Paradoxes in the beatitudes

In our look at the beatitudes we've seen that these statements are paradoxes. They take two items that shouldn't go together, and then surprise us by combining them. We don't expect those who are poor, to gain all the riches of a kingdom. We don't expect those who are mourning to be blessed and happy. And again, here is a paradox: we don't expect the meek to inherit much at all, let alone the earth. We expect the assertive, the pushy, the domineering to inherit the earth.