paved the way for more
than 70 human rights treaties
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at both global
and regional levels.
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It has still protected countless
millions of people around the
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world and exposed crimes and
abuses against the vulnerable
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internationally.
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What most people don't know
is The Universal Declaration
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of Human Rights was
based on Christian principles,
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that's because the chief
architect of the Universal
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Declaration of Human Rights was
a deeply committed Christian.
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Not only that, but she was
a woman who in a man's world
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wielded influence and
power with grace and dignity
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on the international stage.
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Her name, Eleanor Roosevelt.
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Join me as we follow a story
and see how she illustrates
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some of the most
important teachings of Jesus.
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On a hillside by the sea
of Galilee, Jesus gave us the
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Beatitudes, the center of Jesus'
teachings about the kingdom
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of God is the Sermon on
the Mount and the very heart
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of the Sermon on the
Mount are the Beatitudes,
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so if we really want to know
what it means to be a follower
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of Jesus and to live as a
citizen in the Kingdom of God
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then we must understand Christs'
teaching in the Beatitudes.
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But the Beatitudes aren't just
the spiritual principles for
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Christians, they're arguably
the body of principles that has
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been most influential in
shaping western civilization
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as we know it today. The word
Beatitude might sound like its
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an old-fashioned religious
sounding word and one that
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not many people will recognize
today but it refers to being
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blissfully happy. When Jesus
calls people blessed in the
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Beatitudes that's literally what
He means, He means that if you
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display these qualities,
you will be blissfully happy.
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This is a happiness that belongs
only to God and that can come
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only from God and among the
Beatitudes He said in Matthew
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5:3 What a strange way for
Jesus to start the Beatitudes
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in this first part of
the Sermon on the Mount.
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Most people associate happiness
with being rich, but instead
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Jesus says: that it is the
poor in spirit who are blessed.
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Many Americans look to
the first ladies, the wives of
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presidents as
icons of style and grace.
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Eleanor Roosevelt was the
first lady from 1933 to 1945
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and she was so much more.
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Eleanor's childhood was
traumatic, she dramatically
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survived a disaster at sea
when a ship she was traveling on
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sunk on out in the
ocean. She lost both her parents
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as a child, her mother
and younger brother died from
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Diphtheria in 1892, her
father who was an alcoholic
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died two years later after
jumping from a window while
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delirious. Before his
death her father asked Eleanor
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to care for her
remaining younger brother, Paul
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who also sadly also followed
his father's drinking habits.
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All of these things meant that
Eleanor grew up amid loneliness
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and loss and starved of love
that's why she was left prone to
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depression for
the rest of her life.
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And it didn't help the Eleanor
was raised by a rather severe
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grandmother. Although Eleanor
abandoned the religion of her
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grandmother, she kept her
habits of regular prayer and
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church attendance. She also
retained from her upbringing
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a stern sense of duty, the
reality was that despite the
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tragedy she experienced,
Eleanor knew that she had been
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born into a very
privileged family.
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Eleanor's own personal losses
gave her a deep sense of empathy
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for the suffering of others.
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Her sense that much is expected
of those whom much is given
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as Jesus had told made
her passionately committed to
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helping the disadvantaged. From
her youth, Eleanor developed
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a deep knowledge of scripture
in fact, she memorized a large
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parts of the New Testament.
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Eleanor's faith was grounded
in two key passages, one of them
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was the question asked
by the Hebrew prophet Micah
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in chapter 6:8.
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The other key passage on which
he based her life was the words
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that Jesus found in Matthew
chapter 25: 40, where Jesus says
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It was this humble walk with
God that was to characterize
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Eleanor's life. It came
naturally to her to recognize
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in any circumstance who
the least of these were,
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those who needed to receive
mercy and justice in their
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lives. Eleanor especially
loved The Sermon on the Mount
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and in particular the
Beatitudes, she internalized
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them so that they naturally
became the guiding principles
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of her life. All of her life
Eleanor Roosevelt used to carry
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a quote in her
purse which said too...
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Her aim was to live out
the Teachings of Jesus as fully
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as possible. On the 17th
of March 1905, Eleanor married
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Franklin D. Roosevelt then
ran for politics and became the
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32nd and longest-serving
President of the United States
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of America. He's the only
American president to serve
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more than two terms.
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Even in public life
Eleanor never missed church
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and was the spiritual rock
of her family. She insisted on
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taking her children to
church even though their father
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didn't go. Eleanor had a
compassionate empathy for all
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who were disadvantaged.
Despite being First Lady
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she would often be seen
privately distributing food
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and gifts in the alleys
of the slums of Washington.
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Although Eleanor was a
deeply devout Christian,
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people remember her for what
she did for others rather than
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for her, religion and that's how
it should be, she lived what she
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believed. She always
said it was not a question of
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what one believed, but how
one lived out one's beliefs.
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But it was indeed her public
achievements that distinguished
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her, Eleanor lived in a time
when it was unusual for women
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to be prominent in public
life, this combined with her own
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humility meant that she
was self-effacing about her own
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achievements. However Eleanor
developed her own gentle but
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powerful leadership style
and she was highly respected
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for a diplomacy and advocacy
both in the United States,
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and across the
international community.
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Long before Martin Luther King
Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt was a
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leader for Civil Rights on
behalf of whoever were depressed
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whether African
Americans or Jews or women.
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The issues of immigrants
and refugees today aren't new
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to United States on these issues
Eleanor took as her reference
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point the story of Jesus,
how He was born to poor parents
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how he himself became an
immigrant in peril for His life.
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Not only did Eleanor go through
The Great Depression and the
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First World War but her husband
Franklin contracted polio in the
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prime of his life, yet Eleanor
stood alongside of Franklin
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and together they helped
to guide America through the
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dark days of World War II.
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Through all of this Eleanor
lived a life of happiness
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and purpose for
the sake of others.
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But we still haven't mentioned
was perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt's
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greatest achievement which
was that she led the drafting
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of the Declaration of Human
Rights of the United Nations.
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Which has brought incalculable
good for those who suffer
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in this world. As you might
imagine, just after the second
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World War, the launch of the
United Nations was a difficult
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and complicated process. There
were simmering tensions between
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the Americans, the
Russians, and the Chinese.
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So, it was only natural
President Harry S. Truman
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chose the greatest diplomatic
heavy-weights he could find.
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He also chose Mrs.
Eleanor Roosevelt, when Eleanor
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received the news,
she was dumb-founded.
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She initially reacted by saying
that she had other things to do
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and knew nothing at all
about International law anyway.
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However her secretary
Melvina Thompson said to her,
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Mrs. Roosevelt, I believe
I would be hesitant to say no
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to the President of The United
States, fortunately, Eleanor
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said yes to the appointment.
And in January 1946 she
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sailed to London. Of course
the U.S. Diplomatic Delegation
00:12:51.87\00:12:56.47
comprised of government
officials and they weren't
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exactly thrilled to have a
woman as part of their team.
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So, they decided to get her
out of the way by putting her
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on a committee that would
be insignificant and basically
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irrelevant, that's why they
put Eleanor on The Human Rights
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Committee which was
expected to achieve nothing.
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But how wrong they were
at the first meeting of the
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committee despite strenuous
Russian conditions Eleanor
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was appointed Chair and set
a goal of drafting a universal
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Declaration of Human Rights.
In a time when women weren't
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often, ladies, Ellen had
developed a very understated
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near-defective leadership style.
She would sit back and let
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everyone have their say and then
she would steer the discussion
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towards her desired outcome.
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Eleanor recalled one
conversation during the drafting
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of the Charter of Human
Rights of which she wrote that
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the conversation became
so philosophical and so lofty
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that as she told it, she
couldn't even follow along.
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She later said, I simply filled
the teacups again and sat back
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to be entertained by the
talk of these learned gentlemen.
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But no one there would
have taken this modest account
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at face value, they were already
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familiar with
Eleanor's style of chairmanship
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and they had the greatest
respect for her leadership.
00:14:30.20\00:14:33.30
She knew what she wanted and
she made sure that she got it
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she was absolutely no pushover.
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But Eleanor's own accounts
of these meetings hugely
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understated her own fundamental
contribution, she down-played
00:14:46.45\00:14:50.85
her own achievements,
that was just her modest way.
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It has taken more recent
histories to recognize that
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she was indeed the driving
force of the whole project,
00:14:59.76\00:15:03.77
her role was critical in
creating what had been deemed
00:15:03.80\00:15:08.50
impossible, the creation of
a Universal Charter of Human
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Rights. There are a few
American women who have been so
00:15:15.28\00:15:19.08
universally admired as Eleanor
Roosevelt there are few who have
00:15:19.11\00:15:23.72
left behind such an illustrious
record of service to others.
00:15:23.75\00:15:27.96
When she died in 1962, she was
described by the New York Times
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as...
00:15:34.60\00:15:47.58
At her funeral President
Truman honored Eleanor Roosevelt
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by calling her the
"First Lady of the World."
00:15:51.45\00:15:56.28
When Jesus said
blessed are the poor in spirit,
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He wasn't talking
about financial poverty.
00:16:04.56\00:16:07.80
There have been some Christians
throughout the centuries
00:16:07.83\00:16:10.67
who have thought that Jesus
was encouraging His followers
00:16:10.70\00:16:14.70
to be poor. Now it's true that
the word poor in their original
00:16:14.74\00:16:19.37
languages means to
be utterly destitute.
00:16:19.41\00:16:22.74
Being materially poor, starving
and living with endemic diseases
00:16:22.78\00:16:27.08
in slums is a very difficult
situation, in fact, the
00:16:27.12\00:16:32.45
Christian message pulls us
to help people out of these
00:16:32.49\00:16:36.93
situations but Jesus was talking
about poverty in a different
00:16:36.96\00:16:41.43
sense. Neither was Jesus saying
that those who think poorly
00:16:41.46\00:16:45.73
of themselves are blessed
because thinking that you are
00:16:45.77\00:16:49.80
of no value, of no worth,
cripples you in every aspect
00:16:49.84\00:16:53.88
of your life. In fact
in the Sermon on the Mount
00:16:53.91\00:16:57.68
Jesus goes on to talk
about how infinitely valuable
00:16:57.71\00:17:01.85
every person is to God.
00:17:01.88\00:17:04.59
So, what did
Jesus mean when He said?
00:17:04.62\00:17:10.99
Well, to understand this
we must look at it opposite.
00:17:11.03\00:17:15.60
In the Bible, poverty of
spirit is contrasted with being
00:17:15.63\00:17:22.07
haughty in spirit. A
good passage to look at is
00:17:22.10\00:17:26.21
Proverbs 16:18,19 which says...
00:17:26.24\00:17:30.75
Now notice here, that those
with a haughty spirit take from
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others and exploit them.
Also notice a very important
00:17:50.53\00:17:54.94
thing about those who are lowly
in spirit which is the same
00:17:54.97\00:17:59.21
as being poor in spirit.
Instead of oppressing others,
00:17:59.24\00:18:03.55
they sit with the oppressed,
they have the spirit of empathy
00:18:03.58\00:18:07.72
and compassion for others,
particularly for those who are
00:18:07.75\00:18:12.05
downtrodden and who suffer.
00:18:12.09\00:18:13.72
This is the key to understanding
what it means to be poor in
00:18:13.76\00:18:18.26
spirit. Those with a haughty
spirit are so full of their own
00:18:18.29\00:18:23.10
self-importance that they have
no time for God and as a result
00:18:23.13\00:18:28.24
they will also have no time
for others, they will knowingly
00:18:28.27\00:18:33.04
or unknowingly hurt
others and oppress them.
00:18:33.07\00:18:36.71
The Poor in Spirit refers to
those who recognize that without
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God, they are helpless and
so they put their full trust in
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God alone. The result of this
kind of inner humility before
00:18:47.42\00:18:52.06
God will be manifested in
a life of external care and
00:18:52.09\00:18:56.63
concern for others
and for their suffering,
00:18:56.67\00:18:59.33
to look for ways to right what
is wrong in the world around us.
00:18:59.37\00:19:04.11
There is a very good reason
why this is the first of the
00:19:04.14\00:19:09.38
Beatitudes, it's
because poverty of spirit is the
00:19:09.41\00:19:13.28
foundation of everything
else in the kingdom of God.
00:19:13.31\00:19:17.32
Without poverty of spirit,
you'll never experience the
00:19:17.35\00:19:22.12
blessedness of the
other Beatitudes in your life.
00:19:22.16\00:19:26.19
None of the other
blessings in the Beatitudes
00:19:26.23\00:19:29.46
can be achieved in your own
strength, we have to be reliant
00:19:29.50\00:19:33.97
on God. That's what
poverty of spirit means,
00:19:34.00\00:19:38.17
poverty of spirit is
the foundation of everything
00:19:38.21\00:19:42.78
because God must be first.
00:19:42.81\00:19:45.88
When you are truly poor
in spirit things, material
00:19:45.91\00:19:50.85
possessions will mean
nothing to you and God will mean
00:19:50.89\00:19:55.46
everything. The spiritual takes
precedent over the material
00:19:55.49\00:20:00.80
in our lives.
00:20:00.83\00:20:02.16
The difference between
those with the haughty spirit
00:20:02.20\00:20:05.70
and those who are poor in spirit
is powerfully illustrated by
00:20:05.73\00:20:10.31
Jesus parable about the Pharisee
and the tax collector that He
00:20:10.34\00:20:14.78
told in Luke in Chapter
18. Let's read it together...
00:20:14.81\00:20:18.41
Jesus told this parable...
00:20:18.45\00:21:14.80
In this parable, Jesus is
talking about a person's view
00:21:14.84\00:21:19.67
of their own spiritual asset,
He isn't talking about money
00:21:19.71\00:21:24.15
but about the heart. The
Pharisee considered himself
00:21:24.18\00:21:29.55
spiritually superior and
so he stood apart from others
00:21:29.58\00:21:33.79
and focused on the
good things that he did.
00:21:33.82\00:21:36.22
However, the tax collector whom
everybody despised acknowledged
00:21:36.26\00:21:42.36
his spiritual bankruptcy before
God and he was the one said
00:21:42.40\00:21:47.37
Jesus who went home justified
before God, not the Pharisee.
00:21:47.40\00:21:52.64
The Pharisee puts himself
first however the tax collector
00:21:52.67\00:21:58.38
puts God first, Jesus says
that the tax collector went home
00:21:58.41\00:22:04.02
justified. In this way
the promise of the Beatitude
00:22:04.05\00:22:08.46
is fulfilled...
00:22:08.49\00:22:13.60
When we are poor in spirit
so that we have space in our
00:22:13.63\00:22:17.07
hearts for God, only those
who are poor in spirit can have
00:22:17.10\00:22:21.90
the heart of Jesus. And
when you have the heart of Jesus
00:22:21.94\00:22:25.51
His priorities become your
priorities, self will mean less
00:22:25.54\00:22:31.81
and others will mean more to
us. Jesus came to live among us
00:22:31.85\00:22:37.49
to seek and to save the lost.
When you are poor in spirit
00:22:37.52\00:22:42.02
you'll naturally identify
with the downtrodden, the abused
00:22:42.06\00:22:46.90
and the suffering in the world.
You will want circumstances
00:22:46.93\00:22:51.27
for the situation on this earth
to be as it is in the kingdom
00:22:51.30\00:22:55.34
of heaven, that's why you'll be
be able to wholeheartedly pray
00:22:55.37\00:22:59.81
to God...
00:22:59.84\00:23:06.82
But you won't only pray
it, you will dedicate your life
00:23:06.85\00:23:11.19
to the cause of the kingdom,
that's what Eleanor Roosevelt
00:23:11.22\00:23:15.22
did and that's why she
changed our world for the good.
00:23:15.26\00:23:18.99
This is the first of the
Beatitudes and its possibly
00:23:19.03\00:23:23.47
the most challenging because
it confronts us in the most
00:23:23.50\00:23:27.54
radical way possible.
00:23:27.57\00:23:29.40
All of us are naturally so
full of our own self-importance
00:23:33.04\00:23:36.85
that we have little or no
space in our lives for God
00:23:36.88\00:23:41.12
and because of that, we have
little or no space in our lives
00:23:41.15\00:23:45.02
for the suffering of others
and therefore for writing the
00:23:45.05\00:23:49.22
wrongs in our society.
00:23:49.26\00:23:51.63
If you want to do a quick check
on how you stand with regards to
00:23:51.66\00:23:55.06
this, then simply ask yourself
how am I spending the hours
00:23:55.10\00:24:00.57
that God has given me every day?
00:24:00.60\00:24:03.10
That'll probably give you
a rough idea of where your
00:24:03.14\00:24:06.98
priorities are right now.
You see if you have a humble
00:24:07.01\00:24:11.61
attitude before God, you'll
have humble heart before others
00:24:11.65\00:24:16.05
you will always, always
have a compassionate, merciful,
00:24:16.08\00:24:22.19
and empathetic heart
towards those who are oppressed
00:24:22.22\00:24:26.16
downtrodden, abused and
suffering in this world.
00:24:26.19\00:24:30.57
This Beatitude is challenging,
none of blessings the other
00:24:30.60\00:24:36.54
Beatitudes which follow
will be ours if we don't possess
00:24:36.57\00:24:41.24
poverty of spirit.
00:24:41.28\00:24:43.21
It's a tragedy that for so many
that the pursuit of material
00:24:43.24\00:24:49.05
can choose them and
crowd out the spiritual.
00:24:49.08\00:24:53.32
Just a little later in
the Sermon on the Mount,
00:24:53.36\00:24:56.73
Jesus was talking about
our material needs when He said
00:24:56.76\00:25:09.67
Nothing captures the imagination
quite like a story and this is
00:25:15.61\00:25:19.85
true of the enthralling stories
Jesus told in the gospels
00:25:19.88\00:25:23.62
known as parables.
00:25:23.65\00:25:24.99
If you would like to find
out more about these parables,
00:25:25.02\00:25:28.42
and understand their deeper
meaning, if you would like to
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the reason Jesus used parables,
and how they can apply to
00:25:31.63\00:25:36.16
our lives, then I'd like to
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This classic book explains the
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it explores the depths of best
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loved teachings of Jesus
in the parables by explaining
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the story itself and
then sharing its spiritual
00:26:02.46\00:26:05.79
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New Zealand, don't
delay, call or text us now.
00:27:07.19\00:27:11.86
If you've enjoyed our
journey with Eleanor Roosevelt,
00:27:11.89\00:27:19.40
and the Declaration of
Human Rights and our reflections
00:27:19.43\00:27:23.14
on the meaning of
the First Beatitude,
00:27:23.17\00:27:25.47
then be sure to join us again
next week when we will share
00:27:25.51\00:27:29.91
another of
life's journeys together
00:27:29.94\00:27:32.81
Until then, let's pray and
ask God to guide us and help us
00:27:32.85\00:27:38.19
to get our priorities right.
00:27:38.22\00:27:40.26
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank you that we are
00:27:40.29\00:27:45.69
created equal in your eyes,
that you love each one of us.
00:27:45.73\00:27:50.27
Help us to see the world
around us with eyes of dignity
00:27:50.30\00:27:54.77
compassion and mercy.
And Father, may we always
00:27:54.80\00:27:58.97
remember to make you
first and foremost in our lives.
00:27:59.01\00:28:03.11
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
00:28:03.14\00:28:07.45