The person who is blessed to be humble is nicer to live around than someone caught up in the world of “me”. This, however,is not a verse dealing with any human who chooses to be humble in their dealings with their fellow man. The setting of these verses is Jesus explaining the kind of person who would occupy the kingdom once it was established on earth. The same way in which we speak about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23. Those traits cited in Galatians refer to the conduct of Christian people. Yes, I understand that people outside of Christ can be loving or have joy. The wording in Galatians is about the life of a Christian not someone in the world.
Men try to save themselves by their own merits. They can do good deeds or give money to good causes, all of which leads men to think of themselves. It will transfer itself to God by man saying that because I am so good, God will be obligated to save me. Jesus pointed to the hypocrisy of some men’s hearts. They would do their good deeds, make long prayers in public filled with vain repetitions and when they fast they let everyone know by their sad countenance (Matt. 6:1-16). Jesus concluded this part of His lesson by saying, “they have their reward”.
The idea of being poor in spirit is a person who recognizes that they cannot save themselves but that they need God. Salvation is determined by God as to how man responds to His will. Those on the day of Pentecost found themselves in a lost state. They asked, what shall we do (Acts 2:37). They knew they could not save themselves; they needed help. The help came when the apostles told them to repent and be baptized by the authority of Christ to remit or get rid of their sins. The apostles also told them to “save themselves” by obeying Christ (Acts 2:40).