I was on the phone with a good friend the other day. After covering important topics, like disparaging each other’s mothers and retelling semi-factual tales from our college days, our conversation turned to the mundane.
“So, how’s work going?” he asked.
For those of you who don’t know, I make money by teaching leadership skills and helping people learn to get along in corporate America. My wife says it’s all a clever disguise so I can get up in front of large groups and tell stories.
I plead the fifth.
I answered my buddy’s question with,
“Definitely feeling blessed. Last year was the best year yet for my business. And it looks like this year will be just as busy.”
The words rolled off my tongue without a second thought. Like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or placing my usual lunch order at McDonald’s.
But it was a lie.
Now, before you start taking up a collection for the “Feed the Dannemillers” fund, allow me to explain. Based on last year’s quest to go twelve months without buying anything, you may have the impression that our family is subsisting on Ramen noodles and free chips and salsa at the local Mexican restaurant. Not to worry, we are not in dire straits.
Last year was the best year yet for my business.
Things are looking busy in 2014.
But that is not a blessing.
I’ve noticed a trend among Christians, myself included, and it troubles me. Our rote response to material windfalls is to call ourselves blessed. Like the “amen” at the end of a prayer.
“This new car is such a blessing.”
“Finally closed on the house. Feeling blessed.”
“Just got back from a mission trip. Realizing how blessed we are here in this country.”
On the surface, the phrase seems harmless. Faithful even. Why wouldn’t I want to give God the glory for everything I have? Isn’t that the right thing to do?
No.
As I reflected on my “feeling blessed” comment, two thoughts came to mind. I realize I’m splitting hairs here, creating an argument over semantics. But bear with me, because I believe it is critically important. It’s one of those things we can’t see because it’s so culturally engrained that it has become normal.
But it has to stop. And here’s why.
First, when I say that my material fortune is the result of God’s blessing, it reduces The Almighty to some sort of sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers. I can’t help but draw parallels to how I handed out M&M’s to my own kids when they followed my directions and chose to poop in the toilet rather than in their pants. Sure, God wants us to continually seek His will, and it’s for our own good. But positive reinforcement?
God is not a behavioral psychologist.
Second, and more importantly, calling myself blessed because of material good fortune is just plain wrong. For starters, it can be offensive to the hundreds of millions of Christians in the world who live on less than $10 per day. You read that right. Hundreds of millions who receive a single-digit dollar “blessing” per day.
During our year in Guatemala, Gabby and I witnessed first-hand the damage done by the theology of prosperity, where faithful people scraping by to feed their families were simply told they must not be faithful enough. If they were, God would pull them out of their nightmare. Just try harder, and God will show favor.
The problem? Nowhere in scripture are we promised worldly ease in return for our pledge of faith. In fact, the most devout saints from the Bible usually died penniless, receiving a one-way ticket to prison or death by torture.
I’ll take door number three, please.
If we’re looking for the definition of blessing, Jesus spells it out clearly.
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, 2and He began to teach
them, saying:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt 5: 1-12)
I have a sneaking suspicion verses 12a 12b and 12c were omitted from the text. That’s where the disciples responded by saying,
12a Waitest thou for one second , Lord. What about “blessed art thou comfortable”, or 12b “blessed art thou which havest good jobs, a modest house in the suburbs, and a yearly vacation to the Florida Gulf Coast?”
12c And Jesus said unto them, “Apologies, my brothers, but those did not maketh the cut.”
So there it is. Written in red. Plain as day. Even still, we ignore it all when we hijack the word “blessed” to make it fit neatly into our modern American ideals, creating a cosmic lottery where every sincere prayer buys us another scratch-off ticket. In the process, we stand the risk of alienating those we are hoping to bring to the faith.
And we have to stop playing that game.
The truth is, I have no idea why I was born where I was or why I have the opportunity I have. It’s beyond comprehension. But I certainly don’t believe God has chosen me above others because of the veracity of my prayers or the depth of my faith. Still, if I take advantage of the opportunities set before me, a comfortable life may come my way. It’s not guaranteed. But if it does happen, I don’t believe Jesus will call me blessed.
He will call me “burdened.”
He will ask,
“What will you do with it?”
“Will you use it for yourself?”
“Will you use it to help?”
“Will you hold it close for comfort?”
“Will you share it?”
So many hard choices. So few easy answers.
So my prayer today is that I understand my true blessing. It’s not my house. Or my job. Or my standard of living.
No.
My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable. I know a God who comforts the sorrowful. And I know a God who has planted this same power within me. Within all of us.
And for this blessing, may our response always be,
“Use me.”
* Writers note: Since I had this conversation, my new response is simply, “I’m grateful.” Would love to hear your thoughts.
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The Accidental Missionary 
Scott, I’ve struggled with this too, so I’m glad to see you bringing it up. Have you read Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel by Kate Bowler yet? She spoke at Westminster last year and was really terrific.
This discussion also reminds me of the way that some people seem to view prayer. If you pray for something, you’ll get it, is the way that it seems to go. If you didn’t get something, you must not have prayed hard enough. Whereas I feel that it’s better (okay, not the best word there, but stay with me) to pray for patience or for compassion, rather than a thing itself.
So, yes, I really like the idea of saying “I’m grateful.”
Thanks for the comment, Jennifer. I am guilty of seeing prayer like a “blessing ATM” sometimes. My buddy just texted me that he simply prays for strength and grace to deal with for whatever comes his way. I like the sound of that. And I imagine God does, too.
You’ve mentioned some good points, but I believe that EVERYTHING I have, every ability, every talent, ALL of my money, my home, my car, everything I have belings to Him, even my children.
I will continue to give HIM the glory for them all. HE chose for me to live in North America and not a 3rd world country. I give Him more credit for everything in my life He has either “allowed” or “orchestrated”. He has a plan, He knows my name, He actually cares about even the little things in my life.
We who live in North America have been blessed, the Bible tells us that whoever supports Israel, Abraham’s covenant, will be blessed. We need to look at the bible as a whole, otherwise we are all living in sin by holding any wealth of any form and not selling it all and giving it to the poor.
Does blessing always look like materialism? Absolutely not, it comes in many forms. I think that giving God the glory for all that you have shouldn’t be wrong. Is it a “blessing”? Like you stated, it’s splitting hairs.
And I don’t believe that God works on the “reward” system for doing good. You reap what you sow, God’s rule. Or look at Job, God allowed his testing, then “blessed” him with much more than he had before.
You said in this article, “The truth is, I have no idea why I was born where I was or why I have the opportunity I have. It’s beyond comprehension.” We most certainly do know why we are born where we are born! The Scripture cannot be more clear and precise about this issue, “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us” [Acts 17:26-27].
The blessed martyr, Balthasar Hubmaier,
That means you “spiritualize” every instance where Jesus literally says, “Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them” or “If you believe you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” or “Ask anything in my name and I will do it” or “Everyone who asks receives.” God is not a worldly ATM, but He has shown in the ministry of Jesus that we may ask for ANY good thing (not out of greed or selfishness or immorality) and we will receive it, if we believe. Jesus gave a very “unspiritual” example of this when He cursed the fig tree and said we could do the same “if we believe.” I take Jesus to mean what he says all the time, not selectively based on someone else’s theological opinion. Read God’s Word and believe it – period – if you want to see the miraculous become common in your life.
I just stumbled on this post, and it’s now months later so not many people will see this, but I’m inspired to add my two cents. I have a friend who I believe has the best response. Instead of “Definitely feeling blessed.” his response is “I’m doing better than I deserve.” I say amen to that.
I have thought of this much more with the growth of the “mega” churches. I have listened on TV and attended several services through the years. It seems they use very little scripture unless it concerns a blessing and the general theme of the sermons is the same as one I heard on the radio many, many years ago. I can’t quote it exactly and I don’t remember who said it but it went something like this, “them that gives is them that gets. Remember, nothing from nothing leaves nothing and if you don’t give nothing, you don’t get nothing so send in your money today and I know that God is going to bring you a blessing!” That has stuck with me for over 40 years now and it seems little has changed.
Everything in this article is nothing more than another liberal attempt to keep the One True God hidden away to make the unbeliever comfortable. No thanks!
Hi this is Chanell I love the sound of that can you please email me the name of the book @ChanellMoore82@yahoo.com
Sincerely appreciate it from Chanell God Bless You
Well, you’re right, of course. But, “I’m blessed,” beats, I’m lucky, I think. At least if you believe that all good things are a good gift from a good God . .
. . But gratitude is certainly the appropriate response to all good things. Thanks for this.
Amen brother! Amen!
Prosperity Gospel is sneaky. It panders to our craving to be special.
Thank you writing this.
Carolann
Scott’s point is sound and I admire his ability to express it in such a compelling manner. My view on the subject differs from his. I believe Jesus spoke about me at the beginning of his lesson in Matthew 5. Before I was born, God knew I would be poor in spirit. I live in a constant state of moral bankruptcy. I do not deserve the richness of family, friends and career, but I believe God is using these gifts to encourage me, refine me and lift my spirit until the day when I will be with him, full of his spirit. Therefore, these “comforts” are undoubtedly orchestrated by God and good, bad, or indifferent, I must profess them as blessings.
VERY nice insight, Courtney, and very well phrased. Thank you.
I feel he blesses some according there calling. Some requir very little some requir a bit more. However we give materialistic things to the poor like money or a nice coat so on and so forth we thank for that we have because without him we would have nothing and do feel as though he blesses according to the times. I am not wealthy nor will i ever be because the demand of help needed for people who have nothing if i become wealthy that would mean people are starving from my wealth. I think maybe u had a conviction of the heart that u misinterpreted slightly. Blessed and having more than u give are two different things. I live in a camper. I have a car that i cant explain how i still have it. I give continuously and share what god does in my life on a daily basis surrounded by non believers and i haven’t went without for quite some time. Luxury i do not have. Running water i do not have. Now here is another topic Is it lazy to not work your life away for things to be more convenient and suitable to what society says u have to struggle for or lazy because u choose not to stress over money or convenient things that cause u to be stressed and not able to spend proper time with family and god. Money is the downfall of this world we spend more of our time worried about money than we do the freedom and beautiful things that god gave us. My camper is beautiful on the inside because of the nice things people throw away trying to clear clutter for more of what they will never never find in those things. I am 34 yrs old have been truly developing a relationship with god and he shows me so much yes i am blessed with pretty things but i get them from dumpsters like salvation army because they cant SALE it. I fix old things and make them new again because i get to enjoy them and put a little beauty back in them. I went from spoiled miserable brat to humble and kind and its a much happier life and healthier life.
This article was sent to me by a friend and it is one of the best articles I have read. You are right on in my opinion. I was once teaching on the Beatitudes and was contemplating the antithesis to these teachings of Jesus when I realized they were already done in Luke’s version. Rather mind blowing when you stack it up against the way we follow Christ today.
I have had a similar thought about why was I born in such an affluent nation. I have worked with the persecuted church and it stands in stark contrast to the church in the west. I figured God placed His most faithful servants where the cost is the highest as a challenge to my convenient religion. Thanks for your words! Jon
Thanks so much for this post. Life has dealt me some horrible pain & despite much resistance, I’ve been blessed to see them as gifts. No matter how I feel about the food, the company or the decor, it’s all banquet & the best party there is. God is good all the time.
Just to throw it out there – I learned a long time ago to never pray for patience. For God to give you patience you must be put in a situation where patience is required. Most of the situations you need patience for are rather stressful and that in itself is what most people are trying to avoid when they need pray for patience. I, instead, pray for grace to wholeheartedly accept the situation I am in – good or bad – and know that prayer and faith will get me through whatever is in front of me. Just something a very wise man once told me.
Thanks for this article – spot on! Loads of sense. I’ve learnt this in a very profound interesting way recently. Was studying about blessing and been trying to change my thoughts to be more positive about God being kind after a lot (more it seems) of challenges in life. I’ve found a lot of things very hard.. Moan moan… I don’t normally pray for ‘blessing’ and this one day recently I decided to do that…. I really prayed… I also wanted the blessing that day by the way lol. I even felt excited that God would do just that – my faith was so full… I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was going to be wonderful…
A few hours later on my country walk I got very lost on some secluded cliffs, fell down two crevasses and had to stay over night on the side of the cliffs. No mobile phone coverage. Prayed all night it wouldn’t rain. It’s a miracle it didn’t rain in this country (Ireland). I got back eventually (feeling surprisingly unwell, I always thought I was a hardy country girl) but the worst blow was getting mobile coverage and a bunch of pretty sterile text msgs all demanding something from me of course. ‘Will ye… Will ye’…bla bla The western world is rubbish.
Funny that a couple of days before I’d been reading a study on Psalm 23! There are no coincidences with God. Where it says ‘I will fear no evil’, on reading that, I’d thought ‘no way I’d be afraid. All those fearful rubbish Christians around here do my head in with their moans and scaremongering,’ yet there I was ACTUALLY IN THE VALLEY of those cliffs – ‘sore’ afraid, my stomach wretched. I even dared to ask ‘why?’… before my spirit chided telling me – I’d chosen that ridiculous path myself, not God!
Anyway, this is the second time in my life that I honestly believe that God changed the weather specially for me. (If you were there under that sky and those cliffs you’d understand how and why I believe that). I felt very sorry for homeless people… yet 3 of the most remarkable (and successful) Christians I’ve met lived on the street before.
I’ve been wrestling for many years with feeling very oppressed, unloved, lonely, rejected and I lack in confidence as a result. God, the good shepherd, protected me and opened my eyes to a lot of very harsh but also wonderful and amazing realities of who He is to actually GIVE ME the faith I so very much need. So true what you say about blessing and I don’t think I’ll ever REALLY understand this fully but what we DO KNOW for certain is that God rewards FAITH. FACT (Heb 11.6). Also – ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord’. This is what keeps me going. You just have to believe, you just do. Also, I think I will ask God to bless me again… You never know.
We all have our different reasons and opinions of what a blessing is;what a blessing isn’t and whether or not God answers our requests when we petition him for different things.The truth of the matter is when we make the proclamation to live as believers;as followers of Christ;trusting him for who he says he is and will be in our lives.This also means that we have made the same proclamation to honor his word in the same manner…..So,he will give us those blessings that we want;those blessings that we need;those blessings that he promised;whatever it may be James 4:3 says “Ye ask,and receive not because you ask amiss,that you may consume it upon your lust”
CONCLUSION:Whenever we can reach that point in our lives that our motives are pure and sincere;then we will see the manifestation of those blessings of God that we ask for….Amen
I agree that many times we say things it is to bring more glory to ourselves than to God. Where I disagree is on faith confessions. How we state that confession sometimes may be wrong but we may be right in our efforts. Let me explain.
The Body of Christ is us – we the believers. He wants all parts to follow the orders from the Head, Jesus. Imagine a body where the arms go in different directions wildly and the feet also. A pitiful site. When we ‘do our own thing’ we can, and often do, dishonor God.
When Jesus left the earth He said that the Church, body of Christ, would be endued with power and that we would do all that He did and much more. The power that Jesus used came from the Holy Spirit and because the Holy Spirit dwells in us we have the same access to God’s power that Jesus did – power that flows from faith and from obedience to the will of God.
Let’s take healing! We are healed whether we experience it or not. “By Jesus stripes you WERE healed.” He did that for our healing. Healing is not just physical but of the whole man – physical, spiritual, psychological, etc. Physically, we should only need doctors to point out problems and then when we know the problem get the elders of the local Church body lay hands on us ‘and the prayer of faith will raise you up’. There is no doubt that Jesus endured those stripes to heal us all. However, if we are not walking with God we can’t have the faith to see it manifest. Also, I find, most American Christians have more excuses and lack of faith – no wonder most would not live if there were no doctor around. Lack of faith of course is not the only reason – toxins put in food and water don’t help. It is like with aspertame that destroys brain cells and is the most toxic sugar substitute on the market. You can hardly find a non-sugar cold drink that does not have it, thanks to the American Medical Association that either wants to wipe us out, is creating work for doctors, and/or is making a lot of money from large corporations.
What is confession? Jesus is my Lord is a powerful claim that is impossible to always live up to if you connect you. Jesus is Lord and I want to follow Him is more proper, though the other may be your confession of desire. If it is how God looks at it, it may be true. If it is how man looks at it, it may appear to be hypocritical. Are we to please man? No! We should please God! God would only be displeased if we were focusing the attention on ourselves (in context of what we say and how we act) rather than to glorify God. For the sake of the understanding of the ignorant, who probably understand little to nothing spiritual, It can be a point to criticize us. For their wrongly motivated and ignorant minds it would be better to say “Jesus is Lord” rather than “Jesus is my Lord”. — You can’t please man and God but perhaps how we relate what we say can clarify things so Satan can’t use ammo that we give out against us. Personally, I could care less as to whether people like or dislike what I say as long as God is pleased, but for the sake of the lost and baby Christians, I try to watch my words so they don’t get the wrong impression – though many want to find fault.
So you see, if one is bold enough to speak of the Lord, especially using faith or faith confessions, Satan has it rigged to shut you up or keep you from using faith.
I choose to use faith. Faith pleases God. There is nobility that when one is at the bottom of the ditch to declare “God is quite able to deliver me” and then see the deliverance manifest like with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo when King Nebuchadnezzer had them thrown into the fire that was so hot it killed the people stoking the fire. The King saw a forth man in the fire. They came out without smoke even on their clothes, nor a hair singed. Such faith really is trust. So trust and faith are synonymous. Because they trusted God, even when things seemed hopeless, they were delivered. Now if they had been displeasing God and bowed before the statue of Nubuchadnezzer then they would not have seen God move and be recorded in the Bible so glowingly.
Faith does please God. So do we make our feeble attempts to please God and see Him move with power and might or do we please the world and act as pacifiers and world changers? If faith in God (trust in God) does not distinguish us from the world then why is it fought so much by the world and by most Church’s? — Simple – faith in God honors Him and because we act in faith and see God move in our lives and in others then the world sees a difference between us and others.
When in obvious pain from an illness, to say ‘I am healed by the stripes of Jesus’ – we may sound to others that we are lying, though we are speaking the end result based on scripture. So we might say, ‘my confession, regardless of what I see and feel, is that by Jesus stripes I was and am healed.’ Same thing but with more clarity to those who hear your confession. Both statements please God because of our trust.
One point about faith and scriptural confession. It is what we believe inside and how we obey God and how we treat others – forgiving others of wrongs that lay the foundation for God to manifest healing or the object of faith that He placed in you. The other issue is God does not act fast often, so patience and persistence in confession is essentially. Essentially, if you desire to please God and are walking in obedience, though not perfect – but standing in Jesus perfection, then one will see what God promised.
In summary, we can tailor our words to be understood more clearly but we must not tailor our faith and desire to see God be God for our sake and for others. Our faith becoming manifest by God brings glory to Him and focuses the world to consider that God is real. The only thing that is greater than hope and faith is love – a different message. Let’s say that if the world saw Christians loving one another and inviting them to join our Family, we could not house the people that would come to church’s.
Hi all
I see it like this:If Jesus is my life, then I have everything I need for any situation. I don’t ask for stength because His strength is made perfect in my weekness. Jesus is my life. (Col.3:4)
The concept of just floating through life is simple and has a wisdom of its own But, there are challenges and we need to confront those challenges and problems soberly by 1. recoginzing what is going on by facing and evaluating it 2. petition God for the solution – this connects our trust in God to the problem or situation 3. Let God guide you, He may want you do do something, if not don’t act blindly and keep trusting Him 4. Do all that He tells you to do and don’t do what He tell you not to do (obey and listen to God only) 5. Once you got yourself out of the way enough to really trust God then let go – “casting ALL (not a few) CARES on the Lord for He cares for you.” 6.Keep your problem on the altar and the cares far from you (cast to to toss away as far as you can) and PATIENTLY TRUST GOD —- If it is not your problem it is His, Why? You petitioned Him to act. He may act anyhow providing you really trust Him, obey Him , and let go faithfully but God gave you a brain and told us to ASK, not assume. Tooo many avoid confronting the problem, seeking the solution in God and assume that just because they ignore it, it will go away. Faith confronts the problem, sizes it up by God’s standards (looks small then) and trusts God to do it in His time and not in our time. Trust TRUSTS like a child that will jump off a high porch just because he trusts daddy and dad says ‘jump, I will catch you.’ You better trust and not play mental games and you better not trust who you thought was God and deceives you and you splatter on the ground when there are are no arms there to catch you. God does not play tricks, he gave us a brain, a will, and wants to give us the solution that He will back by His power if we are looking at and trusting Him only.
Deuteronomy 28 tells you that if you do this… God will bless you. You can’t even outrun the blessings. They will overtake you. It’s His command. If you give you life to Him, everything that comes your way is to teach you, bless you, cause you to depend on Him. The footsteps of a righteous man are guided by the LORD. To say, it is wrong to say you are not blessed in the things that come your way is to say YOU are in control of your life, you are the one who blesses you, in your own decisions, in the Job YOU got, in the things you have acquired or not. In this way, you are becoming your own god. You are in control, He is out of the picture. When any of of come down with a dreaded disease, we instinctively turn back to God for His help. We can’t defeat the disease, but God can. The doctors may say, it is beyond us and give you a death sentence, but God can heal you. It is much better to have a lifestyle of depending on God during the “good” times rather than wait until the bad times to call on Him. If you belong to Him, like it or not, you are blessed daily. There’s a scripture that says, “LORD, don’t make me rich so that I forget you and don’t need you. Don’t make me poor so that I curse you. Just give me enough to cause me to depend on you.” (paraphrased) I, for one, disagree with what the writer is saying, “That Christians should stop saying I am blessed.”
Are you considering that Christians have more bedrooms in their homes than they know what to do with? That they have more processed food than their family will eat? That their hot tub God provided is only used 6 times a year? That they complain about a car that is more than 2 years old because their “Christian friends” aren’t impressed, or that it doesn’t have the latest GPS information, so they actually need to think (pray???) for directions instead of complaining about how that crazy “woman” sounds on their GPS? That they still have sex as much as they can stand, but complain about the responsibility of raising the children God gave them through their prayers (that they were obviously praying during intercourse)?
It’s a wonderful thought that God blesses us. Does God bless Hugh Hefner? If not, what’s the difference between us having sex and making babies we can’t afford, buying cars and houses we can’t afford, eating things that we know cause cancer and other problems, and praying about it; vs. Hugh who doesn’t ask for anything from God, yet gets more than God’s followers can imagine??
Scot, I am replying back to the email you sent to me personally. After hearing what you wrote back to me, I’m sorry I even commented on your page. I saw your post on a friends facebook page. I don’t believe I want any further conversation with you after your reply. You must have been hurt pretty bad in the past and you’re still blaming it on God. You’ve become a very damaged man. I ask that you don’t respond to me anymore.
Mac
Absolutely correct. Satan tries to get strongholds in our lives to destroy us. He instigates the problem and then gets us to blame God if we are not careful.
There are stages: 1. misunderstanding 2. resentment 3. bitterness 4. hate
To help with our degeneration Satan will come to us with thoughts that we think are ours just to deceive us/con us. He does imitations of God also. A real scuzz ball. We think the thought are ours – and this gets us more and more upset. We may be even be upset with ourselves for having such a thought, which may have been Satan’s thought planted in our head.
These stages drive people apart and put a wedge between us and God.
Recognizing our part in our problems and others parts in our problems we can see that God is not the source of our problems but instead He is our strength, refuge, strong tower, joy, peace, etc. When we do wrong, God does not rant at us, He reasons with us not to condemn us but to encourage and help us get back on track with Him. He always has our healing in mind and getting us back on the right path in mind and lives.
Only Satan, and those like Satan, are the accuser of the brethren, slanderer (what Satan means), hater of our soul. —- God is our best Friend, eternally. If one thinks God is the problem then they are blaming the wrong god and wrong people. God does not want us to condemn ourselves even, we should feel wrong if we are wrong and make it right or ask Him to help us make it right.
If I could not handle much riches, much whatever, without getting between me and God I don’t want it and God won’t give us something that divides us and Him or each other.
God would give us all great abundance if He could trust us with it. Much riches in this world is by evil doing, especially in the New World Order global banking community-super thieves who want to rule all the world.
I won’t say “make me poor” or “give me just enough to get by”. Why? God is a God of abundance and if the whole world of individuals could handle riches to help the Kingdom of God – bless each other and help each other – then all could be rich if they are diligent in doing what He instructs them to do. He backs the faithful/trusting people to bless people so they can be a blessing, not a depository of greed.
It would be an insult to God as a child of God adopted into God’s family by Jesus to turn down any good that God has for me. I am a sinner saved by God’s grace but lifted up to the Heavenlies, not because of who I am or what I can do but because of WHO HE IS. —- If your dad was a King would he want you to live like a pauper? Absolutely not!
“If you being evil (tendency to do evil) do good for your children, how much MORE does the Heavenly Father do GOOD for THOSE who love and trust Him?” Get it down, poverty, lack, sickness, destruction, depravity, worry, fear, etc are NOT OF GOD but from Satan and a fallen world.
Also, NO CHRISTIAN or member of Adam’s race is WORTHY of God’s blessings. God blesses and desires to bless because of His great love for us, not based on anything in us but our willingness to trust Him and believe His Word. There is no good thing that He will withhold from those who love Him and love others in His power and strength (vessels overflowing with His love for us- pouring it out to others as God directs).
There are those who use choice words to appear humble and contrite yet are full of pride and religious like the scribes and pharasees – use a false humility. Some say about themselves, “oh, I am just a worm” to impress religious people of their humility. We can act like worms, free will, but if we are born again of God we are not worms because God is not a worm. We are remade in the image of God, lifted into the heavenlies with Jesus. If we do wrong, confess it to God first and change paths. We are to be IMITATORS of Christ not of the world. It is a growth thing. First we have to renew our minds and remind ourselves of WHO WE ARE in Christ Jesus. We can’t have pride and boast because our goodness, our Salvation, our help all are of God. We just enjoy the ride and imitate Jesus doing what He wants us to do, not to please mankind.
Wisely stated! One should want what God wants for them and not be greedy and lustful. It is the love of money that makes it evil. If one loves God first and uses money as a tool and will not focus on money but on God and doing His will, God can trust that person with much because he/she is faithful with little.
I will give you a clue, any Christian can handle abundance if their focus is on God, staying close to Him, and not let money get in the way. Money can be a great tool or a destructive false god. It is not just money – anything that becomes a god to a person must bow to the Lordship of Jesus. God will have no other god’s before him.
A god can be money, a friend, a mate, a job, self pride, etc,etc. If it get’s in God’s and your shared intimacy it is a god. God does not place money or anything in our life that the individual can not handle. If one can’t tithe and be generous to help others that person can’t handle great and if they get riches it won’t be by God’s Hand, because He loves us too much to put a barrier between Him and us.
Out of all the comments that have been posted so far, what you have said is right on the money. ( pardon the pun) I have struggled with the fact that I do have a life of relative comfort , to the point of feeling guilty. The one thing that is apparent to me, is that all I have, all I will be, everything that I have in this world COMES FROM GOD. Because God has blessed my life in both spiritual and material wealth I have a moral obligation to share that wealth , both spiritual and material , with people who are less fortunate than myself . Zane Deskins Bartlett Tennessee
I don’t know but for me this is so disturbing, since I read this article the other day I haven’t stop thinking if what I was doing should really be changed or stopped. I used to say that I am blessed whenever someone asks me how I am. Because for me that is one thing to show that I am a Christian and that I am happy about it. Not meaning to say that by saying “i am blessed” means that you become a Christian, but it just shows that being a Christian makes you look at things positively even though others look at it negatively. That even though you are sick, poor, jobless, weak, etc., you know that God is in control and He still blesses you through it all. Our life alone and each day waking up is God’s blessing,and I cannot just say that I am being grateful because for me that is too shallow to describe what I feel, it is not enough to describe others how thankful I am to the Lord for giving me those, as well as with the trials and hardships that he lets me go through. Even the dictionary explains that “blessed” means more :
blessed:
: very welcome, pleasant, or appreciated
—used to make a statement more forceful
And just want to add, using the statement “I am blessed” is also a good way of starting a conversation if you are trying to win a soul. =)
Have a blessed day everyone!!!
Why should you stop saying it , sounds like you are of the few that truly understands it. The writers point was merely to speak to those people who want to use God like a vending machine. They seem to intentionally want to get off the main point. WHAT God gives us no one can take away. L ET most of them lose their job and see what their opinions will be when that expensive house are car is repossessed. Most of the material things they get comes from their vanity, and if they are in the position in life to get these things that is great however they are misleading people who want to do God^s will.
Well stated. The article made me think (a good thing), but I kept arguing it in my mind. I am a thankful person and feel blessed
In many, many ways. Not that I deserve the blessings, but so grateful for them all.
“After the fall and humans then knowing good from evil, (“God things” from “Non-God things”) God favored Abel’s offering (Genesis chapter 4). Enoch walked with God and God took him (Genesis chapter 5). Noah found favor in the eyes of The Lord (Genesis chapter 6). God’s chose: Abram for a great nation, the establishment of the patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob, the lasting covenant with Israel,the fulfillment of the Law through the coming of The Son of God, the New Covenant of eternal life and the pouring out of The Spirit on today’s believers, the church. God favored those of the species who chose the things of God. That’s Blessing.”
Excerpt From: Mike Stair. “On Earth As It Is In Heaven.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/DZeA8.l
If you use the word “I am blessed” to honor god and not to honor yourself
then it is absolutely fine to use that phrase.
“ In twenty-first century America, the contemporary spin is that acquiring “stuff” will bring forth the goal of happiness. Jesus may be saying in the beatitudes that happiness here in this existence should not even be our goal!
James 4:2-5 (NIV)
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? ”
Excerpt From: Mike Stair. “Be Attitudinal.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/fBu8y.l
I believe your blessing is in having a God, that loves you enough to provide for you and that it is because you are blessed you should be grateful. Where I see it differently than you, I that it does not seem as if you accounted for the relationship with God part of it, other than in the fact he provides. There is a reason we say God’s not dead, he surely alive and it isn’t just because Jesus Christ rose from the grave, though he certainly did that. It’s because God is involved in every little action we take, he is there every moment of the day with all of us. See the Bible reads Gods so loved the world that he gave up his only begotten son, to be sacrificed while free of sin so that we may as in every single human being on the earth whom is willing to confuses with their sins in body, mind and spirit, and ask for forgiveness recognizing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior because he is the son of the one true God, then they shall not perish but have everlasting life. We’ll what does the Bible tell us about everlasting life in heaven? We don’t just receive it, then walk through the pearly gates for God the father, Jesus Christ Lord and over all, along with the Holy Spirit to be like “oh, great to see you guys finally made it. We starting to this you’d never get out directions to here. Well now that your all here enjoy it. Peace, we’re going on a vacation spent long enough working with you guys”. No it says we spend time in fellowship with each other praising the lord and the Lord will spend time with his church as a congregation and an individually for he knows everything about every single one of us. Basically our relationship with God is not just one where he is our Father and thus he shall provide for us as promised, right up until and through him providing a way for us to get into heaven. Our relationship with God is exactly that a RELATIONSHIP, only in this one it’s not that you have a nagging partner that always makes you feel like your the one that’s wrong whenever things don’t goes as planned or desired, it not nagging partner, nor is it just a feeling you have either. In this case it because simply put your wrong buddy. See what all of this is really about is a God that loves you so much he wants the best for you, and a relationship with you. He wants you to take the time to come to know all of him as he knows all of you hence why you get to spend eternity with him. The better you come to know and understand God, the more you begin to understand why he has set out book full of commandments and Laws for us to follow. They aren’t there to prevent us from having fun, they are their for our benefit. It’s like my parents and grand parents always told me you can choose to learn the easy way or the hard, but either way you going to learn today. With God we are told if you chose the easy way I will make you prosperous, provide for, and keep safe you and you family. However to prosper and provide for doesn’t mean to give and abundance of wealth though sometimes it does, to prosper isn’t referring to the material thing of little significance I this world. To prosper is saying to have your seed multiply, your family strong and healthy and to live a joy filled life in the presence of God. However, if you chose the hard, you shall stumble, you shall, the Lord shall rebuke you as any caring parent their misbehaving child and people think you shouldn’t be able to spank your children anymore. Thus it shall be hard life filled with struggles, yet once one becomes ready to admit the wrongs and turn to the lord for help for he is always right their with us, he will instantly in that moment start exchanging our yoke for his thus to say we will be given the opportunity to change from the path of misery and ultimately death that we are one because we neglected his teaching and guidance To do things our way and instead exchange it for the path Christ has desired for us planned out especially for each individual person. Unfortunately for me I was often the sharpest tool in the shed but not the brightest crayon in the box so the hard way it was for me and even when I was drowning in my own mess I was often to prideful and hard headed to admit the errors in my ways. I’d keep at tit tell, somebody, often my father, came along to bail me out. Sometime he would wait and make me ask for help first other times he step in ahead of time knowing if he didn’t I’d keep it up till I killed myself and not only if that just not a very Christian thing to but his love as a father couldn’t allow for that so he pull me out of the mess and direct me down the correct path. No no no not me though, I only made a small miss calculation if I’d done this instead of that my plan and way would have worked so I went through most my life being self reliant in a peculiar sense of the word as in I was never really able to rely solely on my self I needed and received plenty of help from others, I was just to damn stubborn, arrogant and selfish to ask for the help, and no way was I going to thank you for saving my ass when I didn’t ask for or want your help to begin with. In fact my problems are your fault and your my problem cause your trying to help me when I didn’t ask for it or it’s wasn’t the way I wanted to be helped. Well news flash when you chose the hard way it’s going to be an interesting journey for as long as your conscious can stomach it and you’ll have plenty of stories to tell when it over, most of them ones your no longer proud or excited tell but if you think your going to be able to just pray a prayer asking Jesus Christ to come in to life, and was you body, mind, and soul in his blood a make you a new and forgiven person at the flip of a switch all nice and easy and everything is going to be just as you want after trying to beat down the gates to the path of destruction for so long, boy I can promise you that you have a whole other thing coming and it’s not going to be what you want and the way you want it. However I can tell you this there is a reason we say it’s always the rebel, and prodigals, the humble and weak, the ones broken in two with millions of scares that he uses, the ones like me. For starters we’re the only ones brazen, impatient, self centered, arrogant, dumb, careless, and entitled enough along with the hundreds of other negative adjective you throw anywhere in there to describe our character and stumbling blocks along the way. Yet it’s also because whenGod searched our heart and souls he also found that along with the all those negative characteristics we had three great ones, 1) a never ending love that genially and deeply cares for others more than we do ourselves 2) a strong desire to know God for as the Bible says it is through the struggle of battle with that one comes to know their opponent most intimately, thus through it the struggle that one gains insight into and respect for their opponent (Jacob struggle with God on the river bank, leading to his blessing and transformation into Israel by the Lord) so just as the lord already knows us; in the struggle with him do we come to know closer than anything else for we understand because we experienced it and not just because somebody just told us so or for the millionth time 3) he found enough moxie in us to know we’d see it through till we eventually make it or die in the process and the only way to make it is his way and through Jesus Christ for to know the father is to know the son and vice versa. So now back to that question of is being given more a blessing in itself.? Ever heard the saying to him who much is given, much is expected in return and that comes with great responsibility? Well if you haven’t, you have now, and if you have but don’t understand how that that answers the questions of is it a blessing? Well let me ask you a few questions first. Are you thinking about how you can help others with those things you received. Are you wondering how your going to use what God gave to Glorify his name? Are you thankful to have it but worried maybe you don’t really deserve it, knowing this would you be willing to give it up or let it go in order to benefit or help another person if asked? Are you worried that God’s watching and judging your decision and thoughts as you ready these questions, and if so does that feeling make want to or even begin to get down on your knees and start praying to Lord and Savior asking him to walk with you and guide you in the use of these material possessions you have received. If it did so then let me now answer the question of as should those thing be considered a bless…. your Dang gone Right they should be cause you chose the easy way and your relationship with God is just getting started, not to say it’s not without it’s own twist and turns for he is the Lord and we’ll never know him as he know us. Now if those questions didn’t make you want to start praying and asking gods guidance, let me remind you of a few things 1) there is no greater love in the world that than a parent has for their children and we are all God’s children 2) Jesus Christ is with you in all things and if follow and keep your eyes on him or call out to him sincerely in Prayer like your talking to a friend while throwing up a Hail Mary, all while trusting completely in the fact he’s got you, you’ll find that he can do all and amazing things through you if your willing to let him take the wheal and drive. However for you that chose the hard way it’s only a blessing if you bend your desires and want, let your ego go and come to him willing to accept his love and grace while being prepared to do his will before your clock runs out. With that said just remember everything you give unto or in the Name of God he gave you first, including the life you live and the. air you breath, so every moment spent not honoring him in everything you do is another moment wasted rolling dice with devil for your soul and spirit. As well as everything you get in this life a blessing from God for we did not earn it nor do we deserve anything other than death, and it is always more blessing to give than to receive. How do I know this cause because no when I look to God what do I notice is always giving and he never receives anything he did nothing give use first as for all my crazy life stories or lessons I learned the hard way if you haven’t heard then you can feel free to ask me and I’ll be more than glad to tell you about how each and every mistake I’ve made and how when I turned to the Lord as sought forgiveness with a greater growing desire to be more like him and walk in his foot steps not only did he forgive but blessed me with each and every single one of his promises in Bible not because I deserved it or earned for his covenant was never made with with me but he did so because I kept my faith in him and his word, what little I knew of it, and he always keeps his word even when we don’t or are unworthy of it because : God is good all the time, and all the time God is God. So remember to count your blessing and be grateful.
PS: Gratitude is an action verb so we don’t feel it we show through our actions
Best post yet Scott. Well said.
Gracias, Goff. Peace to you and the Goff-lets.
Scott, you made some good points and I’ll think a bit deeper before saying “I’ve been blessed”. I do think it has been a way to express gratitude for the undeserved grace of God in my life. But, as you’re suggesting, maybe ” I’m grateful” expresses that better.
Thanks for putting this out there! It’s always a pleasure to read whatever you write!
Thanks, Linda. I appreciate your insights as well. Encouraging introspection. Though, I guess that’s why you’re a pro. 😉
Hi Scott,
You made some good points, however, I would like to add something that I have learned. We are blest that God gave us the earth and everything in it for our purposes,( which we should use it wisely). So everything is a blessing. It does not mean a car came directly from God. We built it using the resources he gave us. So it is a blessing that he gave us the means and the resources. We look outside and see a beautiful sky, perhaps trees. Those are truly Gods gifts. However, I do not think he has a favourite among his children. He loves us all. I imagine he will not give a person a car, or not give someone a car. He may inspire someone to donate or give money to buy one if they need it to do God’s work. I do not think he chooses who will die in a car accident and who will not. It does not mean he loves us less. I think God has an ultimate plan (something we may never understand) and we also have our free will. I think we can be completely confident that he will love us no matter what we have or do not have, and he will be with us no matter what we go through whether we sometimes know it or not. And that we can use everything that happens to us whether it is good or bad for the greater Glory of God and as a means for us to love God back. I have come to realize that sometimes when bad things happen or if we are suffering in some way, if we can love God through those times it can be our Gift to God. When we are given consolation it is so easy to love God but when it is hard that is when we can truly love God for himself because we love him and not because we are given consolation. Yes, it may be hard but God suffered the cross for us and he is always there to help us. God Bless!
Even though many have repudiated what you have said, by telling you what the Bible says instead of agreeing with YOUR thoughts, you still are accepting praise from others who follow you. Scott, if the word of God can’t correct your wrong teaching, then you are in a very dangerous place.
Many have proven that your own teaching on this subject, not God’s word, is against the Bible, yet you continue when others “like you” compliment you and encourage you in your wrong teaching. This means that MAN’S approval is what you are looking for, not God’s approval.
Scott, you are in a very dangerous place brother.
Wow. I love this post. Did Gabby tell you we talked about this EXACT subject at church last night? The prosperity gospel is SO prevalent in churches today and I think it’s really hurting Christianity– because it’s totally unrealistic. And yet, if you look at most famous Christians today, they’re constantly talking about how “blessed” they are, as if their fame and fortune came because they’re spiritually doing it right, and we’re… not. And that’s totally. Messed. Up.
Amen, Lindsay! Messed. Up! Wish I could have been there for the discussion. I get pretty fired up about this kinda’ thing. Now… what to do with that dollar in my car’s ashtray?
While I wholeheartedly agree that the prosperity “gospel” is a growing heresy, I don’t think it’s fair To assume that everyone who says they are “blessed” is guilty of adhering to it. It’s also not fair to assume that everyone who claims that what they have is a “blessing from God,” believe they have recieved those blessings because they have done something to deserve it. It is a blessing because it was given by our sovereign God, a God whom we are not in a performance based relatationship with, but a relationship by His grace and for His glory. James proclaimed in James 1:17 that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…” And Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:17 “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” We see here for one that everything we have is indeed a gift or “blessing” from God. We also see that those gifts are given by God’s purposes and choice and therefore no one has reason to boast. We also see that our hopes must not be in the gifts but in the sovereign God who gives them. Friends, God does indeed bless, and we must give Him thanks.
Indeed, seek the Kingdom of God first … Life is very precarious for me and I’m exhausted, but I know that I must seek God always, put God first, trust God — and everything will be all right. I think back on my life and it is amazing that even before I knew what I have now learned, part of me believed in the real God — not the one with a rose in one hand and a hammer in the other, not the one who might answer my prayers, or the types of prayers God will or will not answer. But I do know that when I 100% on any situation let go and let God things worked out, sometimes instantly. I was once saved in my ’87 VW Cabriolet (that is my car since 2004). I was at the top of an icy hill and I was terrified (I was still in the midst of severe Paxil withdrawal and I hadn’t been back on the road long — long story there). I had just left mass, I had a few months Al-Anon under my belt. There was no way out but to go down this hill. I took a deep breath, I said let go and let God, I said “Jesus, hold my hand, I trust you.” And I drove slowly down this hill. I had a terrific sence of warmth and peace, never once did my little Cabby slip. That night my Cabby became God’s car and today, in 2014, she and I need help — I have learned to rely on no man and totally on God. Believe me, you know when God speaks through people and really does put you in the right place at the right time.
God’s will is for prosperty (meaning balance and good in all areas) for his children, but, again, as Emmet Fox puts it, you must God first. Yeah, it really is that simple. This was Christ’s message to the rich man.
I actually feel the opposite. I now use ‘blessed’ because I thought ‘lucky’ was insulting. I feel the word ‘blessed’ defines these great things in my life that are bigger than me; things I can’t take 100% credit for (even though I’d LOVE to). But I’m a ‘chosen’ one…so I’ve been lucky since in utero! (Jokes people!)
I’m with you, Tiz. Lucky does sound a bit “lottery-ish”, too. But, as you say, the chosen are allowed to say whatever they want ;-). Have you checked your scalp for any special markings? I’ll bet they are there.
Scott, I find this very thought provoking. One of my pet peeves is watching athletes looked upward and thank God for a succesful manuever or winning a game. I often reply to my son, who is a sport’s nut, that I doubt very seriously that God was that interested in the game’s outcome. There were probably more important issues with mankind that God was concerned with. Matthew 5:45 states “That you may be the children of your Father, which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” RKJV You’re right, we’re not promised an easy and comfortable life on earth. It doesn’t matter how much faith I may or may not have as to material wealth I amass. However, God has offered eternal life beyond our imagination if we follow Him through His Word! On a lighter note, I also agree with Gabby I know how much you loved talking and telling stories. I’m glad you are able to support your family with these recognized abilities you’ve obviously honed to be beneficial as well as entertaining to corporate leaders. I enjoyed reading your ideas and that our lives have crossed each other’s paths again, by sheer luck!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mrs. Riggins (sorry, I still have to call you that.) I remember you sharing faith with us growing up. I also remember spending lots of recesses in your classroom writing sentences due to my excessive talking. And to think, it was just practice for my grown up job of speaking (and writing).
Sometimes I think that our current modus operandi of “you don’t have to preach the gospel, just live it” has contributed to scenes such as the athletes you describe. I’m not bashing them…many are very outspoken about their faith. But it seems maybe in our culture we’ve bought into the idea that if we just “act Christian” we’ll change the world. Before you send scathing replies to this reply, I’m not saying we shouldn’t live out our faith, but don’t you agree that we as Christians tend to do little things to just “put it out there” that we’re Christians and hope that’s going to bring someone into a closer relationship with his/her Creator? Just a thought.
Harriet Riggins
For what it’s worth, this is my perspective on the athletes. When I see an athlete kneel and look up to or point to God, I just see humility, that they’re not being arrogant. I think for an athlete who plays for God’s glory wants to kneel and give thanks to God for maybe his ability to be able to play & do a good job. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God”
also in Colossians 3:23 “do your work heartily as unto the Lord and not unto man”
You don’t think that God cares about whatever it is that His children are doing? I’m going to say that I think God cares about the success of those who love Him — yes, even those who are professional athletes. Those athletes can serve as great role models by showing their faith in God on the field and through a variety of public charitable endeavors. Everyone has a role in the body of Christ.
This is great Scott, profoundly great. I love that my little brother still teaches me new things…I like learning from you;)
Love you, sis!
Scott, you are correct and insightful, offering a great reminder of a great truth. However, you took a left turn at suggesting that where you were born and your opportunities are luck. Read Romans. God is sovereign. While the divine mystery of how free will and God’s sovereignty are mutually possible and true, I am grateful because He did in fact give me all I have, because of His grace. Nothing more. Not my works. Why? For His purposes and His glory. Why not the 3rd world Christian? For His purposes. For his salvation to be made complete through sanctfication. And mine. It is easier for the camel to go through the eye of a needle . . . If God is not sovereign and dumb luck reigns, what are discussing or praying to?
Great point, Rhonda! This is a lot to think about. I guess where I have the biggest question (and the greatest angst) is around discerning what “His Purpose” is. After living in the third world with people who have next to nothing, it is impossible for my feeble mind to fathom that poverty and suffering are part of God’s plan. Like place of birth and so forth, I believe suffering is just as random, but God’s sovereignty exists in all of us, as beings of choice. And, the truth is, while His purpose may be for me to enjoy what he’s given me, when I choose to splurge on a new vaccuum cleaner at Costco, I choose my wood floors over a meal for a starving child somewhere in my community. To me, God is sovereign in that His power exists in all of us to do what is right, but it is up to us to choose to listen.
So… to answer who do I pray to? Good question. I may be out of my depth here, and getting into predestination. But if I believe God is sovereign and has a purpose, then, if I pray for something, do I really think I can change His mind if it wasn’t part of the purpose in the first place? Isn’t that just as futile? For now, I think I’ll land on this point. Wrong-headed as it may be, maybe my prayers are just a reminder to myself to listen to His voice planted inside me and ignore my own? The voice that tells me to do what is right. And when I pray selfishly, this is also the same voice that says, “No matter what happens, everything will be OK. Life will go on. And good will win in the end.”
I seriously considered this question when I found myself ALWAYS comparing my life to “someone who lives in a hut in Africa.” It went like this: “Well, I shouldn’t be sad that the car broke down, because someonewholivesinahutinAfrica has never even owned a car. I shouldn’t be angry that the plumber messed up the dishwasher, because SOWLIAHIA (let’s just abbreviate it!) doesn’t even have running water. I shouldn’t be upset that my husband lost his job, that I lost a baby, or that I got a series of rejections, because SOWLIAHIA is trying to scrape out a living rolling paper beads for $5/week.” According to the parable of the talents, those of us who have been given more are expected to use it–but those who have been given less are simply not held to the same standard!! SOWLIAHIA is not expected to churn out Christian novels/CDs/movies, or bake allergen-friendly foods, or even get their kids to school on time. (Because there may be no school!!) We who have been given much have a responsibility to use it well–NOT to bludgeon our brothers & sisters over the head with a TRY HAAAAARDER false-gospel.
“After living in the third world with people who have next to nothing, it is impossible for my feeble mind to fathom that poverty and suffering are part of God’s plan. Like place of birth and so forth, I believe suffering is just as random…”
I can appreciate your feelings on the situation and can only imagine the conditions that you witnessed, but if I may speak bluntly, feelings should not drive your theology, the Bible should.
I recommend reading Job. While I’m sure you’ve heard that before, it is only because it is one of the best Biblical examples of God allowing (and, in fact, choosing) pain and suffering to achieve his will. Job 1:6-12 is especially telling as 1) Satan attributes Job’s wealth to God’s blessing, and 2) God chooses to allow Satan to take Job’s possessions away, causing suffering. Also, Job’s response to all the suffering inflicted is very helpful, “‘Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” – Job 2:10b. The last part of that verse shows that Job is saying a correct statement in that both good and evil (or rather, suffering) are from God. Some other verses that support this are Deut. 32:39, Isa. 45:7 and Amos 3:6.
Lastly, to see how God works through suffering to achieve his will, the story of Joseph in Genesis is a great example. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery (causing suffering), but later during Egypt’s drought is responsible for saving his family. Joseph’s conclusion is profound: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” – Gen 50:20. God “meant it for good” that Joseph would be sold into slavery, would suffer, so that he would ultimately be put into a position where he could save his family.
Lastly, I would like to warn against the slippery slope of using words like “random” in relation to God and suffering. If these things happen by random, it can be implied that God does not control them, or cannot control them. If God does not control them, we can conclude that God is uninterested in our well-being, which is Biblically false (Jer. 29:11 and Rom. 8:28). If God cannot control them, we have stripped Him of his omnipotence, which is also Biblically false (Gen. 18:14 and Jer. 32:17). Saying that things happen by random can have greater theological consequences than it first appears.
This is the arrogance that turns people away from not just christianity in general. Do you seriously view reality that way?
Jason, I just joined this blog and I have to say that you’re spot on with your comments regarding Craig’s comments. If prosperity for some on this earth is a product of God, then we have a God of Favoritism. If the 20,000 (Google the CDC numbers from 2013) who will die today in the African plains from either starvation or unclean water are the product of God, then we have a miserable God. Scott Dannemiller is right about randomness. The events that occur on this earth are the products of randomness and from the actions (righteous and evil) of mankind.
None of this implies (as Craig mentions) that God is either not soverign or that He cannot intervene. God’s soveringty means that He has the abilty to intervene but chooses not to. This should be apparent to all of us as we see the horrific events that occur that have no connection to sin. We have tornados, hurricanes, and volcanoes that are not God ordained. Are we to conclude that God caused the earthquake / Tsunami that killed 230,000 in in December of 2004?
Because Job and Joseph are quoted as saying that God is the cause of the good and bad events of this world, does that remotely tell us that this is how God really operates? God certainly isn’t quoted in the those books as making statements like that. This is what happens to those who take the Bible literally in places and it’s this way of thinking that does alienate those who are seeking God.
This argument that the author is making about being blessed can also be the same argument made with all of the bazillions of miracle claims that are made daily by people who think they are special in the eyes of God and receive His favor. How can we reconcile someone praying and receiving a job or good parking spot at Walmart , then claiming God intervened, while over 600,000 people will die this year from a mosquito bite.
It’s maddening to say the least. People want to feel good and special. In that, they will make claims that cannot, and do not, correspond with reality.
One of your best posts Scotty. I am grateful that God has given you” a gift of the spoken word” and you express it so well. You have moved on to the second half of your life with clear eyes.
Great post. For an in depth look at this topic, check out Larry Crabb’s books, especially The Pappa Prayer. His New Way Ministries is all over this.
I really appreciate this post. I’ve been profoundly influenced by my “Plain” sisters and brothers (Quaker and Mennonite Christians) who more readily accept the spiritual discipline of simplicity, and I feel drawn, more and more, to question my “right” to consume resources just to feed my prideful addictions to entertainment and comfort. I don’t see any material object as a blessing–blessings come, instead, in intangibles: a sense of peace, a revelation of grace, or the awareness of the Spirit’s presence. That perception moves blessings out of the world’s hoardable “mine not yours” economy, and puts blessings back in God’s economy, where riches are available to all, regardless of our rank in the world.
Thank you so much for this post. I deeply appreciate the exposing of the false-gospel that says, “If you do everything right, you’ll be blessed!!” However, Hebrews 11 shoots that in the foot, as well as Ecc 9:11. I know that the predestination-vs-free will argument has been brought up in the comments here, but I think it’s a pointless argument. Thank you for your writing.
This is an interesting, yet somewhat shallow, analysis of what it means to be blessed, or receive a blessing. A blessing is simply something that makes you happy. blessed = happy. And we receive things from God everyday that make us happier than if we didn’t. It’s not the things that are important, but realizing that they are gifts from God, gifts that we SHOULD acknowledge.. from the heart.
Blessings are not reserved for certain Christians. They aren’t even reserved for Christians. God pours out his love and material gifts on the godly and the ungodly. It is the godly that recognize that God is the source of those things, and the source of what makes them blessed (happy). Just because the poor in heart will be made happy (blessed), doesn’t mean others are not also happy (blessed). But spiritual things are, well, things that will make you the happiest.
Wow…I guess you skipped the bit that says blessed are the persecuted. So being persecuted makes you happy?
Not sure how you can justify calling the author’s analysis “shallow” then turn around in the next sentence and state that “a blessing is simply something that makes you happy. blessed = happy”. Sounds like a case of “feel good” theology to me.
Actually, “blessing” does NOT equal “happy,” at least not from a Scriptural perspective. If it did, that would be one thing, but in the Old Testament, “blessing” connotes favor from Bod. That is, God is favoring someone over someone else–or that someone is favoring one person over another; think how Jacob connived to get his father’s blessing, instead of his brother Esau.
Whoops, hit reply too soon. At any rate, I think that many people really do mean “I’m so grateful” or “I’m happy” when they say “I’m blessed.” And I’m glad that they are happy or grateful. But to imply that they are favored by God? Hmmm. That’s where it gets a little tricky.
It is understandable to think that way, if we humans somehow earn blessings or favor with God. The answer is no, and on the contrary we deserve to be treated the worst for our sin and rebellion towards God. Therefore any circumstance that is not the worst is favor from God that is completely undeserved. To have air to breathe is a blessing, to have money and a job and a house etc is a blessing, because we didn’t deserve it and therefore it represents God’s favor on us undeservedly. We don’t earn blessings, and only Christians can see past the gift to the real blessing: the Giver. This doesn’t mean the physical things aren’t blessings or favor, they are just far less than the blessing and favor of knowing God.
I think “I’m blessed” has become a signal to others that we are Christians. Nothing more. To argue the semantics of it assumes that people are using it for a deeper reason than that, and for the most part I’m not sure that’s the case.
Dawn – I am with you. I feel it’s a way to put God in the conversation without pushing it on others. Good point.
Every time someone says they are “blessed” because they received something more in their life (money, job, health, material things or even patience) it makes me wonder why I’m not “blessed” in that way. Why doesn’t God love me as much as he loves the people he “blesses”? Of course I’m being sarcastic but I do wonder a little bit. There are times when I’d like to say “so, you’ve been so awesome that God gave you (insert blessing here) but he didn’t give that to me? Wonder what I’d have to do to get that “blessing”?” I know, I know, it’s not what they mean when they say they are blessed but it’s so rote that it comes off that way. I’m just happy to see that someone else questions how flippantly this word is used.
Alright, I’m going back to my “blessed” (because God can see how much harder I’m working than you) life now. 🙂 Great article!
I join in all you proclaim condemning the prosperity gospel and holding tight to the very clear understanding that when I have more than another, great care must be taken that neither of us understand this as some sort of divine playing favorites. That said, I claim the language of blessing in all things simply recalling the point, as I understand it, of Genesis 12: blessed in order to be a blessing. Yes, there is blessing — the trick is to never forget that blessing in God’s economy has purpose and is seldom, if ever, for its own sake. The word Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount is variously translated as ‘happy’, ‘blessed’, ‘blissful’ or ‘privileged’ (which, I think, gets to the heart of the matter). Also, not only does God bless us, but we bless God and each other and if I remember my OT history correctly ( and I sure hope so – this is one of my favorite things), the act of blessing is not a birthday-wish kind of thing, but rather is the act of speaking something into reality. What a powerful act of co-creating giftedness that is!
I don’t think there is anything wrong with feeling blessed when we receive material things or money. There are instances in the bible where God blessed people with material things, it’s just that there was usually a reason behind it. The following article from Awake explains it quite well: “The Bible record includes cases where God blessed faithful servants with riches. Jacob, for instance, left his home with just his staff but returned 20 years later with enough sheep, cattle, and asses to form two camps. According to the Bible, Jacob’s prosperity was a gift from God. (Genesis 32:10) Another example: Job lost all his possessions, yet Jehovah later blessed him with “fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels and a thousand spans of cattle and a thousand she-asses.” (Job 42:12) Jehovah gave King Solomon wealth so great that its fame endures to modern times.—1 Kings 3:13.
On the other hand, the Bible contains numerous accounts of faithful, obedient worshipers of God who were poor. Surely, God was not punishing some with poverty while blessing others with prosperity. What, then, was God’s purpose in bestowing riches in some cases?
The answer is different in each case. Jacob’s material blessings formed a foundation for building a nation, in preparation for the coming of the promised Seed. (Genesis 22:17, 18) Job’s prosperity dispelled any doubt about who had brought calamity on Job, thus sanctifying Jehovah’s name. (James 5:11) And Solomon used much of his divinely provided wealth to build a magnificent temple. (1 Kings 7:47-51) Interestingly, Jehovah also used Solomon to write from personal experience about the limited value of riches.—Ecclesiastes 2:3-11; 5:10; 7:12.”
It seems to me, if we find ourselves blessed in a material way, we just need to spend some time in prayer and contemplation in order to use these blessings in a way that would please God since he provided said blessings. Ask for His direction and guidance and He will provide it.
YES! This is how I see His material blessings! Each thing he has “blessed” our family with was to serve a righteous purpose. And I seek to use our blessings for righteous purposes. Not that I’m perfect, by any means, but I try to remember why I’ve been blessed in certain ways. I feel He blesses us all in unique ways best suited for our own growth and learning. One is not better than another; just different ways to bless others.
I read it and thought (before I read the very last sentence) what Christians really mean is “I’m grateful.” Ha! And then I saw that was the last thing you wrote! 🙂 Blessed in the original Hebrew was a word that indicated a knee being bent to you. So when we talk about God blessing us, it’s actually describing Him kneeling down to be near us, the way a parent does with a child, and paying very close attention to what we feel/say/think/do. It’s a way of honoring someone and giving them attention and validation. That’s biblical blessing. It’s a word to describe God being in the moment with us and present for us. So yes, maybe semantics, but actually your post is well thought out and I think it’s definitely a slippery slope in American mainstream Christianity to reduce God to a wish-granting fairy. Without naming any names, there is such a ‘leader’ in the south who present God this way. Grateful, yes. Let’s express our gratitude to HIm and give Him all the praise for what he grants us. And what He chooses not to grant us.
Best prayer I know of…..”Thy Will be done.” I try to use that prayer for everything. If I can turn my will over to the desire for God’s Will in my life, then those things that come to me, and the doors that open up for me have been done so through God’s Grace towards me and hopefully a step towards the salvation of my soul. By the way…..I don’t use ATM’s.
I actually despise the message in this post. We ARE blessed. God is our provider. When we see ourselves as the ultimate providers we become proud and boastful. When we realize that all we have is because God ALLOWS us to have it then we must think twice. Recently I have survived the struggling fight out of poverty into lower middle class. It feels wonderful. Would I say that was something I deserved? No, I am marred by sin, have a rotten past and frankly am blessed to be alive. But to think even for one second that God had no role in allowing me to come out of the places I have been would be foolhardy and haughty. I’m afraid that too many allow themselves to be fooled by Satan into thinking THEY can be the ultimate providers and decision makers in their life. That was the first temptation. Should we blindly follow God and accept things that HE gives us, or should we make our own decisions and take what we want. There was a reason that tree was “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and I don’t think it was some mystical property in the fruit. By taking the forbidden fruit and eating it man decided to walk away from God’s rules of provision and provide for himself. Thus the curse which is most fitting. “from the sweat of the brow”. but even that is not entirely our doing. God provides the rain the soil the sun and all we do is work with Him to make sure there are no weeds creeping in. It is a blessing. So before we go about making the first mistake again, let’s not forget where we came from, for ultimately it’s that knowledge that will determine where we go, back to God’s arms or living our own path.
I disagree. Heavenly Father has blessed me with talents, blessed me with the family, friends, people in life to get me where i am. If said talents/people afforded me a home, a car, a competition win…i consider them blessings. Which is why when i say my prayers i try my best to remember to ‘thank you’ for every blessing…health, safe travel, family, being able to eat today and drink clean water…all blessings…and not to be compared in any way to others and their circumstances.
Thank you. I feel this way about the good things in life for which I thank
God always.
Job 1:10
“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
Job 42:12
The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
Question: Are you saying Job couldn’t say in his day “I am blessed to have all this?” Are you saying that God does not still bless with giving such things?
Shouldn’t Job say: ‘I’m blessed I don’t have boils. The rest of this stuff is gravy.’?
Great article. Refreshing perspective.
I’m grateful for your post.
“My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck.”
I’m very surprised to hear that coming from a believer’s mouth. By saying that, you are robbing God of credit and glory and attributing it to luck. As one poster pointed out, God is sovereign and He has designed your life from start to finish. Don’t you realize the opportunities that come your way are a gift from God, and more times than not, a direct result of His will? Do you believe your opportunity to go to Guatemala was the will of God, or dumb luck? Do you believe your job opportunities are opportunities to serve God and accomplish His will, or dumb luck? With all due respect, have you ever asked God what His will is, where He wants you to live, and what He wants you to do? If you have, then He has answered you and given you opportunities to accomplish those answers. The opportunities you have, the contacts you have, even your family–none of it is dumb luck, but designed by God. It is the atheist that believes everything in their life is random chance and dumb luck, including their existence–not the believer! I’m sure you’ve heard Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”, but have you read Acts 17:26? It says, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live”. And then there’s Psalm 139:16: “your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
I also believe God blesses people in different ways. To say that a good financial standing, success, or even wealth are not from God is nonsense. He gave you the skills, the drive, the job, and anything else for those material blessings to happen, and for you to say they are not blessings from God, again, rob Him of glory. Now, if you only see blessings in terms of material gain, then I agree: we have a problem. But to see blessings in only the spiritual sense is also misguided, for “every good and perfect gift is from above”. Anyway, let me know what you think.
I love the points this commenter makes, and I agree completely. I think the author of the post is merely splitting semantical hairs. How is saying “I am grateful” essentially different from saying “I am blessed”? Grateful to whom? To be grateful implies that things were “given” and not attained through “chance” or “self effort.” Maybe the writer should say “I’m lucky.”
Thanks for all of the comments, folks. It’s been a pleasure to read all of your insights, and I truly appreciate how respectful the dialogue has been.
I agree wholeheartedly with what many are saying (paraphrasing here) that when people say “I am blessed” what I really mean is “I am grateful.” I’m certainly not bashing people for feeling grateful and expressing that gratitude to God. I do the same thing in thankful prayers every day.
I think Phoenix (comments below) captures the essence of it. When we use the term “blessed” with others who are not of the faith, it CAN be the final straw, and CAN push them away, rather than draw them to the faith. Because the truth is, there are many people of deep faith who simply are not “blessed” with enough to eat, or the opportunity for employment or education. Try telling a mother who just lost a child as part of God’s “plan” to trust in that same God. Believer or not, if their connotation of the word “blessed” is equal to “favored”, then we are speaking a condescending lie in their eyes. While we intend to be servants and preachers of the Gospel, we are simply giving them another reason to distrust Christians. I guess what I am saying is that we simply need to be aware that our innocuous statements could be having the opposite effect than what we intended.
“When we use the term ‘blessed’ with others who are not of the faith, it CAN be the final straw, and CAN push them away, rather than draw them to the faith.”
Along the same lines, I’m afraid your post is being used in a way that doesn’t serve God’s will without your even realizing it, and obviously without your intending it. I came across it on Facebook where people seem to be rallying behind it saying, “That’s right — the things I have are a result of my own hard work. God deserves no credit.” And even, “There is no God.” All being spread and shared under your post, which I think has sadly been linked through the Huffington Post.
I think you should give Deuteronomy 8 a good read and then maybe reconsider some of your points.
It is impossible for us to understand why different people are blessed in different ways, and why some appear to not be blessed at all. But that is in His hands, and not for us to question. I agree that to pray for material things is not good, and real loving Christians would not do this. In my prayers I give thanks for God’s blessings, and when I ask for something, it is for His will to be done. And I believe His will is for all people to come to Him in humility and find peace in His love and grace. This is what I pray for you: That you can find a way to trust Him and realize that the good things that happen for you are not related to the bad things that happen to others. You don’t need to feel guilty about that. Just be loving and kind to all, and use His gifts to serve others.
And recognize that the suffering of others even provides opportunity to bring glory to God. Obviously when a mother has just lost a child, that’s not the most loving and compassionate time to point that out. We can only pray God will give her peace and be loving toward her as she grieves. Suffering is in the world because of sin, not because of God. But God can even work sin to His will. He doesn’t cause it, but He can make it change hearts. He can use it, but that doesn’t mean He likes it or wants it or causes it.
I hope this helps with the obvious struggle you are having over why you have so much to be grateful for while others are suffering. I hope God can use this to bring you closer to Him.
Admittedly there are many, many things Christians get publicly quite wrong, but feeling blessed is not generally one of them.
Another bit of good news I am learning lately is that I don’t have to defend or be embarrassed by or tiptoe around what God’s word says. He uses words like “blessed” and “favored.” So I don’t have to apologize for God.
Exactly. My kids are missionaries in places where a blessing is your house not collapsing in heavy rains, not being arrested for your faith, etc.
Jesus summed it up in another context when he said not to rejoice because the demons (gods of this world) submit to us, but rejoice that our names are written in the Book of Life.
I am grateful for all God has provided, but the real blessings aren’t subject to the whims of rain and sunshine (which affect the evil and the just), but are things I can take with me, eternal things. His kids.
Notwithstanding that you have no idea why people are saying “I’m blessed,” how can you say in one sentence that a blessing is not experiencing a bad event due to the weather but that real blessings aren’t subject to the whims of rain and sunshine? All good things are blessings! Why are we so quick to deny God the credit and glory for all the blessings we enjoy just because there are others who do not enjoy those same blessings?
Hey, Laura! Not sure if I’m more confused by your question or your tone, but suffice to say: All good things come from God. And I will praise him in all things. I just happen to agree with the blogger that we can sound too boastful/insensitive when we rejoice over things others cannot hope to attain in this life and take for granted that which for others are great blessings. That’s all. No quibbling intended. Just a broader–and I pray deeper–perspective desired.
I understand the concern of commenters who interpret being “blessed” differently than you do, Scott, and won’t go into the theology of the word here. However, when we as Christians use words that have a specific meaning to us, we need to be conscious of those to whom the words have a more mainstream connotation. Our theology is irrelevant in the ears of people who don’t share our faith, and whose understanding of “blessed” is the broad, cultural norm of “privileged” or “shown favor.”
To people who do not know or understand God as we do, our terminology could be the final nail in the coffin of their unfaith. Who would want anything to do with a deity who, in terms of wealth and according to their understanding of “blessed,” gives lavishly to some and allows others to endure lives of utter misery before harrowing deaths. Again–we as believers can claim and support our particular definition of the word, but when we use it casually in conversations related to our material wealth or greater wellbeing, we’re intimating that God MUST love us more than those who are poor and suffering…because after all, if he loved them as he claims he does, wouldn’t he bless them too? Or if they could just find a way of loving him better, wouldn’t he finally bestow these blessings on them too?
As a lifelong MK, then missionary, I’ve too often seen our theological skirmishes lead to irreparable misrepresentations of God to people whose only understanding of him is what we report about him. Regardless of theology, semantics matter and, left unchecked, could turn people away from the God whose love, grace and mercy are his greatest blessing.
(And don’t get me started on other Christianisms like “The safest place is the center of God’s will…” I’ve written several posts of my own subjects like these!)
Thanks for capturing what was in my head so eloquently!
I hope we can all just try to live our lives in the short time we have here on earth by the way Jesus did.Jesus said “open your eyes and your heart,not your mind”.We need to focus on whats really important,sharing the good news as much as possible,and,helping others as much as we can.Jesus also said,”My kingdoms not of this world”.I don’t think God would want us to spend our time arguing over whos right or wrong regarding the word Blessed.Lets just be thankful that God showed mercy on us by sending his only son,that through Jesus Christ we have a chance at redemption and given the opportunity,tell others.,now,theres a Blessing!
It’s not just problems with prosperity in materialism either. It’s the whole prosperity in your prayer life, your health as well as your “finances”. If you get sick, you don’t have enough faith, need to pray more.
It’s completely leaves God’s plan at the front door for the sake of appealing a person’s complete lifestyle prosperity.
Scott – thank you for putting into words what I have felt for some time. I am disabled and actually I believe God was just telling me to slow down and enjoy what I have, a good family and the gumption to do the best I can with what I have. I do what I can to help those in need, and have learned the hard way that you can’t help those who won’t help themselves. I have wonderful people in my life – good friends, good neighbors and a wonderful family. I still have everyday problems just like everyone else and often pray for strength, wisdom or acceptance to overcome these problems. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Dumb luck? Really? I agree with everything else in this post but that. It’s all about the grace of God, and much of our “blessings” are undeserved, but their still from His hand.
Amen!
Reblogged this on Found Gospel.
In the past when I have found myself casually following the popular footsteps of others using the word blessed when describing a part of my life’s experience connected to finances in some way, I have cringed on the inside….I have know the reason… using the word suggests that I am better inherently better than others, God loves me more. How wrong this is. The Spirit would lead me back to the Sermon on the Mount……though I eagerly share the view of this author on his point, I do not concede that all financial rewards are a result of dumb luck. Not at all. There are those rare stories of those who seem to have the perfect opportunities simply fall into their lap, but more accurate and true story comes from unrelenting hard work, smart decisions, willingness to take a risk, and even smarter advice from others…..and Yes, a little bit of God’s favor…… And YES, I agree with Scott’s decision and understanding of replying with the focus on gratitude!
Dumb luck isn’t part of our Christian belief, so if God is numbering the hairs on our very head, I’m certain that He also ordained where we’d be born. It seems that you are confusing two words: blessing and favor. God does not bless us because He favors us. The blessings come as part of His plan to show His love. I’m certain that those living on $10 per day feel blessed and my feelings of being blessed and thankful takes nothing away from them because even if we have nothing here, we are all blessed because God sent His Son for us. I will always say that I’m blessed when good things come my way and blessed when the bad things come because of that. I am blessed!
I agree 100% with Shannon Gala! Very well said.
Your blog entry this go around gave me much food for thought and I couldn’t put my finger on why it bothered me…because I wasn’t sure it was “wrong” per say. Here are my thoughts. I think those that are in a mud hut are blessed that they have covering over their heads as we are blessed to have a nice home to live in. We are taken care of by our Lord whether it be simple or elaborate. It is all a blessing and everything that is GOOD comes from GOD. I think we are discussing the wrong point here in the comments. The biggest point is the last two words that you wrote that is “USE ME”. The biggest question of what we have been given, is YES that we are very very blessed if we have more…but what God wants is to see what we DO with it!!!! It clearly states in the bible that to which more is given more is expected. I really don’t think its a matter of how much we have little or more but what we do with which that is given to us. If we won the lottery would that be a blessing…I think it depends. What are you going to do with the money? If you give it all away, it would be a blessing to you and to others. If you keep it all for yourself, it might be your destruction.
I think you’ve hit a sensitive issue with your topic, as all the comments are quite passionate. As I read,what I see is that bottom line , we as Christians, need to be careful of how we express ourselves, and try to find other vocabulary that doesn’t wreak of “Christianese”or buzz words that can be offensive to others. I’ve been wounded myself from the insensitivity of Christians attributing large material wealth to God’s blessings to them. I know their hearts mean well, but it’s a reminder to me to search and choose words carefully in order to communicate God’s love without wounding our listeners.
Scott, you put into words something I’ve struggled with a long time. I completely agree that saying we are “blessed” for material things or circumstances is not consistent with what a blessing is.So those without are not blessed by Him? Nevertheless, I don’t see being “grateful” too far off from that erroneous thinking, either. Grateful to whom? To Him? Or to dumb luck? If we are grateful to Him for our circumstances…we assume he bestows these things to give us comfort, while others do without. I also don’t see our circumstances as sheer, dumb luck. He is omniscient–our circumstances have a purpose. That is where I agree with you again. We are sometimes given a situation that others don’t have. What do we do with it? “Use me.” That sums it up. We are here to do His will.
I read it and “wanted to agree,” but it fell short of agreement. Where your treasure is your heart is also. I worship God, my treasure….anywhere….all the time. I say to Him as I drive down the mountain road with ice on the trees – “Lord, you have blessed me”. It comes from my heart, not my mind. I cannot take the salt out of the water nor can I remove the word and emotion of being blessed from my heart. During death and sickness and struggling, I have said over and over….”You have blessed me” and it kept me above my position. Being blessed is more of an appointed moment when God impresses on you, “To you from Me.” It can be anything including something material IF He allowed that impression. If another person says “blessed” and uses it for or in a different way, I cannot judge if it is “To them from Him” or not. I feel it can be a warning to one but not an absolute for all.
Love this article. I am trying for an authentic relationship with God and I was never comfortable saying I felt blessed for ‘x’ opportunity or ‘y’ luxury. I felt like a faker, just making sure to throw blessings into everyday life. Truth is, I feel actually blessed when sharing a meaningful experience with a friend or spending time in nature or appropriately handling a rough situation with grace that didn’t come from within. To say my new shoes or an internship is a blessing seems to cheapen those other more genuine blessings. Thanks again!
In French, where verbs often end in “-er”. The verb “blesser” means “to hurt”. You toss that around in your head a bit and you will see trials completely different. Whom the Lord loveth, he blesseth.
He is in the work of building strong and amazing men and women of God … not making our lives easier…
Reblogged this on Spotts in the Valley of the Sun.
I am grateful to have found your blog through Glennon at Momastery. Your blog has cleared a cloud that I had in my faith journey. I have a clearer understanding of my responsibility as a believer to non-believers. I strive to look for the good in all and show love in all that I do. Thank you.
I think I prefer, “I’m fortunate.” Sort-of a reminder to yourself and the person you’re speaking to how much we have to be grateful for and that we can share our excess with others.
Thank you for writing this, I am yelling AMEN and sitting back to think a spell. When we were involved with NGOs in SE Asia we would often hear people say “Oh we’re just blessed to be a blessing” when we thanked them for their help in various projects. It made me feel a little stabby. I agree with others that an overuse of the word has cheapened the meaning and more so the experience.
It draws a line between the blessing haves and have-nots.
Great thoughts, Scott. And I believe you bring up a lot of truth here. thanks for sharing and the reminder that our “many blessings” often come in non-material forms.
Wow. There must be something in the water. I just wrote about this in regards to pregnancy and parenting. We need to better understand what blessing is and means and your article is a great glimpse into that dialogue. Thank you for writing!
Like many, I often struggle with how God’s will, free will, Grace, and blessings intersect. I also understand the idea of this language (material blessings) being off-putting to nonbelievers. But, I cannot believe in the bible’s Truth and buy the world’s truth at the same time. I AM blessed…in so many ways. To imagine (or say) otherwise is a rejection of my God’s power and loving gifts, whatever they may be.
Kind of reminds me of how my mother taught me to pray. My father traveled a lot when I was a kid and she used to worry like crazy that something would happen to him, that the boogeyman would come and break in the house while he was gone, etc. So she would pray that God would stop these things from happening to us/him. She confided to our preacher one day that she never felt better after praying and he told her she was “doing it wrong”. Instead of praying for all of these unknown things to not happen, she should be praying for God to take the worry from her. For God to help her find her strength and her ability to cope. She could finally sleep in peace after that. That story has always stuck with me and definitely affects how I talk to God.
This article is so refreshing! I think there are many similarities to the concept you’re getting at with the word blessed, and how Christians so often relate to healing. Yes, there’s the prayer ATM idea, which is oh so prevalent. Far too often, I’ve experienced the accusatory “if you had more faith you’d be healed” (said with the utmost love of course!) or in regards to the clinical depression I’ve battled for more than a decade, “just read your Bible/pray more”. Both of these remarks, hint (rather explicitly) at earning God’s favour. I don’t know about you, but that’s not the God I serve…nor do I want to serve a God who’s favour I must earn.
Do we really believe that God only heals people because of their faith? True, Jesus often healed in the Bible because of someone’s faith….but that isn’t the only reason he healed in the Bible. Even beyond that, what about His faithful followers who travelled around, listening to His teachings where ever Jesus spoke…yet they weren’t all healed. Do we truly believe that those individuals were unfaithful to Christ…simply because in a crowd of 5000 men (plus women & children), Jesus didn’t come to them individually and heal them?
Is that really who we think Jesus is? Does Jesus ever say, “If you are faithful, I will always heal you? Of course not! Can we really say to someone with terminal cancer, “If only you had more faith…” Can we really say to someone who loves Jesus wholeheartedly yet battles mental illness, that they haven’t been healed because they don’t read their Bible daily? Must we always judge through the mask of spirituality? How dare we make these judgements in Jesus name? That’s not the God I know and love!
…and back to the original article on tossing around the word “blessing” everywhere we go. I was hit by a car while cycling in the fall, yet miraculously sustained no broken bones. While I was left with a multitude of symptoms, it truly could have been much worse, and eventually I will recover. However, I have felt so frustrated with people in general….but especially Christians.
I have seen so much brokenness in the North American church. Although church should be a place to bring our pain and frustrations and sorrow, without the need to gloss it over…that isn’t the culture we have created. Instead, people come to church and just like outside of the church, we’re uncomfortable with pain. Instead of saying, “life is really hard right now and my symptoms are very frustrating and I feel like I have no life since the accident”….I always feel the need to gloss it over and at the very least add, “but I’m so blessed that it wasn’t worse…clearly God was protecting me”. I feel as though if I don’t add that phrase, people will judge me…and frankly those feelings are justified. I have another friend who has also had an accident and said, “If I don’t see someone outside of the church setting, I don’t acknowledge that my back hurts.”…and encouraged me to do the same thing, because that’s what is culturally acceptable. Now I’m not saying that we as Christians should go around complaining about our struggles all the time, but I think there’s a big difference between acknowledging, “Life really sucks right now”, and going on and on and on about how difficult things are.
Maybe it’s time we changed the culture of the North American church? Maybe it’s time we stopped pasting smiles on our faces and declaring how blessed we are…while our families are falling apart or some other painful experience is happening in our lives. Maybe it’s time we learned to be vulnerable and stopped glossing things over with the word “blessed” or using the word “blessed” to somehow feel superior to others. How did we get so far from Christ’s real purpose? How often are we Pharisee’s unaware and unintentionally?
Well, that’s my rant…I realize it’s a bit of a jump from where you started…but that’s where my mind went, so I thought I’d blurt it out. 🙂
#blessed So sick of this hashtag. Or, “God is good.” Hey, God is good whether I get right in to have my oil changed or have to wait. It’s code for “things went my way.” When will we grow up in our faith?
I see your point, but I disagree. All good things come from The Lord. I think it’s ok to call them blessings and to “feel” blessed by things as simple as food or a vehicle. I agree that grateful is also appropriate. Your blessings are different from mine, but they are still blessings.
You lost me at the dumb luck part. Of course you were born when and where God placed you! If you had been born somewhere else or in a different time, you wouldn’t be writing and reaching so many.
Blessings come from God because he is filled with grace. And just like He doesn’t make people sick, He’s not choosing to NOT bless those who are less fortunate…. He sees the bigger picture and there is a reason for all of it. It is not fair by our limited human perspective, but I believe we aren’t necessarily meant to understand everything. Our questions will be answered after death.
The best we can do is have a relationship with Jesus and seek Him in all that we do. He will lead us and help us to fulfill our purpose. We can change the world in His name!
Although I am not a Christian (I’m Jewish), I often say that I’m blessed and I always felt a bit uncomfortable with that saying because I know so many more who would be deserving of the “blessings” that I lucked into. This is a beautiful post for all religions and for all of us who are lucky and grateful for it.
Lisa,
I’m sorry that this blogger has posted something that would cause you, a Jewish person, to “stop” saying I’m blessed and start saying, “I’m just lucky.”
First let me say, you are blessed above most people simply because you are Jewish. You are the apple of God’s eye, you are one of the chosen people, you are the true branch – not grafted in like us Christians are, you are a firstborn, we Christians are adopted. BUT… you can be doubly blessed by G-d by accepting Yeshua Hamashiach. G-d will never give up on you. As long as you have breath in your body, you still have the chance and opportunity to be with Him throughout all eternity.
Again, I’m sorry that any Christian who writes something derogatory about G-d and His blessings that would stop a Jewish person from saying, “I’m blessed.” Even if you lost everything in this life that you own, this is only temporal – a very short period in time, And… you are still blessed by the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because you are Jewish. But know that this will not promise you eternity with G-d. Only accepting His Son, Yeshua, will do this. Then you are truly blessed for all eternity.
Shalom
I agree with Lisa that no one who names the name of Christian should dishonor any Jewish person because the person is a Jew. I realize there are fake Jews just like fake Christians and the fakes cause a lot of trouble. I also realize there are ignorant people. I am of the household of faith for without faith it is impossible to please God. I honor the position God gave the Jewish people but recognize that He selected them from among nations to be His and to extend the hope God gave them to all people. The Jews were to be the evangelists of the day, not to horde God and scorn others but to represent God and to make believers of others. Sure the non-Jewish believer was not part of the culture of lineage of Abraham but God loved them also.
To the Jew first and then to the gentile makes sense. God gave Moses and the prophets the old testament/covenant of the Bible. They were to obey God and do right with God and man by following the 10 commandments. God knew they could not do it so He got them to symbolically sacrifice animals for their sins, and often had a barbeque left over for the priests and people. God wanted the hearts of Adam’s race. Remember that God FIRST made a promise to send the Savior to Adam and Eve after they fell. Christians recognize Yeshua Hamashea (may have spelled that right – late at night) as the Messiah Who came and freed those in Abraham’s bosom, which included non Jews like Methuselah, Noah, and many others as well as the Jews– and He took Paradise and it’s inhabitants to Heaven while in the grave defeating death, hell , and the grave before resurrection.
Some Jews feel superior and that they are better than anyone else. They are the elect but not an exclusive country club – priveleged to preserve and pass on God’s laws and other writings to paint the picture of the Messiah. Many today that practice the Torah and shun the Babylonian Talmud and Kaballah are God’s elect people and those who please God by their faith will find the Messiah and be saved. It is not tradition that saves it is the Messiah.
Be blessed and always honor God with the blessing He bestows on all and especially those who trust Him and seek Him – will find Him. Shalom!
May God bless you with discontent with easy answers, half-truths, superficial relationships, so that you will live from deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, abuse, and exploitation of people, so that you will work for justice, equality, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and to change their pain to joy.
May God bless you with the foolishness to think you can make a difference in this world, so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done.
This blessing, often called a “Franciscan Blessing,” was apparently written by Benedictine Sister Ruth Fox of Sacred Heart Monastery in Richardton, ND about 25 years ago (1985).
Well said. Our adult Sunday School class had a very similar conversation and then proceeded to do a Beatitudes study. Modern Christians love to glam on to phrases without really thinking about what it really means. I’ve been guilty of the “I’m so blessed” knee jerk response too. After really looking at the Beatitudes and how Jesus would have us live, I’m Blessed isn’t at the tip of my tongue anymore.
“My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable. I know a God who comforts the sorrowful.”
This is key. We all can be blessed whether we have a new car or not. Yes, we definitely need to separate the tie between being blessed and material wealth. But I don’t think the answer is to stop saying God blesses you in the “good” things, it’s to start saying you’re blessed in all circumstances. If your blessing really is to know God, then that is true whether you are homeless or in a castle.
Of course we can’t get too “Pollyanna” about our lives–there is need for grieving and sadness at times, but they are bearable times for me because they are in a context of knowing that I am still blessed by God.
Thanks for the post. A great starting place for a needed conversation!
I agree totally, Christina. If a Christian is not blessed who is. The defination of blessed is “holy, consecrated, enjoying great happiness, etc” in my dictionary!!!!! As a Christian we of all people should use the word “Blessed”. Not just in the sense of material things but all things. We have a Savior who bled and died for us so we might live! I use the phrase ” to blessed to be stressed” lots of times and really mean it!! Thanks for your comment !
Thank you so much for this. I lived overseas for some years and have been struck by this attitude since returning to a more affluent country–esp your second point about other believers who aren’t as “blessed.” We are very quick as Americans to equate blessings with material wealth.
Reblogged this on Closer to Lola and commented:
I just love love love this! I am feeling Grateful tonight for each and every one of you. You’re all amazing and doing your best, and it is enough.
Best,
Laura
It is impossible for anyone to define or speak for God, as clearly you are not claiming to. However, I think it is great that you were convicted by the HS to write about such a debatable notion. All I know (or think I know) is that I don’t deserve anything. And anything “good” that happens to me is by the grace of God. Not my works. It’s funny how I have learned to stop equating bad with good. His ways are completely opposite to this world. I pray for His will to become my will. Regardless of the outcome. (Easier said than done!) Thank you for sharing this.
It is impossible for anyone to define or speak for God, as clearly you are not claiming to. However, I think it is great that you were convicted by the HS to write about such a debatable notion. All I know (or think I know) is that I don’t deserve anything. And anything “good” that happens to me is by the grace of God. Not my works. It’s funny how I have learned to stop equating “hard” with bad. His ways are completely opposite to this world. I pray for His will to become my will. Regardless of the outcome. (Easier said than done!) Thank you for sharing this.
I AM blessed, not by your terms, not by finances. I often through trials and uncertainty in my life say it. Regardless if the outcome is as I wanted. I am blessed because I am a sinner who has a Father who loves me more, and forgives me every day. I was chosen by him long ago when he gave his sons life for me. I respect and understand what you’re saying. I am not favored above anyone, but I AM blessed ❤
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17 NIV)
I agree with you that my Blessing, with a capital B, is my Lord. But I respectfully disagree with you about not crediting every good thing I have to The Lord. I don’t serve Christ to get things, I serve him because he gave me Himself. He is my blessing!!! But God is a generous giver and he delights in giving. He gave his only Son!!!! There are christians out there that are incredibly rich. I don’t possess a billionth of what some of those people do, but I don’t consider myself any less blessed! God blessed me with talents, with gifts, with an aptitude for certain things and I’m thankful for every single one of them. Now, should he ever see it fit to take them all away, as he has before, it would still be ok because I’d still have Himself! I appreciate your post, but I think that sometimes we must learn to receive as God always wills to give, and give for his glory alone!
I felt compelled to submitted another reply as I don’t want what I just said to be associated with the infamous prosperity Gospel… In all fairness, I must say that I have also been blessed with bad things happening in my life. My marriage almost wrecked, but if it wasn’t for the years of suffering my husband and I went through we wouldn’t have the beautiful marriage we have today. Even if my marriage hadn’t gotten any better, I would have still been blessed because God has revealed himself to me during that trial in such way that I’ve been forever changed as his servant! That’s why I can’t look at all the things that God has given me or has chosen not to give me and not feel immeasurably blessed!
Tish (and this is for you too Scot),
There was a young man, about 30, who was a chain smoker and he was not a Christian. He worked with us (3 Christians) remodeling homes. We Christians talked all the time about G-d, miracles and listened to taped testimonies of miracles and healings on a Radio/tape player. Finally, one day this young man said, “Ok, I’ve heard you guys talk so much about miracles and what G-d can do and has done. If your G-d is so powerful and good, can He heal me and take the addiction of these cigarettes away from me?”
I grinned at the other guys and walked over to the young man and said, “Yes, He surely can and He will. But let me ask you one thing first, “If G-d takes all desire for these cigarettes away from you, will you give your life to G-d.”
The young man said, “Hell no… then he got embarrassed at what he had said, thought about it and then slowly said, Yes… If G-d can do that, I’ll give my life to Him.” So we anointed him with oil and prayed over him. While I was praying, the LORD showed me something so I told the young man, “Tonight, you’re going to cough all night long, so much that you won’t be able to come to work tomorrow, but don’t worry about it, it’s just G-d cleaning out your lungs from all that smoking.”
The next morning about 5am, the young man called and could hardly talk for all the coughing. He said, “I can’t (cough) come in (cough) to work (cough) today, I’ve been up (cough) all night coughing, haven’t gotten (cough) one minute of sleep (cough).”
The next day, the young man came to work and we quietly watched him all morning, and he never smoked one cigarette. When we broke for lunch, I said to him, “Ok, it’s your turn to honor your word.” He said, “What are you talking about?” I said, “You haven’t smoked one cigarette all morning and you said if G-d would take the desire from you, you would give your life to Him.” He said, “Hey, I haven’t smoked any have I?”
He went outside and tried to smoke a cigarette. We watched as he lit 3 cigarettes and threw each one down, coughing and gagging at the taste. He came back in and said, “Ok, it’s true. G-d did what you said He would do, now I’m ready to get saved. And he knelt down to pray.”
Now, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that this man was blessed by G-d in both things… smoking cigarettes and in deliverance from the cigarettes. He thanked G-d for the smoking habit, because without the smoking, he would have never gotten saved. Then he thanked G-d for saving him and for delivering him from the cigarettes, and… for cleaning out his lungs from years of smoking.
Now you decide, was this man blessed in “all” things that had happened to him? Yes he was, he was blessed with the bad things as well as in the good things. If anyone thinks that being delivered from an addiction is not being “blessed” by G-d, then you’ve never been bound by an addiction. If you think that being healed by G-d is not being blessed by G-d, then you have never had a disease that will or could take your life. If you think that having a bad habit in your life cannot be turned into a blessing from G-d, especially when if it wasn’t for that bad habit, you would never have believed that G-d was real or that he loved you personally… then you don’t know what being set free from the bondage of an addiction is.
G-d’s word says, “ALL THINGS work for the good for those who love the LORD and are called according to His purpose.” Now people, that is what it means to belong to Almighty G-d and to be blessed by Him.
Tish, I couldn’t agree with you more! I appreciate what you said here because that’s exactly what I was thinking when I read it. I am blessed, every single day, by the talents God has given me, by the love God has given me, by the people God has placed in my life (both good and bad). And I will continue to tell of my blessings that God gives me daily. He is our Blessing, our ultimate Blessing. But, He certainly does bless us, continually, in our lives.
Kristin,
I can help but wonder, why does Scot (the write of this blog) only “Reply” to those who brag on what he has written. Only those who “agree” with him. I wonder why when people like you and many, many others respectfully disagree with him about being “blessed” by G-d, and give story and scripture to prove that G-d bless His people, why he does not reply to them.
The Bible says, “there is strength in a multitude of counsel,” not strength in listening to only those who agree with you. That seems to be a very dangerous place to be in. Iron sharpens Iron, but sugar doesn’t sharpen sugar.
In Psalms 141:5, it is a prayer to G-d asking Him not to let me refuse the counsel and correction from the righteous. To be admonished and corrected by the word of G-d is also being blessed by G-d.
“Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head:”
Again, is wealth a “good and perfect” gift when it has come with blood on our hands? Standing on the backs of poor countries to gain material wealth is EVIL. Much of our wealth has not come through godly channels. So, not only are we saying that “they are unblessed and we are the blessed”, we are also saying that God would choose to support wealth gained through evil means and greed, since we primarily sit in our comfortable wealth and ignore the suffering of the oppressed.
Jen: your comment sounds authoritative and holy, but it is Biblically indefensible.
Every gift from God is received with blood-covered hands. The essence of the Gospel is that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God, despite our wickedness, gave us his greatest gift – His Son – so that we might live. If God can give the greatest gift of all to wicked, blood-guilty people, then He can do the same with the lesser gifts. We are all wicked and deserve nothing. We cannot earn favor from God. If a gift is earned it is no longer a gift, it is a wage.
Jen, thank you. I agree, completely. This is an area that I find really difficult to navigate, especially with other Christians. We, as a nation, have more wealth than just about anywhere, yet expect to get everything cheaply. For example, there is a reason that clothing at Target costs so little, you know? Someone had to endure a low-cost existence to provide us with that, but very few people consider that. They are excited about their “great deals”. I try to extend grace with this, since many people just aren’t aware, but it is admittedly a struggle.
Tish, my exact thoughts! I couldn’t agree with you more. I always ask for God’s will to be done in my life and accept the good and the bad. I too believe God is a very giving God and a very loving and jealous God. He wants us to love Him and follow Him so He can take care of us. Without God I would have nothing and I wouldn’t be rich (blessing wealth, not monetary wealth) with all the blessings He has bestowed on me. Thank you so much for comment because there were many things I just couldn’t 100% agree with. God bless you 🙂
Very valid points — and well-said. It reminds me of another phrase that has always bothered me. When people see someone in a wheelchair — or someone homeless on the side of the road — or someone bald from chemotherapy — or someone being lifted from a car crash, they often shake their heads and say, “There but for the grace of God…” They mean well, I’m sure, and they’re just acknowledging that they are grateful not to be suffering in that way. But it’s always bothered me because when they imply, “There but for the grace of God go I” — it implies that the homeless person or sick person or car crash victim was NOT graced by God and was not loved by God. It implies that in some way, that person deserves that suffering. And it implies that the person making the observation feels that they don’t deserve that tragedy because they have God’s grace. I know this is probably a small semantics issue, but I really wish people would stop saying that! Perhaps a simple internal thought of “I pray for you” or “I’m sorry for your suffering” would suffice — or better yet, a little help! :o) Thanks for letting me rant!
Darcy,
I just had a conversation about this phrase with my 16 yr old daughter last week. She asked me about it’s meaning and we talked about what I think people really intend when they say it, but how I didn’t care for it for the exact same reasons you state. And then I compared it to when some say they are blessed and how I feel that it sounds as if they feel that are more deserving of those “blessings” than others. It’s not just semantics and though, I feel, that it’s most important to try to understand others intentions when they speak, I also feel that if you are aware that the things that YOU say may be discounting others that you are best to select your words more carefully. I like your suggested alternatives. 🙂
I do agree with most of what you said about our overuse and maybe inappropriate use of the word blessed. I just do not believe in luck. I believe God’s got a plan for everyone one of his children, that we all, like puzzle pieces, are in the process of fitting together to form His perfect outcome or picture. Some of us take longer to find where we fit in, some of us do like where we fit in and try to make our place where we do not belong, but God does have a perfect plan and it will come together. I do agree with using grateful as you suggest.
That “blessed” is often reduced to a trite catch-all “Christianese” phrase. I agree and it’s sad.
That claiming the physical accruments of life are somehow not worthy of the title “blessings from God” I disagree.
Not to be confused with God’s Grace (which is freely given and received), scripture is clear that God’s Blessings are “If/Than” propositions. You’re “Sermon on the Mount” quotes are perfect examples: If we ______ than He ______.
As I’m sure you know, the original meaning for the word “blessed” that Jesus used is simply “happy”. The meek are “happy” because they know that God has a significant “inheritance” in store for them. That “blessing” is in fact due to the coming reward.
Your thesis is wrong. Christians should understand and recognize that the physical rewards of hard work and good effort (both very biblical) are indeed blessings from God. However we must not replace God (our true source of happiness) with the physical entrapments of wealth.
You seem to take a decidedly unbiblical worldview when you flatly say:
“My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck.”
Here a a few verses that seem to contradict that thought…
–
– Psalm 127 (our children are a specific blessing from the Lord)
– Psalm 139 (Purposely made by God for His purposes – no luck involved.)
– Proverbs 10:22 (God’s blessings bring wealth of all kinds)
– Proverbs 16:4 (God made everything for His purpose)
– Isaiah 10 (Even the opportunities of the wicked are controlled by God.)
– Jeremiah 1:5 (God knows us and places us in this world for His purposes.)
– Jeremiah 29:11 (Even in dire situations God is in charge – not luck.)
– John 9:3 (human suffering isn’t wasted. God uses it to display His love.)
– James 1:17 (All we give and all we get comes from God)
I could go on but the point is likely made. Our lives are not the results of some cosmic lottery. God is sovereign and we are placed in this world to both do and experience the will of God.
So, if it bothers you to say you are “blessed” by the stuff, opportunities and rewards of the life God has placed you in, you could say you’re “feeling grateful” of you could just say what Jesus said in the first place…”I’m Happy!”
Amen Jeff!
This might be true if our “hard work” and “good effort” did not include “exploiting the poor of the world.” I don’t believe God “blesses” taking advantage of the oppressed and weak. Many of the blessings enjoyed by our country have come at the expense of the poor–God is most decidedly on the side of the poor, so these things cannot be his “blessings.”
Many of God’s blessings to Israel came by destroying their enemies (most notable the “Promised Land”. I’m not suggesting that sinful or evil gain are somehow blessed by God (or even endorsed).
I’m simple trying pointing out that God is not averse to using force or even political power to move His blessings wherever He chooses.
I’m not big on false guilt. Since I have never knowingly oppressed anyone but have knowingly opposed those who do I reject the idea that I should feel ashamed of the physical blessings I have received from God. A careful rereading of Jesus “Parable of the Talents” is proof enough for me. I am responsible to God to use whatever circumstances God has placed me in to the best of my ability and to the highest of His glory.
There is no intellectually honest connection between you or I improving our lives (through hard work or effort) and rejoicing in the “blessing” of that opportunity AND caring for the plight of those less fortunate than we are. A Christian must be able to do both or they misrepresent God.
When a goat herder in Africa improves his economic situation by selling his goats and buying a cell phone business (which makes money by charging fellow goat herders) we rejoice and call it economic development. But, when middle-class Americans make financial profits from wise investment in the stock exchange we call it capitalistic greed.
I think we should just call both “blessing” and leave it at that. After all Deuteronomy 8 tells us we should view all wealth and possessions as “blessings from God” in response to His covenant with His people.
I am troubled by your stating what God isn’t adverse to; if I am going to presume anything about God, it falls on the side of grace, rather than God sanctioning violence and destruction for some unknown higher purpose. Yanks God down to our level, which is par for the course. As Twain said, God created us in His image and we immediately returned the favor.
Oops… I missed a very important “not” in my last post. Sorry! It should have read:
“There is no intellectually honest connection between you or I improving our lives (through hard work or effort) and rejoicing in the “blessing” of that opportunity AND *NOT* caring for the plight of those less fortunate than we are. A Christian must be able to do both (receive blessings with gratitude and care for the less fortunate) or they misrepresent God (in his sovereignty).”
Ecclesiastes 5:19 “And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life–this is indeed a gift from God.”
This and other scriptures I’ve shared should prove I’m not “cherry picking” verses here… the theme of blessings from God literally runs throughout scripture. And – yes – they are often physical blessings.
nwalter56, I mean no disrespect to God. And I fully agree – From the gift of Christ we can clearly see God chooses grace and mercy over destruction when it comes to the saving and blessing of His people.
But one cannot read about the taking of the “Promised Land” or even the journey of Abraham without clearly seeing that God can and will use force to install blessing on His people.
I don’t believe I’m presuming on God by saying what Scripture clearly says. I admit. it’s uncomfortable for me (with my deep gratitude and love for the mercy and grace of God) to read verses in Scripture where God laughs at the weakness and destruction of His enemies. But those verse are there non-the-less.
But in case someone reads this and get the wrong idea, I firmly believe God – through the Holy Spirit – calls all people (no longer just one ethnic group) to come to Him. Because of Christ’s victory over sin and death we are now reconciled to God. In fact, one of the underlying truths of the New Testament is this – God no longer has any earthly enemies. As John 3:17 says, we have all been reconciled to Him if we just believe.
But back to the authors point – God alone understands why some are blessed with human comforts in this life and others are not. I cannot fathom the reasoning that goes into such a decision. It is beyond my human capacity to understand (Isaiah 55). God moves and removes blessing on those He alone pleases. To say this is “dumb luck” is in fact limiting God. Sp to hijack Twain’s excellent quote: “We don’t understand why God would do this SO He must not be doing it.”.
.
Jeff,
Good analogy and showing the truth from the word. Our opinions are simply that, our opinions… but the word of G-d is truth. One thing we must do in this life, is truly get to know who G-d is and His character. If we fail to do that, then how can you place your trust in someone you don’t know?
So when someone says, “You’re not really blessed by G-d, it is simply dumb luck,” then you can instantly say, “You’re wrong. I know my G-d, I know His character, I know what He has said about His people, I know about His love, and I’ve have experienced it all. You can talk trash about the devil all you want, but don’t talk like that about my Father.”
I needed this today. It’s a good reminder of what makes me blessed. I am a missionary home on furlough. We came back completely wiped out from working in an area facing war and loss. And we came back to an economy which had tanked while we were gone and prices making it impossible to live on our “faith-based” (what does that mean, anyway?) income. I have been so focused on wondering why God is not “blessing” us. Then I read “blessed are those who mourn” (we sure did our share of that), “blessed are those who are merciful…peacemakers.” I am truly blessed! Thanks for the reminder.
Amen brother. I love the way you correct someone.
Okay, I get the desire to avoid the prosperity gospel, and I’m completely with you on that. There is great danger in that theology and I respect and encourage your desire to stay away from it. However, material blessing is from God, and He blesses those as He chooses. Your assertion that “My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck” completely negates God’s sovereignty; the fact that He has the power to do what He wants, and He will do whatever He chooses to. There is just as much danger in not attributing the blessing of God to God as there is only attributing the blessing of God to financial blessing. I have in my short life been blessed with an abundance of material wealth, and I have been blessed with losing almost all of it. I am currently blessed by making just enough to get by, and I have to seek help from family and friends sometimes. Yes, that is a blessing, but it is also a blessing to have much.
I have had the privilege of spending the past almost three years studying the Old Testament, and one of the major emphases all throughout is on the blessing of Yahweh. In the covenant God has with Israel, material blessing is a direct result of them serving and obeying Him as a nation. Granted, that covenant does not directly correlate to our Christianity, as we’re under a New Covenant. Still, by way of application, even though power and wealth have the potentiality to corrupt, the Bible is clear that both poverty and wealth come from God as a blessing, that we may use whatever blessing we have to bless others.
Perhaps this is where I should have started; with the simple truth that blessing is a responsibility, blessing is NOT intended to just make us comfortable and make our own lives nice. I would argue that you are correct in saying that the traditional American understanding of the word “blessing” is not Biblically accurate, however a blessing comes with responsibility attached, and that is where you can apply James 1:2-3 to any blessing/trial that you come across.
You are not incorrect in stating that you are burdened in a way with the amount of income that you receive, but I beg of you, don’t miss God’s blessing in that, and understand that the point of material blessing is stated in the Abrahamic Covenant: “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing… and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2b-3).
It is indeed a good thing to wrestle through, and I may be off in my thinking, but I would challenge you to study the Scripture for yourself to see if what I say is true or not.
With love from one brother to another,
Just a student of the Word, also trying to figure it out.
First, let me say that I respect you for putting yourself out there, and I appreciate the journey you’re on. And thank you for allowing me to comment on your thoughts.
On using the term blessed – yes, it is most often used to describe earthly riches. It is shortsighted to miss the many blessings that God gives us that, to the world, seem tragic. Pain and suffering can be a great blessing.
With that said, God isn’t “burdening” the rich any more than he burdens the poor by giving them opportunities to suffer. We must learn to embrace the paradox that everything that happens to us is both a blessing and a curse. We can, with our hearts and our actions, take anything in our lives and make it one or the other.
If our purpose in this life is to become children of God, then that which draws us closer to God is a blessing, and that which pushes us away from God is a curse. It is our choice.
Interesting
This being (at least partially) about semantics and all–you had me until the paragraph talking about our being “lucky.” I was always taught that Christians didn’t believe in “luck.”
I don’t know what else it would be. Do we deserve to grow up in America with tons of junk because of some merit we possesst? Or, even more, do my friends on the streets of South America grow up, starving most days, because THEY deserve it? No…it’s eeny, meeny, miney, mo…. I don’t deserve not to starve…I lucked out and now I’m supposed to share.
I have always thought about the use of “blessings” to reflect the things I’ve been given in comparison to others who may not because they are not less blessed. I do choose to say, “I’m grateful for the blessings God has chosen for me (or my family).” I feel He is very much aware of our lives and the talents and blessings that are made just for us, as are the weaknesses and trials. He knows exactly what I need to grow the most.
Thank you Thank you Thank you! I know what it is to be truly TRULY blessed as a follower of Christ! When I was 39 I was diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease. That was 15 years ago. Other then salvation it has been the greatest blessing in my life because it forces me to live in the “house of mourning” focused on eternity and close to my savior daily in order to walk in obedience to HIs precious command to give thanks in everything and rejoice always!
Here is one of my favorite passages that confirms my blessing!
Eccl. 7: 1 A good name is better than a good ointment,
And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
I am blessed! Physically miserable, but spiritually ALIVE and BLESSED by God and able to fulfill my purpose for living — to bring Him glory!
Thank you!
Research organic unrefined cold-pressed virgin coconut oil for Parkinson’s. It’s helped my dad tremendously. For alzheimers and parkinsons it passes the blood brain barrier and feeds the brain. I know this is way off subject. Just can’t hardly believe the difference and have to share.
I really appreciated this post. It’s something my husband and I have discussed more than once. For me, I’ve begun to feel that people can be blessed by God with things they need, but those blessings also come through other people. For instance, my husband and I have an employer who pays 100% of our medical premiums. This is a huge blessing for us, especially with 3 kids with big medical needs and plenty of copays/out of pocket expenses, but those blessings only came to us because of the generosity of employers who are truly living up to their Christian ideals and giving to others. I see prosperity as a blessing meant not so much for the person who has it, but a blessing meant to be shared with others. (As you mentioned in your post, the idea of “What are you going to do with it.”) God may bless someone with material wealth, but with that comes the expectation that that person will go on and bless others who haven’t won the birth/location lottery. I feel like many of the problems in the world today come from countries or people who have forgotten that every blessing was meant to be shared and who allow their brothers and sisters throughout the world to go hungry, naked, homeless, sick, or otherwise without the necessities of life.
(All of the above made sense in my head. Hoping it makes sense on the page.)
I completely understand what you are saying. However, I do not at all agree with your claim “My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck. ” . I don’t believe anything is due to luck or chance. God is sovereign, and he is in control of EVERYTHING. I thought this was really a great article until I read that statement. I was about to recommend the article, but I won’t recommend anything that gives credit yo dumb luck.
Seems so many of my Christian friends insist on the “as long as you believe in me” caveat after each of the beatitudes. Hard to explain that to a 6 year homeless orphan wandering the streets of Calcutta.
I’m not even religious, but think this post is right on message.
Oh, thank you. Just thank you. After living overseas for so many years, I cry when I hear my American friends talking about “being blessed.” Like my friends who love Jesus and sleep on the sidewalk at night are not “blessed” by God. I’ve got this stuff because I won the lottery and grew up in America with parents who won’t let me be destitute if I try. My friends on the streets didn’t. End of story.
According to this article, my home isn’t a blessing from God? So then I earned myself? I don’t agree with that. I would consider my home a gift, or a blessing from God. Just because there are people less fortunate doesn’t mean what I have been given isn’t a gift. If that is the case then God shouldn’t allow me to be blessed with sight, because there are blind people in the world, and that wouldn’t be fair to them 🙂
You haven’t been blessed with the gift of sight, as is obvious by your belief that your material possessions are because you have been blessed by a god. You, over so many millions of unfortunate people, have been favored? You’re blind, just not physically.
While I agree with some of the sentiment behind the thoughts here, so many people loosely toss around blessings because they do, in fact, treat God like a genie. I do believe, however, that God is just waiting to pour out blessings (and, yes, sometimes these are material in nature) upon his children. While our greatest rewards await us in Heaven at the great wedding feast, he enjoys giving good gifts now as well.
It is not simply wrong to consider the gifts given to us by our sovereign creator (who very purposefully caused us to be born where we are – this is no accident or “dumb luck”) What is wrong is what we do with these gifts.
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 25:20-30, ESV)
You see, what we do with the blessings God has poured out on our lives is so crucial. The author is right – the meek, the poor in spirit, the persecuted, the “least of these” are going to receive their full reward in Heaven, but that does not mean that that which we have received now are not gifts from God.
This also does not mean that God somehow loves us who have much more than those who have little. There is no sense of God loving that one who was given 5 talents more than the one who was given 1 talent. I know this is just a parable, but Jesus is painting an intentional picture that I believe applies very much to us today.
Look at Simon of Cyrene and Joseph of Aramathea. These were two of the most prominent wealthy men in scripture. They had many material blessings and what did they do with them? They sacrificed them for Christ – they did not hoard them for themselves. On the other hand, you have the rich young ruler – what did he do? He said he could not part with his material blessings. He took the gifts given by God and was not willing to recognize where these gifts came from and what the giver expected him to do with them.
The problem is not the material blessings, it is what we do with them.
I’ll be interested to hear your response.
I kind of wish us Christians could get away from telling everyone what to do and what not to do. I tell people I’m blessed when they used the word “lucky” and it gives me an opportunity to talk about Christ. I understand your point about realizing the needs of the rest of the world. However, God blesses each of us in different ways. I like your post in that it is thoughtful and makes us think about what it means to be blessed. But, can we stop already with posts about telling people what they can’t say?
I once believed that my material comfort was proof that god didn’t want to smite me for the way I chose to live. Then I lost everything and knew … In a knowing deep place…. That the losing of the stuff was part of an overall lesson god provided for me about my pride. About being quiet and listening to and respecting his voice in my life.
I now live very humbly. Sometimes I want to shop. I don’t.
The “good and perfect things” in my life aren’t things.
When I see someone with an SUV and a mortgage and children and pretty clothes and they say they are blessed, they look sanctimonious and plastic. It is not a way to draw people to your faith. It’s a linguistic stunt that signals to your listener that you are part of an elite group to which they do not belong. Unless they have the things you have and use the words you do. And that isn’t Christianity.
The Lord giveth and taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Your article inspired me to do some of my own amateur writing.
http://shallowthoughtswithtodd.blogspot.com/2014/02/you-are-not-blessed.html
A very timely message, thank you for making me consider blessings,
I’m theologically challenged, but I will race to my Bible to find the answers or to confirm other people’s postulations.
At this moment in time, I feel unlucky. I don’t feel un-blessed. I have felt blessed in times of prosperity and having the ability to share my blessings.
Right now, I’m a single dad of twins boys. I’m suddenly unemployed with mounting debt. I may lose my home and possessions. I’m not being punished by having blessings yanked out from under me like a magician’s table cloth. It’s life, bad luck, and the sum total of the human condition. What I do know is, I can still bless someone’s life with the good words and deeds of Christ. And I will be happy, despite my earthly shortcomings.
2cor 8:1-9 gives a great definition if why we r given-to enable us to give -a little or a lot. Pastor Tim at compass church
Did a great job Sunday explaining”the showdown between scarcity and abundance.”
I’m an atheist and I find the. “I’m blessed” response article you wrote refreshing.
I’m not sure it’s a good thing to “should” on people.
Whatever spiritual ruler may exist inside of us, it’s meant to be turned inward, not turning it outward to “should” on people.
I get what you are saying. I do not directly disagree the premise.
However, I would like to say…that all good things come from above. There is nothing wrong with saying “I am blessed” in recognizing God has given us more that we had, be that material or otherwise.
There is also a dangerous idea permeating here. To view material things as “not Godly” or even that having an abundance of resources is somehow “less holy” than having limited resources. There is a weighted judgement in the article you wrote. As if having abundance is not from God. True, He is not a genie in a bottle…granting wishes, but He is actively moved by our faith. And in our faith, and our faithfulness to be good stewards…He can and still does give us resources to be responsible for.
Spiritual maturity cannot be bought. It is more valuable than anything the world can physically offer. We are not meant to chase after physical things, because He knows what we need and He does provide for it.
The love of money is evil, not money itself. Material good fortune can and is given by God, there are multiple examples in the Bible.
I don’t agree. Just because I have something someone else does not have does not mean it isn’t a blessing to me. God blesses us in any number of ways according to our needs and circumstances.
Agree with you Colleen! Everything I have is a blessing from God. Say what you want I will never see it any other way. When we lived on $10.00 a week for food we somehow never missed a meal. We still thanked God for blessing us!
Never assume you even know what a blessing is. You don’t. Buddhist nonattachment looking pretty good right now.
“Every good and perfect gift comes down from heaven from the Father of Lights”. (might not be word-for-word correct, but that’s pretty close.) Material and financial blessings may not be the most important ones in life compared to spiritual and relational ones, etc, but they are still blessings nonetheless. Why manufacture reasons not to give glory to God?
I agree with Colleen. People aren’t all blessed the same way at the same time. Don’t take on pointless guilt or unthankfullness over someone else’s life being different from yours.
I appreciate this article. The fact of the matter is, the pervasive danger of this habit of calling the ease in our lives “blessings” goes beyond the financial. Christians also call the loving relationships they have blessings. Jesus did not express that we would be “blessed” with safety, love or kindness in our homes any more than he promised more grocery money than we need.
When your own family betrays and abuses you, when you find you must protect yourself from violence and even rape in your own household, it stings more than I can say to listen to Christians discussing their blessings as if they believe those blessings are a result of their superior faith or worse, of His superior favor. I agree that it does have to stop.
God would not agree that my life experience has been a result of my lack of faith, but many Christians do. There is nothing like assuming out loud in front of hurting people that God loves you best.
I find that most Christians do not desire fellowship with those who are in pain. Gladly, my Jesus is nothing like them. Immanuel. God with me.
Elizabeth, thank you for your courage. Strength and peace to you!
Thank you for this article. Such deep truths, with such a good sense of humour. I really liked it – and feel blessed.
Live this
I understand the sentiment of what is being said, I’m not a fan of the prosperity Gospel. BUT I can’t agree about not saying that we are blessed, What about Scriptures like:
You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth Deut 8:17-18
The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. Proverbs 10:22 NIV
The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. Job 42:12
I made $36 last year, ran out of my medication, and I’m close to losing my house. Tell me more about how I’m so blessed.
I lost my house in 2011. I’m blessed to be living in this country, raising my children in the freedom of knowing Christ. I’m sorry you don’t feel blessed. Are you reading the Bible? Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you make regular contact with your home church, or any church to receive the assistance you need? How are you being a blessing to others?
Thank you & amen…. I am blessed despite the fact that my marriage is struggling, I am blessed even tho’ I have a new business that’s slowly growing , the bills are being paid . I am blessed that God has blessed e with another day to experience His comfort, His love , His encouragement to walk through this life & learn Edison’s that I may be a blessing to others.
That would be “learn lessons” not Edison ( dumb autocorrect
http://iqraislamqa.wordpress.com/category/comparitive-religion/atheism/
I am blessed because this life is not all there is. At various times, I’ve gone through the death of my parents, divorce, financial difficulties. None of that was fun, none of it felt like any kind of blessing at the time. And according to the world’s view, it wasn’t. But God had plans to bless me through those experiences and to give me an opportunity to grow in my faith and trust Him and praise Him regardless of difficult circumstances. That’s the blessing – knowing that no matter what happens in this life, I have hope and faith and life eternal through Jesus my Savior. How much money there is in my bank account has not one thing to do with that.
As I sit here with one of my newborn sons on my chest I relate this to saying I am blessed or they are gifts from God. I can’t help but think they are but at the same time I know women struggling with infertility that think God is punishing them. I know this isn’t true. As much as God isn’t handing out good jobs he isn’t handing out babies… Or is he?
Great thoughts. Grateful. Blessed. Both work. And both are just words that may or may not reflect the actual heart understanding. If I’m grateful for my windfall, it can imply a humble acknowledge of my unworthiness. Or it could imply a belief that I am grateful to God for my windfall that he orchestrated on my behalf, choosing to bless me among the billions with my sweet new ride. My actions, generosity, and treatment of others will speak louder than my choice of words. But I get your point. 🙂
Additionally, I think for some people, the choice to say things like “feeling blessed” is a way of saying “I have joy and I want to subtly announce I believe in God.”
Reblogged this on Zera Today Blog.
Finally.
Thank you.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
“The simple truth is this: the world exists, and I get to live in it for a while. My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing.”
so glad you realize this. if only you were able to go a step further and realize that there’s no significant reason to believe that a god exists never-mind one who is looking out for any of us.
Thank you for putting into words what I so clumsily try to share. My husband has cancer, not the curable kind. And people so often say, “If you just pray with all your heart, if you have ‘enough’ people praying, then God will answer your prayers.” And that is hard because it makes us feel like we are praying with enough belief, or we aren’t praying correctly. Then we hear good, Christian, well-meaning people say about others, “By God’s grace he/she was healed!”, and I think it is fitting to give God the glory, but where does that leave the ones who may not be healed? Does it mean that God chose not to heal one over the healing of another? I know that God can and does heal. I do not think that we are healed by our own righteousness.
This does not stop me from praying/pleading for healing.
I just don’t want it to stop our children from believing…
Amen! And I think I’d add “God is good!” to the list of things not to say when life works out the way we want it to. God IS good ALL THE TIME – even when the diagnosis is bad or we don’t get the job, etc. To say God is good when life is good implies that He isn’t good when life isn’t good. Maybe just semantics but to me, an important distinction.
(Are you related to Kathie Dannemiller? An organization I worked for did some work with DTA years ago and I noticed you do similar work.)
Interesting. I have had problems with that “God is good” chant too. And you brought up a great point, I had not considered: “to say God is good when life is good implies that He isn’t good when life isn’t good.” When I think about it, this would also mean that life is in control of the nature of God…and indirectly then, we are in control of the nature of God. Thanks for the food for thought.
I so agree!!!! I’ve been saying this for a long time too! Thankful to know I’m not alone in this! I get almost angry when I hear people say that. (Great article by the way!!!)
Interesting. I notice that I tend to say “God is Good.” or “I’m blessed.” when someone asks me how I’m doing or how things are and I’m about to focus in on the negatives and grumble.
Saying those things while life seems to be going good seems nothing more than boasting. “Things are great! I got X, Y, Z. God is good!” vs “You know what? Things haven’t been all that easy lately. But you know what, it doesn’t matter. God is good and I’m still truly blessed because A, B, C.”
Yes!! Thank you! Have such an issue with this phrase as well! God IS God even if a diagnosis is bad, indeed.
I feel blessed for man reasons and if it is appropriate to say so, I will. I think appropriate may be the key word here for me.Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
What bothers me here is that you don’t mention that it’s the result of hard work, persistence, and refusing to give up.
And God specifically addresses this, with the story of sowing and reaping.
And calling it dumb luck? Seriously? The lotto is dumb luck.
Yes, I’m thinking, to whom much is given, much is expected. God does give and God does take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I did cringe when my pastor’s wife said how blessed the church is with its land, building and to me, material trappings, and I look at the empty pews and lack of new second births. Still we gave over $135,000 to missions last year and that is a blessing. Always searching, as I think of my persecuted and impoverished brothers and sisters in Christ, praying for us. I am humbled.
God does NOT give and take away. He is not schizophrenic. Job was a man outside of covenant with God. He was pre-Mosaic covenant serving God to the best of his understanding. He did say, the thing that I feared most has come upon me. That was the invitation and open door for the enemy to move upon his life. Notice that it was the devil that stole, killed and destroyed, not God. In the end, as he was humbled, repented and obeyed the voice of the Lord, God restored to him double of everything. As you are seeing empty pews in your church, you must ask yourself how many have you witnessed to, wept over in prayer and sought to win to the Lord? Are you praying daily that God would send laborers into His harvest and presenting yourself as available for that purpose? May God give you great boldness and wisdom as you win souls. It is a blessing that you have a facility to come together and worship the Lord.
What Carolyn said. “Luck” has no place in the christian vernacular.
It used to be called in the apostles day, ” The Way ” remember..”they which were found in that way”(sort of like some derogatory statement). I’ve never been more confused with the [Christian] definition of being a Christian. With all the TV evangelism preaching prosperity, and as our writer comments about in the article how monetary value has become ‘sum’ sort of blessing, pun intended, has skewed the true meaning so far from the truth it’s no wonder the pews beside us are empty(people can read folks)..Please take a look at the First Christian Church of Acts if you need an example of whats right or wrong. After the Holy Ghost fell and the true promise from God spilled out into the streets of Jerusalem, the very next thing which occurred was this: ” And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” (Acts 2:44-45). This they ALL done in direct obedience to a commandment of Jesus..”sell ALL that thou hast, give your money to the poor, take up your cross, and follow me.”..Do people forget the calling of God so quickly, remember when the apostles were called..”he(Jesus) saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.”(left his earthly calling for Gods calling).
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.(Mat 4:18-22)These unlearned fisherman(probably not able to understand -vernacular-) were feeding others, family, friends etc. It says they immediately left.
You may shun what I am saying but whenever you rely on the things of this world to supply the needs in your life, you sweep under the carpet the opportunity to be humbled and to see the true power of God.
Many times over in the New Testament scriptures those which were considered ‘poor'(in worldly goods) were righteously rich in Spirit…because they were following the true doctrine of Jesus Christ..
“They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”(If your righteous before Jesus calls, you’ll have to loose your own righteousness to make a place for His. God Bless in Jesus Name.
What do you want to call it ??? Its simply circumstance. Nothing more.
I was a bit taken aback by the “dumb luck” reference. God does nothing with an attitude of “dumb luck”. A few years ago, I was looking for a verse related to luck for the March calendar insert for the church bulletin. The word “luck” is not used in the Bible one time. My realization then is that there is no such thing as luck. Everything I have, or do not have, is by God’s grace and mercy. That is not to say that because I am more faithful, I have more (material things) than someone else. Everything is in God’s hands. He is the almighty. He is what makes this world what it is, in whatever country, culture, tribe, or person. We are all here for different reasons, and He provides what we need as individuals at the proper time in the proper amount.
Amen to that. Search the Old Testament and find Luck is for the heathen, but the people of God are blessed.
Totally Agree “Dumb Luck”?! Really?!? I understand what he is saying, but God is always in control and Jesus said he came that we may have life and life more abundantly. In the spiritual realm and in the natural one. I do not think it is wrong to say you are blessed for material things either. God does bless us with material things as well as Spiritual ones. What you have is a combination of hard work, by chance and by God’s blessing.
Scientifically, there is no such thing as luck. It took ma a long time to understand that, and maybe most scientitsts would disagree. However, only one outcome is possible on any given event. We use the terms like “luck” and “probability” to explain things that are beyond our understanding. Like, for instance, the brazillions of events that go into the selection of a lottery number & ticket, or the brazillions of events that influenced a fatal automobile accident. Yet, for each event, only one outcome is possible, and is, by physics, pre-determined. I trust God, the master of all science.
I think luck is exactly the right word. Many people work hard for as long as they can and have noble hearts and faith. Realizing the randomness in experience but the steadfastness of faith to complete and shape our spirits is an awareness of grace and learning. Opportunity and ability are not equal to all. In a multitude of ways, it’s our hard work to create ” earth as it is in heaven.”
I think the “luck” part relates to where you were born and the opportunities you were granted based on the place and circumstances of your birth. Being born middle class or upper middle class in America gives you far more opportunities than being born poor in North Korea.
Thanks for writing this. I will say I’ve felt this way for a long time. How can I call myself blessed for having so much when my brothers and sisters in other countries, example Ethiopia, have such physical oppression. I am burdened to try to send what I can to help them out. Physical stuff is material that is immaterial.
I’ve thought about this same perspective on 2-3 occasions and appreciate his point of view. I don’t agree with:”My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing.It’s dumb luck. ” … And there are many varied types of blessing. Jehovah Jirah is our provider, indeed. So I won’t deny any form of blessing.
The sermon on the mount is perfect to hear what The Lord sees as important; our spiritual condition…. And some do overemphasize material/monetary provision as the sole forms of blessing.
Yet I do think the author here paints a bit too broadly in attacking the use or the word blessing as it pertains to God’s provision.
It’s a blessing to suffer a trial it says in James 1.
And, also, I’m blessed when I give, pray, walk with God and His people, work, play, eat, sleep, text my wife and daughters,,,, the list goes on and on and I think we need to “count them”
But no, God isn’t a slot machine where we pull a lever if prayer and expect the result WE want. Instead, we pray and trust He will provide spiritually, emotionally, monetarily and so on, as we trust and remain close.
I do dislike an over emphasis on material blessing and those things can indeed be burdens many times for many reasons. I know that first hand.
A study of the sermon on the mount is a fantastic spiritual excercise… Or “blessing”:)
I don’t believe in luck. That’s the concept we should quit using. I believe in a God who is responsible for every good thing in my life. In that, I give Him all the glory.
Why do bad things happen to good people. I do not feel that God ‘micromanages’ our life.
The Bible says: 2.Jer 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
It is not about “luck” it is about us making the best choices (hence freedom of choice) given what God’s plans for us in life.
Why do bad things happen to good people? That happened once in history, and He chose it. We are all sinners, so bad things happen to us. Jesus is the only “good person” and he chose to let a bad thing happen to Him. Thank God for that gift 🙂
This is excellent. I agree completely. I did not understand what it truly meant to be blessed until we lost our 25 year old son.
I am sad when I realize that my loved one’s physical life is temporary, but happy to realize that this whole world is temporary. We are blessed with loved ones, and blessed to look past today’s grief to tomorrow’s happiness.
What do you make of this? …..
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
God can bless one person thru poverty, and curse another with riches. It would have been a happier story if Job had died and rested in peace until the day of his eternal reward. But the purpose of the story, and the purpose of material blessings is to enrich the spirit.
My husband and I have questioned this response (vocabulary) people use and thank you for bringing the misuse to the forefront. I have slipped a time or two when describing hope healthy and amazing our adopted baby is how we “feel” or “are” as a family; but you are right it is grateful ness, not blessings.
There are countless stories in the Bible about God blessing people with material wealth to bring about His long-range plan, especially in Genesis. There are also places where God says that He is the one who makes people blind or deaf, etc. (Exodus 4:11) and that this can be to bring about His glory. (John 9:3). I don’t know of anywhere in the Bible where it talks about “luck”. I have a son with autism but I don’t resent my friends who might say that they were blessed with healthy kids. Blessings come in all kinds of packages. Sorry, but I think your article is way too simplistic.
I was ok in understanding your reasoning until …..
“The simple truth is this: the world exists, and I get to live in it for a while. My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck. And if I continue to get lucky, and take advantage of the opportunities, a comfortable life may come my way. It’s not guaranteed. But if this does happen, Jesus won’t call me blessed.”
You lost me there. You do not have a full grasp of the gospel and of God’s plan for your individual life. “Luck” has NOTHING to do with how your life turns out. Your life was planned before you were formed in the womb. Does the Bible not say, “For I know every hair on your head”? This prosperity gospel is killing the truth about God and His Son, Jesus. There is nothing we have, can say or do that will bring us closer to him. He comes to us when we have given full control of our lives to him. Sad to think that what you think you have (or don’t have) was just by “dumb luck”.
Thank you, Rob, for correcting someone who does not know Christ and all that He has done, and will continue to do. The longer I live, the more I see the plans God had for me, e.g. I worked in one phenomenal law office in a state different from that in which I now live. There, I learned so much and have been able to get myself on disability with the knowledge I gained. I am able to properly express myself legally when faced with more damage that Satan & family bestow upon me & my property. And, those 2 items are only a very small example of how blessed I truly am.
I totally agree!! There is no “luck” dumb or otherwise mentioned in scripture.
We could arrange a firecracker, 3 marbles and 3 targets so that when the explosion occurred, each marble hit it’s mark. It would be a monumental task, but it is achievable. God did that with the Big Bang and the number of hairs on your head.
Yes you are splitting hairs, but I totally agree. The American Christian has a warped idea of what blessed is. “Blessed art thou among woman” Mary was told, and look what her life entailed. Good article and I was blessed to read it! Pastor Dan
I believe that saying I am grateful is the best response. When I say “I am blessed” it can make someone else feel as though they are not “blessed” based on their circumstance.( God bestowing blessings of material nature on some but not others.) There are evil people who have wealth and good people who love God with all their heart who have wealth. There are evil,self centered poor people and people who are angels here on earth that have nothing to their name and are so grateful in their hearts for all God has done for them! We can all find blessings in many things, nature,family,good health,great friends and yes, even material things giving to you, from hard work,education,luck or the generosity or others. But most of all I’m just grateful
I have Satan & family living next door, in a pig sty they created. They have vandalized, and have had vandalized, my yard, my grass, my hedge, my clothes lines and poles, multiple times. My blessing is that I have a yard, and grass, and hedge, and clothes line, and clothes poles. I am blessed to have a car, in which I change the oil & filter, and on which I still manage to keep insurance, even though I was forced out of a dead-end job over 14 years and kept from ever working again. Yes, all these are responsibilities, but the alternative is being in the street and that that situation entails. Blessed, indeed, I am.
Maybe you are also blessed to have a family next door which gives you the opportunity to truly embrace Jesus’s words, “love your enemy and do good to those who hurt you.” Not to mention, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jenn: Your words are very tough to swallow. Last Sunday’s sermon in my parish was on this very topic. Check out ascensionknoxville.org and look for Fr. Christian’s written sermon (he delivers his messages without any notes and standing on the altar steps). It may take several days for the sermon to appear. There should also be an audio recording.
I have not yet found it in me to turn the other cheek. As long as I do not lower myself to their level and lie about everything, to everyone, I will be able to look in the mirror with a clear conscience.
Thank you.
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I hate the prosperity gospel but i feel that that is not the same thing as feeling blessed and recognizing that we are blessed by the things (tangible and not) that God has given us.
The bible never EVER mentions or even eludes to luck. There are tons of verses and stories that blatantly say otherwise. The story of Joseph. What his brothers intended for evil, God intended for good. The story of Esther. Acts 17. The fact that our future is already planned out (Revelation). Just to name a few. As far as being “blessed”, I wonder if those $10 or less folks would appreciate it more if we knew what we had and were thankful for it or if we just said and acted like it was evil but kept using it. If you are on here claiming that wealth is not a blessing, not only are you , again, ignoring a ton of scripture, but you should also make sure that you aren’t playing into it. I think it is a huge slap in the face to those without $$$ to act as if you are taking up your cross and carrying it into Best Buy as you buy your big screen tv. Being comfortable is just your cross to bear in this life I guess. Should we not acknowledge that our children are a blessing from God because some people can not have them? The Lord gives AND The Lord takes away.
I agree there is a fair amount of semantics in this argument… a person can truly feel “grateful” even if the word they use to label that feeling is blessed.
Something my husband has taught me is that we are “enabled” by what God has given us. I feel grateful for everything that is in my life and I feel enabled to use it for God’s kingdom and purposes.
I am blessed to be a blessing…..
It’s a *sneaking suspicion, not a “sneaky” suspicion.
Thank you. I’ve felt that same way for a very long time. It’s refreshing to hear someone else spell it out so thoughtfully.
I’m not even going to comment on the”dumb luck” part of this blog. But let me say that saying “I’m blessed” as a means to give glory to God and not my dumb luck is not wrong. Feeling blessed is a matter of perspective. And, the Bible tells is to be thankful in All things. So we all should go around feeling and saying I’m blessed no matter what we have.
While I wholeheartedly agree that money and goods are not the way to measure our true wealth, we are blessed that God handles our daily bread. Without it, it becomes much harder to be a blessing to others, but certainly not impossible. Many times I say, rightfully so, that God has blessed me by allowing me to pay the mortgage after falling five months behind. This is a true blessing to me, because of the lesson of trust that it reinforced. I gave everything I had to help others, and God still made sure I got my daily bread. Is this not also in the Sermon on the Mount? “Take no thought for your life.” Learning to rely on the provident hand of God is a blessing, too.
Great article. I dont however agree with you 100%. I am currently living higher than I was a year ago and for many years before that. I thank God for Blessing me because He has lifted the burden of heaviness off my shoulders a bit. Things will never be without some form of heaviness but I refuse to say “I got Lucky”. This is something I have prayed for and received. It doesnt in anyway make me holier than those who are not living as I am But i will continue to Praise God for my home and easier way of life.
When I visit in prison and ask believers there, “How are you?” they often say, “I’m blessed.” I agree with you about many of us saying we blessed for what we have. The inmates I know have 20 or more years. They eat low quality food, live with a high percentage of mentally ill men, do not see their children grow up or spend time with their wives. However, having found and accepted God’ love for them, they begin to live lives of obedience to God and in that they say, “I’m blessed.” They often express they are grateful for what God has done for them.
I liked your post and your desire to be sensitive to others, but in all reality you’re denying God’s desire to bless us. I’ll hold on off the bombardment of Scripture, except to post this from Ecclesiastes 3:12-13: “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”
Rejoice in what God has blessed you with, let others know you are grateful he has blessed you, and then in turn share the blessings he’s given you, to them. Because we give to those during our time of plenty, so that in our time of need, they can give back to us…God uses his people to care for one another.
I agree: it is just plain old luck. I am grateful for having the article come across my desk this day.
I like your heart heart here, but I believe it’s appropriate call material things blessings because God calls them blessings. “And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke and oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.”(Job 42:12). I think the distinction we need to make is that God never promises to bless us in this way. Indeed, he makes it clear we will likely suffer for the sake of Christ. Being thankful for what God provides does not lead to a prosperity Gospel message. That being said, our satisfaction should be in Christ alone, so our joy is never dependent upon material blessings. Material wealth is a blessing that is to be used to glorify God, just like any other blessing God gives. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
Obviously, you shouldn’t have used the word “luck” . . . tends to send Christians over the edge . . . BUT . . . amen to what you have learned and what you know about God’s Word!! I would add “blessed and highly favored” to the sandpaper quotes from Christians. My husband just survived endocarditis/heart valve surgery and then, a few months later, cancer treatment/surgery. He was “cured” by God’s healing hand through the treatments and medical care he received. Many call us “blessed” . . . we have been greatly humbled by His Hand in these last 10 months and we say we have been shown great mercy!!!!! Thank you paying close attention to the Word . . . just give up the “luck” part! Blessing to you . . . REAL and merciful ones!!!!!!!
My wife and I live and work in Malawi, where the average rural income is under 50 cents a day. We will never stop saying we are blessed; re Psalm 1, Matthew 5, which you quoted in the article, as well as a host of other scriptures. As for what makes us blessed, you are correct; it’s certainly not the material, as these things more often than not take our eyes off of that which makes us truly blessed. As for our place of birth, talents, and skills, they have nothing to do with dumb luck, something my seventy years on this Earth have taught me to totally reject. If God is truly in charge of my life, luck has no place. All that being said, I believe you made some valid points on Americans’ and other Westerners’ concepts of what being blessed is about. Material wealth in and of itself is, I believe, neither bad or good. Our work here is supported by a handful of churches and friends. Most of these friends are dedicated Christians who happen to have attained considerably greater wealth than my wife or me, and give generously, and freely to a work we couldn’t do without them. They are blessed, and in return bless us and others in their work for the sake of the Gospel.
I so wish that we would not reduce blog comments to picking apart the details and wording in every article someone posts but instead listen for the intent and the heart of the message. I think often our examining and criticizing of the exact wording in the 10% we don’t agree with is often a way for us to excuse ourselves from the 90% of the truth that actually applies to us but is uncomfortable to face. I don’t know about you, but I’m hearing the author express a desire to look at his heart’s condition when he talks about what “blessed” is, and he’s encouraging us to do the same. I believe scripture would confirm, too, that Christ looks at the condition of our hearts, not our ability to write a precisely worded sentence that everyone else agrees with. Thanks for this article!
Just curious…why did you start your post by saying you had a conversation where you disparaged your mother? Disparage = “regard or represent as being of little worth.” I would like to share the rest of your post with someone but hesitate because of that line. Any explanation would be helpful.
Love your ideas! Thanks for this alternative to the prosperity gospel.
AMEN!!!!!! Some of the most blessed people in this world are Christians living in poverty. Thank you for posting this.
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Wonderful post that defeats the prosperity Gospel message flooding our society…(sorry Joel Osteen and Joyce Myer)
i appreciate what you are saying here, but i, too, am offended that you would attribute what you DO have to “dumb luck.” i think that you go on to support that God has indeed provided for you in order that you may be a blessing to others. i do not want to believe that anything at all in the world is the result of “dumb luck.”
The thought has been brought up several times in the comments about why God would seem to bless some and not others (as well as what does it really mean to be blessed) – as well as comments on your statement of “dumb luck”. I don’t konw if you’ll find this relevant or not, but I wanted to see if this might help. It’s a paper I wrote for seminary, and it deals with the question of God and evil, but I think the principle might apply to this as well. Of course, itmight just be my opinion. http://russelljfellows.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
Hope it helps. God bless.
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Balance in our walk needs reminders. This is a good reminder to not become part of the world’s way of thinking. Thankfulness of heart is a good thing. Thinking we are God’s favorites because of material prosperity,not good. Every good gift comes from the Father of light. I do think our thinking is not clear on what a good gift is. Often I apm much more fruitful for God’s praise thru my infirmities and suffering.
Thanks for the thought provoking insight – and also to all of you who responded – going through such a hard time financially since 2008 – but roof still over head and food still on the table – hard to figure out the why of God’s plan for us – hoping for revelation and understanding – working 3 jobs – but able to work , renting because lost our home, but able to rent, eating hamburger helper, but eating – sometimes blessing comes through hardship – and its not necessarily material – so although i would consider it a blessing to be financially sound – if this struggle brings blessing in another way – I’ll take it – God reveals himself in many ways – all glory be to Him – I like the word grateful – but do consider it a blessing and it made a lot of sense when my 21 year old son recently rolled his truck – totaled it -but did not hurt anyone else and walked away – I’ll take that blessing over being grateful for financial security too –
God’s way of describing a blessing:
As difficult as it is to do, remember Romans 5: 1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I have always said “Just dumb luck.” Sort of like the blind dog finding an occasional acorn. I am blessed, or maybe I should have said “the world has been blessed,” that I have lived this long in this opportunistic country and for that matter this incredible world with opportunity abundant and Ihave been able to share myself with all. You left off one of the most important commandments of Jesus, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” And that means all that you are, all that you have, all that you can give. (John Wesley)
Fantastic and thought provoking. I was with you completely up until you said “dumb luck”. Dumb luck implies that God isn’t sovereign. There is no such thing as luck. If God is sovereign then my blessings and my trials are His will and I live inside of them. They fulfill His purposes and sometimes I understand those purposes and sometimes I don’t. I’m okay with His sovereign power over my life.
Thank you for your words. I hope you will hear mine in the same spirit as that in which you wrote yours.
Two thoughts I have that come from my studies: one is that we called to give blessings rather to receive. Another is that everything we have as from The Lord, even our life and the air we breathe is a result of God’s blessing for which we should be thankful. This segues into my unintentional, but no less necessary thought, that we are to bless The Lord at all times, giving thanks for everything in every situation in all the places of our life. Paul was praising and thanking God while in prison even.
And then I re-read your post to uncover that you wrote that you “feel” blessed. But, “to be blessed” is not a feeling (as of accomplishment) but a status accorded by God. You wouldn’t say “I feel cursed” would you? Maybe that is a nitpick, but to me it is no more or less a nitpick than to remind ourselves that love is not a feeling either, but an act of other-directed willing. I don’t mean to imply that you shouldn’t feel that The Lord has blessed you from the High Places, but that you -and I- should realize that if we are blessed it is so we can in turn bless others.
If we truly wish to live into a Theology of Blessing though, we would do well to consider that blessings are normally paired with a cursing ( or a ‘woe’ in New Testament terms), that blessing follows upon obedience and cursing follows upon disobedience. And then remember that we who live under Grace and not as under the obligation of law are nonetheless not free to disobey.
As an aside, in a universe in which there is a sovereign God (who, by the way is not contained by that universe), there is no room for luck. Either He is sovereign or He is not; no middle ground. But to the main point of the posting, the use of the word blessing in today’s vernacular is at odds with its meaning in Jesus’ day. In His day, “blessed are you…” would be more comfortably translated, “happy are you…” You see, by ordering our lives by His priorities, we find happiness both in spite of and because of our circumstances. “In spite of…” when we see the results of sin polluting the world around us and our existence in it. And “because of…” our position as His children, chosen, beloved and yes, blessed. He showers us with blessings both in this world and the next though this world’s may be less visible or obvious. Nonetheless, we are “blessed” as Paul reminds us of David’s exclamations in Rom 4:6-8 because our sin has been forgiven and fellowship with that aforementioned sovereign God is both possible and restored to us, His creations. Oh, praise the One who paid my debt….
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Thanks so much for this post. Great observation and Truth that the Lord has shown you and thanks for your faithfulness to share it.
Mike Hickman
http://www.mikehickmancomedy.com
Another thought to add to the discussion- Acts 17:26-27 “From one man {God} made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the exact times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
for those of you picking on the word “luck”, the Bible does say “the same rain falls on the just and unjust alike” (Matthew 5:45) – i think this is all the writer is saying. calm down, and try to get the point of the message.
This article really Blessed me …. Lol
But it’s true ! Thank you for this insight I will take this with me for sure. The truth of the matter when asked , How are you doing ? My reply should always be , better than I deserve .
Great word ! Thank you for that.
Short response:
My wife and I don’t have the sort of *financial* blessings some would consider in this situation, but we have enough. We have a roof over our heads when many, even here in the US, do not. We have food. And though it burns oil and creaks any time we hit a small bump … we have a vehicle.
But yes, the author here is correct. Blessings cannot be kept in a bank account or parked in a driveway. They are given to us daily, without failing and without reduction by a Father God that loves us so deeply he took on our form, lived among us, taught us the REAL meaning of blessings, and then DIED for our sins.
I am truly and richly blessed. I am also grateful beyond description or words. (and yes, for me that IS a short response)
As I read these comments, I feel a lot of you have missed the point of what was being said. Consider the fact that I was one of those people who were not financially stable and struggled through most of my life to keep a roof over my head. Then consider how I might have felt when someone walked up and began to testify how “God gave me a new car; I’m really blessed”. Or “My son got the job of his dreams” or “You ought to see what God’s done for me! I just got….” and they are all “thanking Good” for the ‘good things’ that have occurred. I’m reeling backward with the strong impression that God doesn’t love me. I know that because I don’t have and don’t get free gifts. It took a long time for me to realize that I got the gift of endurance, of abiding faith in his love, of the realization that “all things work together for good” and the life he set for me to live was planned and destined for me so I could become more kind and compassionate, and understand more fully how God’s love fills and overflows in ALL circumstances. Try being blessed because God doesn’t give you stuff that will destroy your walk with him. Try being blessed because you lost a $30,000 job because of downsizing. Try being blessed because you’ve been diagnosed with cancer. Most of all be blessed that “I know the plan I have for you….for good and not for evil, that you might come to an expected (the one I expect you to have) end”
Such powerful words. Great article. It reminds me of a conversation between my neighbors. One neighbor had just suffered through two miscarriages in a row. The other neighbor spoke of how “blessed” her daughter was to be pregnant with twins. The look on my neighbor’s face that had miscarried is one I’ll never forget. I appreciate the greater, deeper meaning of what you put forward in this article.
Much ado about nothing. Straining at gnats to swallow camel.
Luck has nothing to do with your position or place in life. God has put you where you are.! Only He is sovereign! Yes you should be grateful but you are blessed too. James 1:17 says every good gift comes from the father ……
Much to do about nothing I think
Could not agree with you more! Those beatitudes he quotes have nothing to do with our material wealth or lack of it. Much ado about nothing is absolutely what came to mind when I read this!
I really believe that it is a state of the heart. I do not believe being prosperous in itself should be called anything different than an actual blessing. Since we serve a sovereign God, all things good and bad are within His control. If our hearts are geared towards making Him a “genie in a bottle” to suit OUR needs, then of course, that is sinful and evil. We should never think of God as serving US rather than US serving Him. I absolutely agree with that. I, however, have to disagree that we should not call what we have in our lives blessings as you do not know each and every person’s former state. I, for example, lived a life of hunger and homelessness, and God brought me away from that and I have a beautiful home now, my husband has a steady job and we are doing well financially. I don’t believe that what we have could have ever happened without Him as I give Him 100% glory for all He has done in me, through me and in despite of me. I do not take for granted the these “things” that I have and am very content with what I have (meaning, I do not seek more than what I have or wish for more). Every day I wake up is a blessing as nothing is guaranteed. The fact I have food on the table is a blessing as I know what it is like to be without (and I don’t think God wasn’t there for me when I was starving… but since He knew all things, going through such trials made me the strong servant I am now). Yes, my health is an absolute blessing as I have seen those I loved wither away from cancer and suffer with their diseases. I believe to be grateful is all that is needed…again, a state of the heart. I do disagree with the health, wealth and prosperity gospel as it is NOT due to sin that those who are struggling do not have. I have a dear friend who is such a strong and devoted Christian suffer more than anyone I have ever witnessed, and I would call her blessed in her situation b/c I absolutely see how her faith has grown and how God has changed her heart to be even more like His. All blessings are tailor-made for each individual….what one has may be a sin for the other to have. We just cannot make blanket statements that calling ourselves blessed is not right for even the bible tells that God calls us blessed, redeemed, forgiven, accepted, loved, adopted and more than conquerors. I choose to not steal the glory from God and give Him all the credit for who I am, what I have, and what I have accomplished in life, b/c without Him, I am absolutely nothing. George Mueller had over a million dollars go through his hands to run an orphanage and he relied solely on prayer. They key was that he held everything in an open hand. God was free to take it or to give it, but it was up to God and Mueller was sure of it. That is how we have to be. Money in itself is not a sin…being prosperous is not a sin, but do you have your hand wide open so if God wanted to take it, he could. That was the problem with the rich man that wanted to be the disciple of Jesus…he walked away as his possessions were too great the scriptures tell us. He was not willing to give up (state of the heart) what he owned as he stored up his treasures here instead of in heaven. Jesus came for our sin and our hearts…period.
Learning to move forward in God is straining at gnats, if that’s what he speaks to you about.
I don’t however see any camels here.
The “dumb luck theology” completely ruined this article. That is as foreign to scripture as the prosperity gospel!
Right on!
What I meant to say was the article was right on, not the comment. Jesus is the blessing!
Best to say “God be with you”. As we say in the liturgy…..The Lord be with you”. “And also with you”
Or “go with God”
this article is such a blessing…er…I mean I’m thankful for it. Some good insights. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
^^^^^^^^^ made my day… er… God actually made the day… you know what i mean…
I’ve made this argument approximately 2,657,321 times (give or take when accounting for exaggeration and the fact that I never really counted.) You know what I’ve seen when making the argument?
1) “When Jesus told the rich man he couldn’t be a disciple because of his wealth, he only meant THAT SPECIFIC MAN” … so eyes of needles need not apply.
2) A lot of nodding in agreement and “amens” then continued hoarding of wealth in the face of poverty stricken neighbors.
So what you say isn’t, “much ado about nothing.” It is spot on. Because thinking that any deity thinks so much of you that you have a BMI in each slot of your 3 car garage while millions of people starve (millions who could EASILY BE FED BY THE WEALTHY CHRISTIANS OF THE WORLD) is beyond hubris. It teeters on evil.
“The simple truth is this: the world exists, and I get to live in it for a while. My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck. And if I continue to get lucky, and take advantage of the opportunities, a comfortable life may come my way. It’s not guaranteed. But if this does happen, Jesus won’t call me blessed.” <– outstanding.
…BMX…
….BMW…. yes, that’s it.
Why are the wealthiest people in America usually white? Does God hand out more blessings to white people than people of color? Do white people have more faith?
no…and thats the point of the article. The writer wishes to avoid these uncomfortable questions by denying that material things are blessings. I think the proper view should be based on our expectation of blessings. We are not doled out blessings based on our actions…just as we are not doled out salvation based on our actions. However, I contend that it is still okay to view your successes as blessings. Our material success is often in compliance with our hard work and our wisdom but not always. Of course there are those that just get “lucky” if you believe in that kind of thing…and then there are those that are “unlucky” even when they work hard and make good decisions. You can’t completely and concretely tie the two together because its not black and white cause and effect. There are more mysterious things in the works, beyond our understanding and vision. I think a person really needs to understand that to be content wherever they are. The reason I think it is okay to call material successes “blessings” is because the very fact we can do anything we do, is simply because of God. I consider life in general to be a blessing. I don’t, however, turn around and wonder why Im no longer being “blessed” when things are looking down or when Im so poor I have no place to live. I look for the blessing inside the turmoil. When I don’t see anything, I still trust Gods hand because I know his ways are mysterious. The very fact that I am here and have a savior is a blessing, so I am really truly never without blessing. We should never expect to be materially or physically blessed or attach it to our works. I also don’t think we should discard material blessings as just a worldly thing, as though God no longer has a hand in the little aspects of our life. I know that is not true. God is sovereign. Thinking that you are not “blessed” in life is just wrong thinking. Its easy to look at your life and think you must be an outcast because you’ve had the short end of the stick when it comes to life and possessions. I can honestly say that most of the time its because you have brought it on yourself through lack of responsibility, etc. Simple, logical cause and effect but we all tend to be blind and not accept our own failures….easier to blame it on God. And then sometimes like they say, bad stuff just happens to good people. When that happens, its my experience that those people tend to be more blessed by the end of it and they grow as a person ( a blessing in itself). We need to accept that blessings come in all shapes and sizes. Don’t knock the people who choose to see everything that happens to them as a blessing from God…including the material successes. Instead of avoiding uncomfortable conversations or questions, knock the ones who choose wrong thinking and blindness when things don’t go their way and they don’t have as much “success” as others. Their definition of success is not a godly one…they are the ones trying to get God to fit into their molds. It only “reduces The Almighty to some sort of sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers” to those who are not in right thinking. So a question remains…should we change the way we talk about our blessings and God, so as to not give the wrong impression to those who don’t quite get it yet? Or should we confront the real problem which is works based blessing and salvation. Changing my verbiage does nothing to teach those who don’t. Instead perhaps, it opens a door for a discussion on expectations of blessings, works based thinking and most importantly, the definition of blessing and riches.
Are you saying white people are not “people of color”? My skin is beige.
I agree that it is a folly to believe that we are only blessed if we are prospering financially. Job lost everything, yet in the end, he had everything thanks to our Father in Heaven.
However, I believe that The Lord allows us to prosper at times if we keep His commandments, work hard, and seek riches for the intent to do good to others: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Final thoughts, the author of this article has fabulous intent and has many blessings, but is a little radical and is straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel. Let’s work on having charity, since that is lacking substantially in the world. There is some good in this reading, though.
Is it radical? Wasn’t Jesus a radical? Were not his apostles radical? Is it radical or just scary to make such a commitment to one’s faith?
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Also Mathew. . .
For a faith so into parables and symbolic second testament apologetics and explanations, I find it peculiar that “all things” would be taken literally.
Maybe material wealth isn’t part of “all things”? After all, if God allowed those who best follow his commandments to have all material things added unto them… someone would have to make a lot of really big needles or tiny tiny camels.
PS. If more christians were charitable.. working on charity would be much less work.
I really do not understand this article. I feel saying blessed is not a bad statement. I have felt blessed in the good and bad times of my life. I do not use that when I get a new car or any material things, but when God is with me when I have tribulations. God is with me at all times, even if I lose control. Dumb luck has nothing to do with God! We are all blessed because God is merciful!
I don’t think he means that it’s wrong to say you are blessed, just that Christians sometimes throw the phrase around carelessly with regards to material goods.
It sounds like you understood it just fine. if 1 Thessalonians 5:18 is your text of choice, as it sounds like, then you do “get it.” You aren’t the problem addressed by the article.
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Wow. This is a powerful one. I too find myself saying the words “blessed” as easily as I say hello to a passing stranger. It makes me wonder why I consider those things blessings and how I should perhaps re-evaluate the kind of God I have created in my mind. What I should be pondering is what HE tells us it means to be blessed and regardless of all earthly circumstances remain in a state of eucharist and thankfulness.
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stupid article
Clearly you did not understand it. See my comment below.
I clearly understood and agree. This IS a stupid article. I’m so tired of people trying to pawn off their own opinions as truth. God’s Word clearly illustrates His favor on those that are obedient to Him throughout His Word. The accounts of Joseph, Esther, Daniel, David clearly show obedience linked with God’s favor. And “yes”, they were blessed. The nation of Israel is blessed. The United States is blessed. Do I know the answer to this? No, not exactly, other than the fact that at one time this nation chose to honor God and His Word. Can the blessings we inherited through obedience cease? I don’t know but I certainly don’t want to find out.
I surely get what you are saying as I cringe when I or someone else says this. Yet, here in Job 42:12 it says “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.” and it goes on to name many physical and material blessings God gave to Job.
This does not mean that faithfulness equals material blessings by any means. But I think there is a bigger danger not to credit God when indeed you are blessed (or feel blessed).
Perhaps, like many “religious” words today, it comes with some baggage from how we have used it. That’s our problem, though.
This is a fascinating take on the issue. I had come to the same conclusion by a different route. My background is in philosophy as well as theology, psychology, and Biblical studies, so I have spent a good amount of time reflecting on theodicy (the problem of evil). Generally speaking, we avoid attributing evil to God. But what happens when you acknowledge that God does act in the world from time to time? If we always give God credit for all of our “blessings” does that not provoke the question as to why God does not intervene to “bless” others? The dark side of the miracle comes when people who have seen others get their “healing miracle.” Why didn’t God heal me of the same affliction? The conclusion should be coming clear: If all good things are to be attributed to God then all bad things can also be attributed to God by virtue of God’s inaction to prevent bad things. If God is always “blessing” me, then God must hate a lot of other people, as evidenced by God not “blessing” them.
Here is another argument: human beings are mortal, human beings pray to God for healing and protection, therefore sooner or later prayers for healing and protection are not going to work.
One cannot answer these questions by simply saying those who do not receive blessings are not worthy of blessings. The book of Job is the example of an individual who did not deserve the misfortunes that befell him. Jobs friends are chastised for implying that he must have done something to deserve his misfortunes.
The point is that is is not wise to attribute all the good things in our lives to God’s action just as it is to not attribute all bad things to God’s inaction. Be careful how you use the word “blessed!”
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As far as you mean material wealth as evidence of God’s favor, you are right, but scripturally our needs ARE met when we obey God’s commandments (including bringing Him our first fruits), walk in His ways & always, always, give Him credit for all good things – scripture says they all good things are “from above”! It is NOT luck, nor random, but a promise that God is Jehovah Jireh – He is the author of our plan & we are charged to help the widow & the fatherless and share our bounty with the poor, not decide why they are poor. I agree re the beatitudes, but in the Hebrew mindset (vs our Greek mindset) BOTH are true, blessings are first spiritual and also material, provision WAS done for the apostles and they also suffered. The problem is that hearers (and sometimes the speakers) don’t know scripture or the Hebrew mindset with which scripture was inspired, it’s about Doing, not knowing or understanding…it actually says sufficiency, blessing and Gods favor ARE found in keeping His commandments, we just don’t know what “sufficiency” looks like or stop with that, our motives/heart are wrong, or the hearer is breaking one of the top 10 with envy! By the way, blessings come from DOING what God told us (or not doing, like not worrying..casting our anxieties) Luke 6:38 – Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Philippians 4:19 – But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Give God all credit for all good things (see above)… in adverse circumstances, our enemy is at work like with Job but we don’t pretend to understand why..in every situation He is with us – THAT is a testimony with more power to compel others to walk with God!
Blessings to you!! Numbers 6:24-27
Ps – Charles Capps went to be with the Lord today, I highly recommend his book The Tongue, a creative force. If you want to better understand the power of words & blessing scripturally!
If all good things come from above then all bad things necessarily come as a result of God’s deliberate inaction, or God’s impotency to stop bad things. Or maybe those scriptures were not meant to be understood the way you are using them.
No, you’re falling into the trap of “blaming God”. This is the same logic people use when they say, “If God is a loving God, why do bad things happen”? What you’re forgetting is that God allows us to make our own choices. Sometimes the “bad things” happen as a result of our own choices OR as a result of inheriting bad choices that were made by other people in our lives. The other force in play is Satan. If you believe in God then you have to believe in the adversary; Satan. The Bible tells us that he lurks and prowls around like a lion seeking to devour. We live in a fallen sinful world as a result of original disobedience, i.e. “bad choices” that were made.
Philippians 4:19 – But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
The word here is NEED. I think we can’ know what sufficiency is. To pretend we don’t is dishonest at best.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it …”
And everything else that has been quoted in the comments to debunk the blog post.
Maybe they could read Emmet Fox’s Sermon on the Mount and his beautiful essay on The Lord’s Prayer. As cradle Catholic I used to hold many of the views of these bloggers, and I was taught to feel bad if wanted a decent life, etc — because oh, those people in XYZ place have nothing.
Well, there’s a beautiful blog written by a lady named Clyo Beck and her life story reads kind like mine, and then she started putting the principles of Joseph Murphy and others into play and changed her thinking. Her lift turned around incredibly — spiritually, financially, mentally — she was inspired to create an incredible blog, write a beautiful book of prayers. As Clyo puts it “you can’t help others unless you help yourself first.”
These people should be grateful that God gave them the material ability to be able to go be missionaries. Many people would like to do this but are barely treading water themselves. One such woman was Cynthia Stafford. She read Joseph Murphy’s books. She was in a really bad situation when she did this — you can google her story. She wrote down an amount of $112 million. She was not a regular lottery player, but one day the Mega Millions was $112 million. She got a $2 QuickPick and won.
She has always been a giver and that was her first move after she won this money. To this day she lives well, she gives and gives and gives, and she has many, many times more now than the $63 million (after taxes were taken out of the $112 million) she won on Mother’s Day in 2007. Every once and a while she does a small interview and she says the same thing all the time — that she knows where this blessing came from and she never forgets it.
The media and others like to portray the few big lottery winners that “blew it all” and then called their winning a curse. There are far more winners that have used their “blessing” to help their families, build businesses (that provides jobs), and help other people in other ways — and most of them stay anonymous.
The Psalms are very instructive: We will go through suffering, but God will always pull us through if we turn to God and trust him. Job is one of the best stories on this. Do you honestly think that after Job became far more prosperous (all in material goods, BTW) after his trials, that he said I don’t feel blessed, because God didn’t do this, I was just “lucky”?
Unscriptural garbage. There are many ways God can bless. The spiritual ways mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount are only a few. You are ignoring a host of scriptures that talk about not only blessings, but material blessings, And although you used the word “semantics” correctly in context, you seem to be lacking in your study of words. The word “blessing” is interchangeable with “benefit” or “gift.” The word “blessed” as spoken by Christ in the sermon on the mount implies a state of happiness or well-being. This indicates that we have a sense of happiness, joy, satisfaction, spiritual/emotional health as a result of following the beattitudes. It is a separate issue, and does not indicate that tangible benefits are not blessings. There are a host of scriptures stating that our blessings (benefits, gifts, etc.) come directly from God. James 1:17. Jeremiah 29:11. Romans 8:28, and HUNDREDS more! As for dumb luck, if that is really what you believe, then how dare you pretend to be writing a biblical blog??? The Bible is very clear that our lives are orchestrated by a personal God who IS affected and whose hand IS moved by our behavior and our prayers. This article is a misuse of God’s precious word, and was a waste of time. 😦
I suppose if 5-point Calvinism or pesher interpretation is your thing then you would see this blog as unscriptural garbage. To my way of thinking a text without a context is a pretext for it to mean whatever you want it to mean. To cite Jeremiah 29:11, for example, tells me you don’t have a clue as to its original Ancient Near Eastern context.
I couldn’t agree with you more! 🙂
Let me clarify. I completely agree with your comments, JJ Mank! 🙂
I really loved this article and it caused me to realize what an anorexic view of the word “blessed” I have, and how much more I want to see other things in my life as a blessing! I have to say, too, that Deut 28 DOES list financial and material gain as “blessings,” so I can’t say that I agree with you 100% on this matter, I appreciate what you’ve written very much!
The most uncomfortable line in the whole article is “My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck.” He knew you in your mothers womb, not a sparrow falls from the sky without him knowing yet you refer to your life as ‘dumb luck’. From this side it seems like you are giving Him far to little credit. Prosperity Gospel is abused and totally false but that does not mean you shouldn’t thank Him for what you have or that what you have is only a result of you. The gifts you have (material and personal) and the people and geographic location in your life are a direct result of God’s plan.
I think this is really thought-provoking and certainly worth thinking about. My only major qualm would be your comment towards the end about your circumstances being outside of God’s choosing and being a result of purely “dumb luck,” as you put it. I think that’s false, as all things are within God’s sovereignty.
More along the lines of your article, I think it would be fair to say that God did place you in these circumstances, but that they are part of your cross to bear. Just as Christ challenged the rich man in the Gospels, so, too, are those of us living in the comforts of American society (and in the comforts of any society around the globe) and convenient accommodations challenged with Christ’s words to renounce worldly things and seek first the Kingdom of God.
I think this was a very interesting piece, but that was my biggest issue with it. I’ll have to give more thought to your suggestion that feeling blessed ought to have little to do with the material fortunes we are granted and more to do with the spiritual fortunes. I definitely think there’s something to that, though I’m not sure I’m entirely convinced that it’s totally accurate (I think that there are material things that can certainly be counted as God’s blessings, too, but I do think we lay too much emphasis on material blessings and not enough on spiritual ones). Definitely a great read, and thank you for your thoughts and time!
Pax Christi,
Natala
I’m feeling loved. Feeling responsible. Bleesed by the gifts of my children.
And according to this article, feeling blessed by the gifts of your children is offensive to everyone who is not able to have children.
You are truly blessed my friend for by the grace of God you could have been born in Africa. Everything you have is a blessing from God whether you want to call it that (or not).
Why would it be a blessing to not be born in Africa? That comment can be interpreted as racist. I have a friend who was born in Africa, and I suspect she would take issue with your statement.
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I think you nailed it. There are many preaching exactly like you put it God wants you to be wealthy now donate here. I was once taught a phrases that causes me to ponder its meaning fully and that it “There but for the Grace of God go I “. Are they less in grace are they less blessed. I think not as you so aptly wrote
Be blessed with opportunity is something to be thankful for. In the end we are all stewards in Gods kingdom. Giving glory to God for things we have is a form of worship. There are both good points and bad points to this article.I believe we all should help our fellow man, but to not say that I am blessed would be insane. It is God’s miracles working in my life that get me where I am and not just dumb luck! Being wealthy is not a burden it is a blessing. It gives you the ability to help other people who may be struggling. Now the choices that you make in how you use your wealth is the free will that is instilled upon you by being human. You can choose to be a blessing to others or you can choose to hoard your riches. In your heart you know what is right.
Christians so concerned over whether they should use the word “blessed” when thank thanking God for all things is the bigger issue here. Such semantical issues are meaninglessness. American Christians spend so much time arguing peripheral theology that they often forget about getting involved in the real issues in the world in relation to the Gospel. Jesus isn’t going to care whether you used the word blessed right. He will care whether you shared the good news of Christ to the farthest reaches of the world with every resource he gave you. Don’t get caught up in menial disputes. Focus on Christ and him crucified.
Amen, Anthony! I totally agree! I’m so tired of people who feel like their opinion is so worthy they must proclaim it to all. How about proclaiming God’s Word, (as you mentioned)? !
Carlos, do you know anyone who is a divinely inspired, inerrant, infallible interpreter of the Bible? I don’t. Are you familiar with the Talmud (either one)? There is value to debate on the interpretation of the Bible. How do you decide what the message of God’s Word is that needs to be proclaimed? Is it just you and the Holy Spirit, regardless of what the rest of the church thinks? There are a lot of different Christian denominations, many of which think their way is THE TRUTH. They don’t always agree with each other, but they all believe the God is present with them. Who is right?
I am sure there are things we could agree on, but I am just as sure that we don’t agree on everything.
You mentioned earlier that if you believe in God then you have to believe in Satan, but there is no universally agreed upon understanding of who or what Satan is. Not all Christians believe in Satan either. I get concerned when Christians start talking about Satan in ways that sound more reminiscent of Zoroastrianism than any monotheistic religion.
I love this article!!! I finished my degree in business and can’t get a job or promotion in fact I got reduced hours. It is hard not to be discouraged and thinking was all those long nights with no sleep working and school and church worth it or not?
I liked the article except for one paragraph at the end which was anti-God’s sovereignty (ex: my place of birth is not God’s choose, but dumb luck). In fact I had to read the paragraph 3 times because I thought after such a great article I must be reading it wrong. Delete that paragraph my friend. Of course, his blog IS called “The Accidental Missionary” LOL
I very much disagree with this: “My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck.” First of all, it’s not Biblical (see Acts), and it makes God out to be an impersonal God….”well, I dropped ’em and I hope they landed in a good place…I’ll see ’em on the flip side when they die.” I get the point of the article, but I think it could have been done without being unbiblical.
I disagree with this. God gives Christians spiritual blessings, but He also provides physical blessings–to the believer and unbeliever alike. Thankfully, God is not a communist, in that He does not hand out identical blessings to every person. We have three children. Our neighbors down the road have eight. I think many people would agree with calling all those children blessings. The fact that I have fewer does not cause me to feel that if I had been more faithful we might have been given more. The prosperity doctrine is a load of garbage, and has probably shipwrecked the faith of a lot of people, who can’t figure out why their fortunes haven’t been miraculously deposited in their bank accounts. But that doesn’t mean that the money and possessions they do have aren’t blessings. It all belongs to God anyway, and is only on loan to us to use for His glory. So I’ll call what I have–spiritual and physical–blessings, and thank God for them.
Great response, Robin! I totally agree! Keep sharing the truth in love. 🙂
Of course our material blessings are from God. God chooses to bless some more than others, but it is certainly NOT dumb luck. That is really making God much smaller than he is. He also gives us the ability or motivation to take advantage of the opportunities that he blesses us with. Are the blessings the result of our faithfulness? Are those with relatively fewer material blessings in this world therefore less faithful than those that are blessed with more? Of course not. God chooses to send rain on the good and the evil. We are not able to understand God’s ways on this side of heaven, but we are able to understand from the bible that all of his gifts to us are blessings. Hardships can also be blessings. At times, God is trying to teach us patience, perseverance, to come back to him if we fall away, etc. My God is too great to leave me to dumb luck.
Matt, you read my mind! I totally agree.
If you have wealth, then either give it all away or acknowledge it as a blessing. Don’t keep it for yourself, claim it isn’t a blessing, AND say that this is somehow more righteous.
The best thing to do is, of course, to acknowledge that wealth is a blessing from God, give it all away, AND admit that you are unworthy.
To whom are you grateful? And for what reason are you grateful to them, what role have he/they/it played in your circumstances? It occurs to me that while a God that blesses people in different amounts and in different ways may seem unfair, its not something that necessarily logically contradictory. It may certainly be problematic to attribute our negative circumstances to God, particularly without evidence. However that doesn’t logically necessitate the opposite, that all our positive circumstances aren’t necessarily from God. James 1:17 James 1:17
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or [a]shifting shadow.. Though to be fair the determination of what is good and perfect can be tricky. It may be a bit arrogant to claim certain things as a blessing when one doesn’t have direct revelation to the effect.
Really, I think most of these arguments (arguments about the blessed and the not-so-blessed) are irrelevant when you look at our lives the way God must surely look at them. I have come to think that God looks at our lives on a continuum, which includes our lives after our time on this earth. We were created to be eternal beings. And I once heard a very old lady say, ‘Our time on this earth should be considered as one night in a very bad hotel when we think of our eternity with our Saviour.’ That’s what got me thinking this way. So I try to remember that God’s plan for my life doesn’t end in 85.1 years (give or take) I’ll spend on this earth. We know that in Heaven, we’ll all have a purpose – a role to fill in glorifying God. So then, why should my ‘story’ begin and end with my earthly existence? Did He ever limit His blessing to us to this phase of our eternity? Should we not consider that the time spent in this imperfect world is but a blip on the screen in comparison to eternity? Surely, those who have suffered poverty, illness, war, persecution, abuse, etc. while still holding firm to His Faithfulness and Unfailing Love will fine a commensurate reward in Heaven. Which goes to remind us how fleeting our earthly rewards are; how pathetic we are to strive for them. It’s eternity that matters.
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I feel there are far better things Christians could stop saying:
“God hates gays”
“God hates whores”
“God hates….”
“Your going to hell.”
Or any other round about bigotry statement made in the name of faith. Just a thought.
*You’re
I agree that we use the word blessed wrongly. I have gone through difficult financial times in my life when I desperately prayed to God to meet our physical needs. I was just as blessed by God during those times as I am today when my material needs are met abundantly. The danger of mistaking blessing for material blessings is that we do not feel blessed during the hard times and we feel very blessed when we have an abundance of things. That is exactly the opposite of what the bible says. God is very near to us when we are struggling.
I completely agree! I think for now on, I will try to say, “I am fortunate” when speaking about material things.
Fortune is etymologically derived from chance/fate/luck from the Latin. It is often personified as a deity. That might not be the right descriptor.
Most of the words you could pick that describe the general range of concepts you’re thinking of are in some way derived from supernatural origin whether pagan or Christian.
Thanks for a well written theological piece here. After spending much time in Kenya and seeing the poorest of the poor live with gratitude, joy and generosity all while being so very faithful to the ways of Jesus, I submit that the biblical text of which you speak, the Sermon on the Mount, is indeed the reality of today.
For us to believe that wealth makes us happy, joyful or faithful is a misnomer that ignores the teachings of the Creator.
People have what they have not because God has bestowed it upon them, like wealth is something that must be granted by the grown-ups (God being the grown-up here), and you can only attain it if the grown-ups give it to you because you did something worthy of it. Wealth is a matter of the universal law, God’s law mind you, of cause and effect. Do the things that lead to wealth; provide value, eliminate debt, increase earnings, etc., and wealth will naturally follow. God is not involved in the equation. If He were involved, then He would be a liar when, in His Word, He said “I am no respecter of persons.” Why then would God glorify and build one and destroy another? Where’s the justice there? Where’s the love and grace?
You are who you are, have what you have, and experience what you experience because of what you think and believe. Because your thoughts and beliefs determine your actions and your actions produce the results in your life. The true blessing is that you were born. That you woke up this morning.
Very wise article. We are “blessed” simply to have been created on this beautiful Earth. God gave US the free will to make the most of what we have. Some of the people who were born the richest can be the most unfortunate in the long run. Some of the poorest can turn out to be saints. Or vice versa.
I think I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. I don’t disagree with how some Christians perceive blessing from a purely financial standpoint, but when someone “feels” blessed, I can guarantee you that 100% of the time, they are not wrong about it. The error in theology isn’t recognising you are blessed, but juxtaposing periods of more or less blessing and equating more money with more blessing. Recognising that you are blessed isn’t an error, it is the “not recognising you are blessed” that is– because like many spiritual things, blessing is multifaceted and just because you experience blessing on one area, doesn’t mean that other areas are negated.
When we experience a life filled with many other types of blessings, the money one becomes more minor. Many western Christians that I know walk around without an experience of a full-dimensional blessing in their lives and they have a very simplified view of blessing. In my experience, people who equate (to near exclusivity) financial blessing with blessing in general, are the most emotionally miserable people I’ve met. They walk around unaware of the different blessings in their life and are usually consumed with enterprises of great pith and moment– seeking their blessing they are owed.
Here is where I see the error in your perspective. We wealthy Americans are financially blessed at a ridiculous level. Sure we may be lacking other blessings for a host of reasons, but if we accept all things as from the Father we cannot deny our financial blessings are real genuine blessings. Telling Christians that they should stop recognising this blessing is odd. People who genuinely feel blessed are often more generous. I know people who earn insane amounts of money, but somehow feel they are being cheated in this life and are stingy, swindling, entitled pigs. They have no sense of blessing and therefore are completely unsatiated in their hunger for mamon.
I think if you are feeling blessed, you should sing it from the mountaintops, you should share it with the world. Don’t question it. Don’t explain it away. If you don’t feel blessed, that is when you need to do some soul work… because even if you feel financially blessed, I guarantee you still feel some hollowness that exposes your need for blessing in many other areas… and here’s the rub with blessing, you often have it, but don’t recognise it. Having your eyes opened to blessing is not a bad thing and speaking it out– even less.
I wish that more Christians would see how richly blessed they are in so many things, not just financially. Hearing someone acknowledge how blessed they are is definitely not anywhere on my list of things Christians should stop saying… and I have a large list of things I’d like to hear Christians stop saying.
Well said! I like this perspective a lot. “Blessed” is a word so many Christians around me use a lot. I don’t always love the context but I didn’t always know why. This is good.
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Rethinking God’s Blessings!
If anybody would like to dig up about managing (stewardship) material and non material blessings, look at the Table of Contents of this book (you will find it very useful whether you think you have a lot or little):
Click to access CS.pdf
So what you are saying is that we don’t pray for others anymore, that their situation might change, or that they may have enough, food, clothing etc. We cant even ask that their luck may change as that would be a blessing too.
Excellent and thoughtful article. I, too, am grateful…very grateful.
Thanks for posting this.Solomon said it, life is chasing after the wind and feeding on it. Followers of Jesus are running after worthless things, accomplishing less for God and then thinking we’re blessed!
THANK YOU for writing succinctly on the subject – prosperity theology, and nuanced language. After a few paragraphs I was yelling in my head, “It’s ‘I’m grateful’!”. But you got there at the end, anyway. It’s like why my minister doesn’t like the New Thought bumper sticker, “Tolerance”, because, while it sounds good on the surface, it’s really saying, “Well, I’ll put up with you, even though you don’t measure up to X”. Peace, and thank you for sharing. – Renee Taylor, Marietta, Georgia
When someone asks how work is going, you answer “work is going great” if it indeed is going great. That’s honest. Not sure why church people struggle with communicating in straightforward, non-loaded ways.
AH – But the author says “The simple truth is this: the world exists, and I get to live in it for a while. My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck.”
Now to this, I must reply: If God IS omnipotent and omniscient, then there IS NO SUCH THING AS “DUMB LUCK!” It’s either part of God’s plan or there IS no God. You CAN”T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.
This is self evident, but the author (like all other Christians) opts to ignore it unless it is convenient for THEM to use in some half-baked manner (like counting their “blessings”).
I’m also offended by the “counting of blessings,” but to say that evil, tragedies, and natural events are “God’s Will” is EQUALLY offensive to me. Christians are prompt to say that if a tornado wiped out a town it was “Gods Will.”
Nope – it was random chance (or as the author of that article titled it “dumb luck.” If random chance OR luck (good or bad) exist, then either God doesn’t exist, or he’s unworthy of being worshiped.
There IS NO OTHER LOGICAL OPTION.
That said, it IS a free country. If you (or anyone else) want to have your very own illogical religious beliefs, you’re welcome to them – Just don’t try to kill me for my own good because it’s what you think your God wants!
God does exist. He is indeed all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good.
First, God’s omnipotence is not nonsense- He does not make a branch become soft as soon as someone decides to use it as a weapon- that would destroy free will. His power is to do all that is possible, no to do all absurdities, like taking away our free will after giving it to us. He is all-knowing, so He doesn’t change His mind about things like giving man free will. Since He has given us free will, He allows suffering. We live in a fallen, painful world, as a result of free will. However, in His goodness He has given meaning to suffering- He didn’t just watch us suffer as a result of our sin. He took on human nature and suffered with us- He didn’t wipe away our tears, but came and cried with us… Then He conquered sin and death and opened the gates of Heaven for us. Now, we can share in Christ’s suffering, take up the cross daily, and accept His invitation to follow Him and be with Him forever.
God’s goodness is sometimes reduced to “kindness”. Would it be kind of a father to let his child eat junk food all the time, stay up all night, and do whatever he wanted? It might be expected of a kind old grandfather, but a truly loving father wants his child to be happy, even if it hurts in the short term. Sometimes, we think we want something, but God knows what we need most for our salvation, if we are to attain eternal happiness, and denies us that. Sometimes He speaks to us most in suffering, for in suffering we can see that we don’t actually have all we need, that there is more to life than the passing pleasures here- food, sex, money, honor… When everything is pleasant, it’s hard to remember that we’re made for more than this world, that our hope is not to become the happiest we can here, but to attain eternal happiness, better than anything we might imagine.
I hope that helps! It’s a hard thing to think about for sure.
Glenn, I too disagree with “dumb luck” being an acceptable answer. However, I am not making an argument for the existence of God. It seems to me that you disbelieve…and that is your right and privilege. You stated, “If God IS omnipotent and omniscient, then there IS NO SUCH THING AS “DUMB LUCK!” It’s either part of God’s plan or there IS no God. You CAN”T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.” I want to point out that your argument disregards man’s divine gift of agency, or the freedom to choose and be held accountable for our actions. Yes, as a Christian, I believe God is omniscient and omnipotent. I also believe he is worthy of worship. God value’s your ability to choose so much that He allows you to make choices without his intervention so that you can gain knowledge and experience. If God intervened in your choices, then what would be the point of our human existence?
Best regards.
Glenn, you’re missing the point. This article is not about metaphysics. The gospel of prosperity that the author describes is harmful whether you think of God as a deity or not. Gratitude is a healthier response to good fortune than entitlement. His understanding of Jesus encourages him to view his possessions with accountability. I don’t understand why you’d have a problem with that.
I can give you some insight as to why church people deliver their responses in those round about loaded ways. I try to be an honest, straightforward person. If someone asks me how I am, I used to be upfront and tell them whether it was fine or it was not so fine…It got to the point where I felt people beginning to feel sorry for me. I wish more people would be direct, but in our society, we have to “put a good face” on everything because who wants to be burdened with all the negative stuff in people’s minds and hearts…
Thank you for this. My husband and kids and I have spent 3 months, 3 different times in Guatemala, and continue to work with a small scholarship program there. I am now friends with many people who love God, are “blessed” by God, but live in incredible poverty. I still struggle with issues of faith and “blessing” because of the disparity between their lifestyle and mine. How can the same God be blessing us both? How can we both have “real” faith, when I hardly “need” God for anything in my day, and they “need” God to provide every little thing. Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate them a lot.
I essentially agree with this article’s point, but I also think you can probably sometimes call material gifts blessings with integrity – you don’t need to edit that to “thankful” every time – I don’t think the Bible only describes material gifts as burdens or curses – the church is thankful for the offerings that allow them to support the church’s work, they are blessings. Blessings are often used in a broader sense than the Beatitudes in the Bible to include physical gifts, esp. in the OT – the Beautitudes aren’t a “definition” of blessing (excluding all other forms of blessings) but are a (powerful!) example of Jesus overturning traditional understanding of blessings to show how God’s heart is essentially aligned with the humble and suffering – no matter how it looks, they ARE blessed. I don’t think it means that we can never consider material property a blessing – but it does mean it should definitely be used with caution, when Jesus emphasizes the blessing of God being with the suffering. The fact that we primarily use the term to describe when things are going our way shows how self-absorbed and complacent in our wealth American Christianity tends to be.
Then how do you explain what happened to Job????????? Everyone has the right to feel blessed with whatever they have, whether it be spiritual or carnal, very much, or very little. God holds every life in the palm of his hand, and has all power over it, body and soul. He has power over everything, including the devil himself. So if he allows us to even have the next breath, it is his mercy and blessing.
Lori,
No, not blessing. Think of it as if you were programming a program in JAVA. There are certain words you cannot use in certain situations because they are reserved for a specific purpose and contain an individual meaning designed to do only one thing. The point the author is trying to make in this article is that we are told by Jesus in the bible who is blessed and who isn’t; in light of this, if you use the word blessed where it shouldn’t be used, you are basically contradicting the bible. If you still don’t believe what this author is saying, take your last sentence and juxtapose it with what the scripture says. Where is the verse claiming everyone who is alive is blessed? Though I do believe your heart is in the right place and your thoughts are certainly clear, make sure to use the correct terminology when speaking because one of the most sacred objects we have on earth, the Bible, is indeed told to us with such words; do not use them without care or you will desecrate the Word.
There are several different kinds of literature in the Bible, and you have to know what you are reading. This may sound flippant, and I don’t mean it to be, but the book of Job is a fairy tale. It tries to address the age old question of why bad things happen to good people.
In the story, Job loses everything, including his family – all over a divine bet. When Job passes his test and remains faithful, he gets everything back, including a new family. Do you really believe that anyone’s children could be simply replaced by new children the way we would replace a flat tire with a new tire? Do you really think God thinks that we feel that way? I can’t speak for you, but the God I was raised to believe in is Love and knows us better than that.
Incidentally, Job doesn’t give us a good answer to the question Job suffers with. He is just reminded that God is incomprehensible. God is so far above us that we cannot hope to see things the way He sees them or to think as He thinks. All we can do is trust Him, that there is a reason we suffer even if we never understand the why.
The book of Job is useful in illustrating the point the author of the article is making though. Job’s friends believed in the gospel of prosperity. They believed that for Job to be suffering so much, he MUST HAVE done SOMETHING to deserve it. If he would only repent, God would have mercy on him.
None of his friends helped him. None of them lifted a finger. They didn’t offer him a place to stay or a place to bathe. All they did was insist that he was a sinner and had to figure out what he did to anger God.
That is the ugly side of the gospel of prosperity. If someone is not “blessed” with wealth, and instead are suffering in poverty, then it must be because God has condemned them. If God has condemned them to that state, then any charity shown to them would be a rebellion against God.
Bad things happen to good people because if bad things only happened to bad people, there would be no empathy.
The “dumb luck theology” completely ruined this article. That is as foreign to scripture as the prosperity gospel!
I have to agree that the “dumb luck” ruined it for me, too. The main idea is true, though. We are blessed regardless of our check book or our “stuff”. I’ll be watching what I say and how I phrase things, particularly with my children.
Totally agree…I was following until that moment! I believe God’s purpose for my life began where I was born and continues with every opportunity that comes my way.
I still like “blessed.”
I became curious and decided to look up what the Bible says about ‘being blessed’. Just the word ‘blessed’ alone (not including bless, or blessing etc) is mentioned 298 times – many times in relation to God blessing someone, nations, the earth, and God himself being blessed. It is often referred to in the context with increase of wealth, in context with a person, whole nations or leaders following God’s ways in obedience to Him.
It is the very nature of God to bless. Right from the beginning – God created and then he blessed the earth, animals, mankind. New King James Version (NKJV)
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Gen 12: 2-4 re Abram.
So what has happened?
In the very beginning Satan also came on the scene, jealous of God’s blessing on man that had been created, he went out of his way to tempt man to disobey God. He knew from his own bitter experience that disobedience brings you out of the covering of God’s blessing. Immediately man brought himself under curse rather than the blessing God had intended and which is a natural result of obeying God, and following his ways. Curses just as blessings have ripple effects and spread.
In spite of the first sin, God continues to lavish blessings wherever man is receptive to it. We are blessed to be a blessing. Blessings, like all good things are not meant to be held selfishly, but passed on. To admit to being blessed is not a selfish thing, but a declaration of God’s goodness. However, blessing does not only show up in what we own, the state of health or other ‘good things’, but we are blessed even when going through difficult things, when we recognise what God is doing through those times to form us into the kind of person that can again be a blessing to others. The illustration of Lazarus and the rich man is poignant. Lazarus poverty on earth was only temporary, whereas the rich man’s fate was disastrous because of his selfishness.
Let’s not just be blessed. Let’s be generous with that blessing and bless those who are in need. Generosity will multiply blessings on our lives, so that we can bless some more.
He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor. Proverbs 22:9
In fact blessing is such an integral part of God’s nature, that we should make it our mission to bless, bless, bless. That is what the world needs so that more poverty and misery, (not brought on by God, but the devil), can be alleviated through blessings flowing through those who can give. If you look at the thousands of charities throughout the world – that is exactly what is happening. Bring on God’s blessings – celebrate God’s goodness and share what we have with others.
Don’t become an unwitting pawn to the devil whose whole mission is to destroy God’s intended blessing on all creation. Instead become an instrument of this blessing.
Thank you! That is exactly what the bible says. The devil wants to take away our blessings. God has already blessed us, many people aren’t experiencing the blessings of God because they believe the lies of the devil who is robbing them of victory. I think saying “I’m blessed” builds up our spirit when we speak what God’s word says. Scripture also says as a man thinks in his heart, so is he….so I’m saying “I’m blessed.”:)
I love your explanation…it was worth reading the article and comments just to see this responce. Thank you.
Melanie
Fundamentally, I disagree with this opinion. It is my right to do so as all of what have materially is provided by what is God’s resources. HE OWNS IT ALL! His Word says every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17). It is provision from God that enables us to have what we have. So, thank God for it! Yes, you are BLESSED and remain that way!
Job 42:12
So the LORD “blessed” the second part of Job’s life more than the first.
Many people use the word ‘Blessed’ to replace the word ‘Lucky’. The word ‘lucky’ removes God from our prosperity and the goodness in our lives – as if it happened by chance. So the article seems to contradict what Christians believe – e.g. everything is not ‘dumb luck’ it is God ordained. I think the article is trying to be clever, and slightly judgemental of the words people use.
Que diferente es ver como Dios tiene cuidado de Todos , PUESTO QUE NADIE NOS MERECMOS NADA …, pero el en su infinita misericordia nos proveé de lo que es necesario ,PARA CADA DÍA …, pero no nos conformamos…, o se conforman, según sea el caso, y se ha hecho muy popular la frase Dios me bendijo …, como si fueran un caso aislado sobre todo cuando obtienen las cosas …,hostigando a otros manipulándolos para que cooperen para sus caprichos …, Ya que muchas veces no son necesarias … y después van a dar testimonio de como viven por FE y son tan bendecidos ;;porque han involucrado a todos para costear sus lujos o cosas que de momento no pueden comprar ,ya sea por no trabajar o por no ganar lo suficiente para costearlo …, y aun así presumen Dios me bendijo y no me costo a mi…, me lo regalaron.” SERA ESTA LA BENDICIÓN QUE DIOS DA …”
What is okay as a Christian about “disparaging’ your mother, or lying about your college days? Are we supposed to wink and smile at that, and then accept chastisement for feeling blessed for every good gift that God gives us? And saying so openly?
I don’t get it.
“What if Your blessings come through raindrops, what if your healing comes through tears, what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near…” (Laura Story)
As a recent widower, I have lived with this idea of BLESSINGS for more than two years, and I know I always will… Yes, my life is Blessed, and I hope YOU don’t get Blessed in the same way.
Dumb luck?? Now that’s dumb. Actually it is a lie.
I’m reasonably sure–but not positive and open to correction–that the thesis here is absurd. It’s wrong to say you’re blessed with a meal because there’s a legitimate Christ-follower who does not have meal? You’re not blessed to have shelter because there is an evangelist out there without shelter? You’re not blessed to have a child because there are other Christ-followers that are barren? Maybe I’m misunderstanding you.
Blessing does not imply merit. Some blessings follow certain wise behaviors, but no good act deserves reward. It’s grace. If when someone claims to be blessed, you are hearing others diminished, then I think you might be hearing it wrong.
I agree with everything except for when you say that your place of birth and your opportunities are not chosen by God, and that they’re dumb luck. I absolutely believe that God chooses each soul that is born to each set of parents. But he’s not placing people into more “comfortable” situations out of favor. I think He’s choosing where to place us based on where our souls will have the maximum potential for growth. And because every soul is unique, each one needs different conditions for optimal growth. And so we can know that God has put us each in the best possible starting point to make it to heaven. From there we have to use our free will to strive toward sainthood and go to heaven with God’s mercy.
I agree with previous posters that people who receive monetary windfalls are absolutely blessed, but we have to realize that people who have something terrible happen to them are also blessed. I know this from my own experience of both scenarios. The seemingly bad thing can be harder to recognize as a blessing, but hindsight often helps with that.
I disagree with much of this. you assume that when I say what a blessing to close on this house, or what a blessing this new car is. I am thanking God for the cash to purchase it. not for many other reasons that it could be.
Also, Money is a blessing, I am not saying that God only blesses us in money but that IS one way that he blesses us.
This Paragraph
First, when I say that my material fortune is the result of God’s blessing, it reduces The Almighty to some sort of sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers. I can’t help but draw parallels to how I handed out M&M’s to my own kids when they followed my directions and chose to poop in the toilet rather than in their pants. Sure, God wants us to continually seek His will, and it’s for our own good. But positive reinforcement?
is extra troubling. it makes me doubt your ability to see things open mindedly. How is material blessing reduce God to a sky-bound fairy? Are you limiting God to only blessing us with money?? sure, there are people out there who believe that God blesses them with money for being good. But where do you get the idea to generalize all the Christians in on this small sect?
I am done writing because I don’t have time to comment on everything else.
dont let these negitive comments take your joy….. to be a christain is to be christ in man….. right people!!! these people who are calling themselves christains have forgotten that…. how hard is it to be kind…. and respect other peoples perceptions… thats why the world is so messed up….. to be affended by what someone says means you are not grounded in who you are…. hence all the war and bloodshed…… and all evil things people do to eachother…. just love….. simple…..
“My place of birth, my opportunities, and my good fortune are not a result of God’s choosing. It’s dumb luck.” Yikes! How about this? “From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the EXACT PLACES WHERE THEY WOULD LIVE. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:26-27
I have an issue with saying that the Bible does not say that God blesses materially. If you go back to the beginning, Genesis talks about Abraham and how God blessed him and his heirs. Abraham was the largest land owner of his time and had more livestock that we can imagine. This was material wealth back then. Look at his son, Issac was also blessed materially with an inheritance but also with additional accumulated wealth. Jacob went into the wilderness with nothing and was blessed by God and grew a fortune in land and livestock so much so that Laben kept tricking him into continuing to work for him because Laben knew God’s blessing was on him and it was causing Laben to grow wealthy as well. Look at Joseph, who was sold as a slave and left with nothing. He rose from a slave to a king because of God’s blessing. There were no poor kings. David was a lowly shepherd became king and had great wealth. God provides for us and blesses us materially so that we can be a greater blessing to others. We are too be good stweards of the money God entrusts to us.
Every breath we take is a blessing. Every dollar we have is a blessing. Every difficulty can be a blessing when received with faith in our God. There is nothing wrong with feeling blessed when things go well. It is a blessing. It comes with a responsibility: “To whom much is given, much is required.”
In Romans 15:27, Paul himself called money “material blessings”– “For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”
We are not born where we are or when we are by “dumb luck”– Paul states in Acts 17:28 that God made all people and ” determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”
Psalm 139 says that “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
The Scriptures are clear that God is sovereign, and it boggles our mind to try and figure it out. But we have SOLID ground to disagree that the details of our lives are the result of “dumb luck”.
I have to agree with Paul’s declaration in Romans 11:33-36 and bow in worship.
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Well said!
Amen, amen, amen!! Those who say ‘they are loving with ALL their hearts & minds the Lord’ but yet in their true heart of hearts are daily seeking and affirming their actions and others who have a comfortable ‘standard of living’ the measure, are not seeking the HEART OF GOD! I’m not judging anyone. My heart desires comfort as well, but if all our lives are truly like a vapor, and we don’t have the same intense focus that Jesus has, then we are simply allowing ourselves for decades and decades to be deceived. We have our human life that’s like a vapor, then comes death, then comes judgement – that’s what Scripture says. In the end – which for thousands of people on this planet will be today or tomorrow – our choices will guide all into Heaven or Hell, with or without Jesus. No one will have the option to choose staying on earth and keep living their human lives. Let’s be broken before the Lord and allow Him to instill in us His dreams so we will know and experience a depth of who Jesus is and what He’s done for us!!!!!! It also means others will choose to give their hearts to Jesus and that means forever in a paradise of no sin, no fear, no shame, complete peace and experiencing life with this miracle maker named Jesus!!!
My biggest question for you, Scott, is do you believe that God is sovereign? From reading your article, I get the distinct impression that you do not, and that is incredibly troubling and undermines the message you are going for here. Do you worship a God who does not or cannot control all events? Do you worship a God who is subject to “blind luck”? Do you worship a God who is powerful, just not all-powerful?
If so, you are not worshiping the God of the Bible, and that saddens me. As others have pointed out, God is incredibly open in giving his people blessings in the Bible in many forms, but these blessings are his gift to give. He does not have to give them to everyone. It’s the parable of the talents — where the three servants are given different amounts of money to manage. All are trusted but in different ways. They have no right to complain that one got more than the other, for all is a gift.
But what God does desire is for us to praise him for his blessings and to testify as to his goodness, graciousness, and generosity. To attribute the good in our lives to God is to give him the glory, not ourselves and not to luck. To say otherwise is to take his gifts and pretend as if he did not give them in the first place.
I like this article. I see exactly what you’re getting at. Thanks for the perspective!
Is anyone bothered by the fact that he jokes about disparaging his mother and lying about college escapades? Is this just a joke that I’m supposed to wink and laugh at, a little light-hearted humor prior to the seriousness of the subject? I don’t get it – can anyone enlighten me?
yes… your taking life to seriously…. this man is searching for the truth… and doin amazeing good deeds along the way….. see his heart and you will be able to open yours….
So my heart isn’t “open” because I am offended by his remark about disparaging mothers? What if he is disparaging homosexuals, or fat people? Is that okay? I don’t think searching for the truth gives one the right to make fun of anyone else. Doesn’t God command us to honor our parents?
Everything I have is because God has allowed me to have it. The breath I just breathed is because He has allowed me to live a few more seconds. The hope I have in Jesus Christ is because he allowed me to have it, therefore, I feel that I am in a constant state of “Blessedness.” That being said, I very rarely communicate that except in my conversations with the Father. #blessed isn’t really part of my vocabulary despite my knowledge of how greatly I’ve been blessed.
First of all, there is no such thing as luck. It’s hard for me to believe that anyone could think that somebody feeling blessed is wrong. James 1:20 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,neither shadow of turning. Telling people that you feel blessed by God lets them know that you love God and appreciate what He has done for you. Giving thanks to God for the blessings He has given us does not mean that we are not thinking of and praying for people in worse situations. Ephesians 5:20-Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ… God sees everything we do and He wants to us to appreciate what He does for us.To think what we get is a result of luck diminishes God and is somewhat arrogant. I have said all these things in Christian love.
all you say you are critacizeing this gye and then to say your saying it out of christain love! your judgement is why im not a christain…. this man is is full of love and seeking the truth…. jusus was not spoke of in the bible from 12 years old to 32… 32!!! what do you think he ws doin all that time?!? soal searching…..
Read this
Very disappointed with disparaging your mothers and the whole dumb luck theory. Neither are biblically accurate. I kept reading because a friend recommended this, but I take issue with much of what was said.
that is one of the most humble and respectful manners of specking of gods true voice… i am not a christain but i do belive in jesus teachings…. he was a free spirt… intouch with the devine because worldy possitions did not plague his connection…. your words made me smile… hearing a christain be honest and real….. helps give me faith…. thankyou for shareing…. what we do dose make a difference….
For a Christian article, there are some pretty judgmental and rude comments on here. I’m disappointed, but unfortunately, not surprised.
I’m agreed until you got to “dumb luck”. “not God’s choosing”?! You everything right except that. Good is all knowing, all powerful, and ever present. He knew each of us before the earth was formed, that logically includes our place of birth and opportunities. N o, God is not a cosmic genie or behavioral psychologist , and material comforts not equal blessings but our circumstances are not arbitrary either. God is a God of purpose.He knows the plans he has for us. May God bless you, brother.
I must say that it’s beautifully written. Yes those who lis. ve with less are not unblessed. Today Christians are looking for the church who tells only good thing. Preaching on cross and forgiveness of sin is rare. But One thing I couldn’t agree here is about LUCK. Nothing is LUCK derived in a believers life. but overall writing is really good. I wrote it not to accuse but to edify. We followers of Jesus are part of same family. No matter where we hail from.
I too don’t agree with the dumb luck statement, but in the end… “My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable. I know a God who comforts the sorrowful. And I know a God who has planted this same power within me. Within all of us.
And for this blessing, may our response always be,
“Use me.””
Um, interesting reflection in C-21. If I live now it’s because of Jesus. We as Christians don’t’ deserve anything but for grace we receive eternal life since now(is not material, but spiritual and eternal values) I believe Jesus is calling to a new generation to revolutionary our world. So don’t destroy what he builds and don’t kill what he lifts.
Let me add that I appreciate your heart, brother! 🙂 I had another thought…according to your post script, you now say, “I’m grateful”. That still strikes me a bit strange to be “grateful” but not feel like you can call what you are grateful for a gift or a blessing from God.
Thanks for making us think! Blessings to you and your family!
It’s not luck but hard work (for thy self). Other than that, I agree with you.
I have been a Christian for years, and yes I feel blessed, in my past job as a nurse, with my house my money and my vehicle….but my greatest blessing is to see the joy and the comfort and the love from those who have shared in all the above blessings of mine. God gives us all we have through our abilities. It’s up to us to use them in blessing others.
Matt 25:14-30 talked about the Talents. Don’t count your blessings as a cursed or not, but count it as a blessing to use in God’s Kingdom.
yall are so mean!!!! im glad im not a christain!!!!
Well said. But once you understand your true blessing you are free to say you feel blessed every day. Or, use happy instead of blessed. And may you continue to find blessings and happiness all around you.
The revision you made taking “dumb luck” out and adding what you did made this “share-able” for me. The dumb luck comment hit me hard and I just couldn’t get passed it. But then I saw you revised it and then your article really hit home. I’ve never even thought of being “blessed” in this way. Awesome article!
Actually when i refer to myself as being blessed, i don’t mean i am blessed because of any earthly thing. I am blessed because God has given me mercy and forgiveness when i didn’t deserve it, which is daily because i sin daily. I am not blessed because i have a good job. I felt equally blessed when i was unemployed and didn’t know where the next meal for my children would come from. I am blessed because I’m, at least for the time being, able to spread the Word of God to people who might not otherwise hear it. I am blessed because i can read His Word everyday and receive my spiritual daily bread…and if tomorrow i was persecuted for loving Jesus, i would be blessed beyond measure. I understand that people, including myself, have been at fault for carelessly throwing that word around as if it means nothing, but i learned a long time ago to stop counting my earthly goods as blessings and to start counting my spiritual blessings. The fact that God loves me and has mercy on me, a lowly unworthy sinner, is the biggest blessing i have to date. There will be more one day but i think the issue really, is that we’ve become obsessed with the world and worldly possessions and have forgotten that every single worldly possession we have will pass away and the only thing left that will matter is our spiritual blessings, the main One being the Love and Compassion of our Savior, Jesus Christ. If money and posessions were important Jesus wouldn’t have asked His deciples to leave it all to follow Him. He said don’t worry about what you’re going to eat or wear because He will take care of us. Faith is what it takes, not money or things. Faith.
Wow! You could put Joel Osteen right out of business with this kind of cah-razy talk. But seriously, thanks for challenging us think differently about being blessed vs. being grateful.
Can I just say that there’s that pesky commandment of honoring our parents… Might want to re-think the casual disparaging of mothers. 😉
For all the distraction with the term ‘dumb luck,’ I didn’t read one comment that embraced the reality of the Sermon on the Mount which gives no indication that monetary wealth is a blessing. It’s funny how we claim the God of the biblical text and then often ignore the biblical text when it doesn’t fit our position in life.
Very interested in your thoughts!
I’m very undeserving of life at all . Through Jesus Christ I have hope . Maybe we should all spend more time and energy trying to help our fellow man / woman , instead of laying up treasures and riches that we can’t take with us when we die .
Reblogged this on Set Free.
Personally I still don’t see anything wrong with calling myself “blessed” because of my personal possessions. Technically, we all deserve death because of our sin. So anything good above death is a result of us being “blessed” by God. So even the person just barely surviving is blessed – blessed with life.
No, our monetary wealth may not because God is directly intervening and making sure we have money, but the fact is everything that happens is because God allowed it to happen, so I thank God when he “blesses” me with material possessions, since he allowed that to happen as well.
Right, that’s what I was saying as well…I think the author’s basic point is sound, though, because in our culture we usually thank God for “blessing” us when things are going our way. I don’t think we necessarily need to replace “blessed” with “thankful” as the author said, because it’s the same idea, it’s just a matter of perspective – American Christians tend to go on and on about how blessed we are as a nation – when the author is very right to point out that Jesus completely turns that upside down by insisting that the heart of God and his blessings are especially with the suffering.
Great post, you’ve nicely pinned down the thoughts and feelings I have been having on this same topic.
I’m actually baffled that people who don’t believe in god come to this blog specifically just to talk about how much they don’t believe in god. somebody shared this on facebook and I thought it was a nice read, even if I’m not christian and don’t actively believe in a god in the same way that some people might. I’m not gonna bore you with my beliefs, but since I have no real way of proving whether there is or isn’t A God, I’m not bothered by people placing their faith in one if it helps them with their lives. for all I know God does exist & I would never fault people for believing in him. I just don’t understand the point of coming here just to flaunt your own dissenting beliefs all over the place without adding to the actual conversation. these people do not care.
I’m also a little bothered by people trying to defend their material “blessings”, because I thought the whole point of this article was to encourage us to move beyond that. it’s important to realize what opportunities you have and how other people don’t and to stop assuming you just have them because god decided to make it so. it’s important, I think, to stop trying to defend your comfort and analyze where it came from in the first place. sometimes, in order to have what you do, other people have to go without. and whether or not you believe it’s your duty to help those less fortunate as a christian or promote some sense of equality as a secular humanist or what the heck ever, it never helps to turn a blind eye to where your “blessings” came from. take responsibility and realize that if you have while others do not, there’s a reason for it. and do something about it.
Well, Riley, who are YOU to decide that I “don’t care” because I find the original post contradictory and illogical? At least I gave my reasons for disagreeing with that original post – so which of us “isn’t adding to the actual conversation?
Riley, I think in your heart you do believe and suggest you read the book of John. I am new Christian and by far a work in progress. In the book of John, you will see what Jesus did for you, and how much he love you.
Blessed are those who poop for M&M’s ! 🙂
Riley…this is very thoughtful. I almost never scroll down anywhere near the comments on ANY article, because I have been repeatedly disappointed by the immaturity and ignorance that show up in this area. But I was intrigued by your first sentence, and kept reading. I am VERY sorry for the other responses this comment has gotten (ALL of them). I am a Christian (a youth pastor in fact), and yet I have SO much respect for you right now, I’d like to jump through the internet and shake your hand. I promise you, there IS a God…but He’s not nearly as judgmental of those who don’t know Him as some of us have made Him out to be. And one of His highest values is WISDOM. If this post is any indication, wisdom is something you have already have somewhat of a handle on. Thanks for sharing.
Todd, I’m not a Christian, and very much like Riley, am a person that thinks perhaps there is a god and perhaps there’s not. Reading what you just wrote makes me very much hope that if there is one, that you are a perfect example of what he wanted us to be like. 🙂
I thought your thoughts were very respectful. Thank you for that, and I know you’ll appreciate the sentiment behind this, whether you believe in Him or not: God bless you.
Riley I can only speak for myself but I believe I am not the only Christian who calls blessing something totally different from how most are taking this. I do not relate my blessings to material things at all. I feel blessed to have opportunities to come alongside of others who are hurting, feel lost or in pain and bless them in what ever way I can. God is so wonderful He blesses others through us, if we allow Him to use us, and in the process we are blessed too! It is that simple to me.
Very good, very true!
Still trying to understand this.
Yes, we should be giving to others. We should share from our material stash, but articles like this attempt to put a glaring emphasis on “good Christian behavior” and I wonder if it doesn’t give the wrong idea to non-believers. Futhermore, there is more than one way to use the term “blessed” Biblically. As much as I love my family, salvation is my greatest blessing. I have thought about it, but this article does not compel me to stop saying blessed.
I don’t believe the point of the article is to encourage you to stop saying the word “blessed”. I believe the point is to encourage us all to thoughtfully consider HOW we use the word and not be so eager to attach it to monetary or material gains.
I agree, Caryn. I had no trouble getting the point of the article. I’m guilty of overusing the word “blessed”. I’ve even felt guilty using it when the look in the other person’s eyes makes me feel like I’m bragging over my blessings. This hits home enough so that I’ll think long and hard before I use the word so casually.
Caryn, you are right on.
But that’s just it. Is it my own hard work that brings my material gain? Should not I, a Christian, give all credit for personal creativity, discipline, physical wellness to work hard, etc to God? It is he who gives me everything I have. The author doesn’t say “I’m thankful TO GOD” because, I suppose, that implies that God gave them something (a blessing) that possibly the person they are speaking with does not have and maybe even wants. By the same way of thinking, I suppose talking about how God has been gracious to me (in salvation) can be taken as offensive.
If someone tells me that God has blessed them, and it becomes obvious their blessing is beyond what I have been blessed, it’s MY sin that I am offended, jealous or envious, not the person who is sharing honestly. Just my opinion.
Thank you for this. I have fairly recently discovered that without knowing it, I was in a ‘Mixed Orientation Marriage’: I’m straight, and my wife ‘came out’ to herself and to me as a lesbian after 33 years of marriage. Quite a shock, especially for someone who thought that they’d gone into a Christian marriage on the basis of God’s leading and His will, and not just my wants. So I resonate with this blog: we were not promised anywhere easy lives.
In conversation with a church minister friend yesterday, he repeated that I might one day look at this as a blessing. That at least if God is truth, we are both now living with a little more truth, even if it’s deeply painful. And he gave me a lovely quote by Irenaeus of Lyons, an early bishop and saint: ‘The glory of God is the human person fully alive.’ When life is too easy and tranquil, we’re often NOT fully alive…
Your comment is disrespectful and crude. You do not know what is going on in the lives of these two people and are no one to judge. I will be praying for you brassyhub and your wife. Although I don’t like homosexuality and I believe God does not either, God teaches us to love EVERYONE, whether we agree with them or not. You are doing the right thing by forgiving, praying, and yes, even loving your wife. (((hUGS)))
Vicki, your statement ” Although I don’t like homosexuality and I believe God does not either” perplexes me. God and biology created individuals who are homosexual. They did not choose the way they were born and they seek Gods love too. I don’t know your background, but for me, the blessing I feel inside in part comes from the wonderful people i have in my life…many of whom are homosexual! We are all God’s children. If all of these homosexual individuals had to hide their true self just to please others disapproval, I believe we would be at a tremendous loss of our true potentials!
Wow Vicki & Jon, your comment is the one that is disrespectful and crude and incredibly judgemental. Some reading comprehension and a little less sanctimony would go a long way for you.
Good morning! This is totally off subject, but I read your posts and what you shared about your dear friend who has breast cancer and has been given 1-3 months to live. Does she know about Phoenix Tears? There are also other alternative approaches that may help. This and other similar treatments like it (other than chemo and radiation) has helped many people who had cancer, and it may help her. I will also be praying for her!
Adam I am perplexed by your comment. God didn’t create us as homosexuals any more than he made us adulterers, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. Humans will always struggle with sin. We all go against God’s will for us and his creation because of our fleshly desires. This is the crux of our relationship with Jesus, who came to set the “captives” free from whatever bondage our particular sin is holding us captive to. We each can overcome our sin nature with His help, it is His promise.
We are all God’s creation but we are not all God’s children. If we have not chosen to accept Him into our life we are spiritually dead and do not know His truth or can understand His word. Just as Jesus did we are called to love the sinner but not the sin.
Adam and Brassyhub–I apologise that it appears I was saying Brassyhub was being disrespectful and crude. My comment was in response to a different comment made on Brassyhub’s comment, that apparently the blog host decided was also disrespectful and removed their comment. I was trying to be supportive to Brassyhub–the other poster had said it was Brassyhub’s fault that his wife ‘became homosexual’.because he did not satisfy her sexually. It was that other poster that I was saying was disrespectful and crude in his response to Brassyhub. As I said in my previous comment, everyone is not in agreement about homosexuality and that is why I said that I (not everyone else) believe that to be true. I also have family members who are/were–one of them no longer considers herself to be homosexual and has expressed to me her appreciation that I told her, that even though I did not agree with her choice, I knew God still loved her and so did I…
Again, sorry for the confusion and thank to the blog host for removing the disrespectful comment.
Vicki
Mary Gillespie–please see my response–my comment was made towards another comment that has been apparently removed–no disrespect meant towards Brassyhub (in fact I give him my prayerful support.
Good food for thought. Now can you tackle this common statement that I hear every time something bad happens in my life. “It’s God’s will.”. Apparently it’s God’s will for people to me murdered, for children to be abused, for people to die way before a normal life span, for me to be infertile. I think it’s a misunderstanding of he can work all things together for good for them that love the lord. Not every thing is his will. Not when I’m rude to someone, or when I judge them.
I agree. That really bothers me to. When people sin, they are missing the mark. It is by definition, not God’s will. So when we sin or someone else sins and it affects us, it is not what God wanted. There are also a lot of things that happen to us because we live in a fallen world, not because God designed it that way. There are some things that God does cause, developmental suffering, such as working in a less than ideal situation or not finding Mr. Right right away. He wants to teach us lessons and see how we handle life when we don’t get what we want right away. God never causes calamities in our lives though, and he never makes us sick. Healing, freedom, joy, wholeness, and safety are always God’s will. Sometimes those things don’t happen, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t believe hard enough. It means we live in a fallen world with a real devil and real people who also have free choice.
I am very sorry that you are infertile. That was not in the plan of God. God really can heal you. If that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you or you did something wrong, it means the devil is a punk, he steals. The right to affect you in that way is not his but he steals anyway.
I know this verse is misused a lot but let me try to use it the right way, “God works everything out for the good of him who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” God did not cause murders, abuse, sickness, and infertility. But whenever you go through hardship, whatever is in you will be squeezed out, things that you didn’t even know where there come to the surface and you have a chance to respond. For me, often it is anxiety, worry, or a mistrust in God that pops up. I can run to him and he can bring me from that place to a better one. That is one way that God works everything for good. Another way is after you have walked through your hardship to the other side, you now know how to help others walk through the same situation. For some situations, like abuse, you can become a voice to help stop and prevent abuse by getting involved in organizations that work with this. It gives you a passion for it. Now, I am not saying that you had to go through your hardship in order for you to help others with a problem, and God never desired for you to have to suffer, but if you do, God will not let that situation be of no value, he will find a way to use that hardship for good.
I may be off base here, and I certainly don’t want to offend anyone, but could it be that infertility is maybe Gods will? that the person was placed in a position to adopt so a child could be raised in a loving caring home? Maybe the her other attributes are what a child craves and his waiting for her to bless them with her gifts. God never closes a door without opening another, its just we don’t always see the other door. God also created us with free will, as he wanted us to seek him, not be forced to worship him, that is why there is evil in the world
Excellent comment Liz. I was going to say something similar. Twenty years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and i just posted my testimony on a friends blog, as a guest. I am currently working on a more detailed version that I hope to have published (maybe only self-published) to coincide with my 20 year anniversary the end of this year. While doing so, I have been thinking about a dear friend who has been fighting breast cancer for a couple years and was recently told by her doctors, that there is nothing more they can do for her and she has only 1-3 months to live, and thought, “what do I say to her and her family?” There is no way that I would ever say, “she didn’t pray enough or was not holy enough”. This woman is the wife of a retired minister, who has been an inspiration to me of what a Christian woman should be like. She has been praying and trusting God for healing for a long time and she continues to trust that God will provide for her and her family.and continues to shine for her beloved Lord. I think one thing we have to remember, is that that complete healing just may come when she (or we) get to Heaven. God has used her situation to minister to many people of how a person can go THROUGH difficult times with trust in God that all things will go according to His plan. And yes, I would love to pray this wonderful woman of God will live many more years to share His love, but I also believe God has a plan to use her story to ‘bless’ others along the way.
Liz, I believe u are right on. Enjoyed your thoughts immensity.
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Sorry, have to disagree. Romans 12 speaks of various gifts given to believers. One of those gifts (12:8) is the ability (wherewithal) to give to the needs if others. II corinthians 9 also speaks of monetary blessings given to those who give cheerfully and liberally. The distinction between this theology and the prosperity gospel is that these blessings are given to some (not all) for a purpose.
Given this post, how would you explain Job 42:12 Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13He also had seven sons and three daughters.
If a person is not to say they are “blessed” because so many other people in the world live on less than $10 a day, then following that logic why should we say “we are blessed with knowing God” when so many people in the world don’t know God? I’m only suggesting better logic.
I don’t desire to be discouraging or negative. It just seems we get into telling people what to say and not to say (i.e. Christians should stop saying ____). Is that living by the Spirit or living by the law? Is it politically / religiously correct (PC / RC) speech? Prior to PC / RC speech we had freedom of speech. And we were expected to use it responsibly. Since people don’t use speech responsibly, we get PC / RC speech.
Just use speech responsibly – realizing words edify, encourage, lift up, tear down, destroy and/or abuse. Some comments made on this post are clearly abusively and is evidence of how people take free speech for granted and abuse their liberties. Watch those people. They are like a child playing with matches around gas. They don’t realize morality and religion are a check to their freedoms and that liberty and freedom costs much.
I agree with Markwise. The Bible is also clear that if the Israelites followed certain guidelines, they would be blessed over the rest of the world. Does this make me a ‘health and wealth’ person? Not completely. I do agree the word is overused, but I do think God blesses us- some of us even lavishly. And can He not bless someone maybe with a new car despite “millions of Christians” getting by with just 10 dollars (that actually might be several million of that country’s currency so lets compare apples to apples here) a day? God blesses each of us in different ways. And perhaps He blesses us to in turn BE a blessing to others?
I agree that we toss the words, I am blessed, around. And more often than not, we are talking about finances. I agree with you that we are blessed in many other ways. However, I think we have a different definition of blessed. A blessing is like a kiss from heaven, because God loves us, he gives us good things. Salvation is a blessing, joy is a blessing, healing in my body is a blessing, the presence of God is a blessing, and finances are a blessing. If it is good and it comes from God, it is a blessing. But the truth is, we are blessed to be a blessing. We are blessed with grace and God wants us to share this grace with others. We are blessed with joy and we are to show others how to have joy too. We are blessed monetarily and we are to use that blessing to bless others too. I read somewhere once that God will provide what we need for the mission he has placed on our lives. What if God has given you an idea of how to make a lot of money in your business, so that you could financially support the works of the kingdom. The world doesn’t have a money problem, it has a money distribution problem. God doesn’t just want all of his followers to be pastors and missionaries, he wants people in the business realm, people in the entertainment realm, people in education, people in the political realm, and people in the media.
I agree we should not toss words around and limit the blessings of God to our bank account. We should also not feel like God has not blessed us if we are struggling financially. But I don’t think the answer is to completely eliminate the link between blessings and finances.
I guess perception and audience are really what matter in this debate. What does blessed really mean, I think it changes depending on who you speak with. For myself, someone who tries to remember that everything I have, possessions, talent, family, job, friends and even struggles come from the Lord above, blessed means many things. Most of all it means that I am under God’s care, for which I am truly gratefully. So no matter what state I find myself, it will not change the fact that I am blessed meaning still under the Lord’s care.
Amen! I’m grateful! Much better than is saying we are blessed! I agree that our semantics have been all wrong! Starting a new gratitude journal today! I also don’t like the “I’m blessed” because it gives younger generations a feeling if entitlement. I am sure you worked hard at some point to get where you are. Either through your eduction or just the fact that public speaking isn’t easy. Don’t down play your own gifts! Yes giving glory to God is appropriate but humblely using your gifts to benefit others is the way! It is hard to inspire others! Thanks!
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In the same spirit, let’s abandon the hateful phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I!” Talking about a capricious God!
Prosperity theology has become an exciting thing for both congregations to listen to and for preachers to preach. The fallacy. The word prosperity is skewed. Perhaps, a suggested word for much of this article is the use of “discernment”.
Saying I am blessed by God is a way of honoring Him. The article makes much to do about nothing. Every advantage and disadvantage is a blessing because Romans 8:28 tells us that God works everything together for our good who love Him and are called according to His purpose. You are blessed going in and coming out because of His Grace and Goodness.
I am blessed. I can’t stop saying it. Even when things go wrong, I am blessed.
Good introspect. You gave us words to contemplate and consider if we are doing our best for God. We can get picky about what word or words to use, but the main thing we need to remember (as you pointed out) is that we need to acknowledge that God expects us to make an effort and not expect handouts, but He does enjoy ‘blessing’ us sometimes too. And we need to always be thankful for everything we have, both earned and gifted, givin God all the glory. Plus, we are not the judge of others worthiness and should never tell another person that they are not as holy, worthy or ‘prayed enough’ to receive that healing, or blessing. We need only to trust God and encourage others.
I think this is a great article and accurate point. having been in third world countries where the believers are just as strong in their faith as i’am,but live in a grass hut or plywood Shack or own one pair of shoes,is not because of their lack of faith… they live in a third world country… the Bible does not day that if you follow Jesus you will be rich in material possessions(and if that is why you follow him you have missed the story)..I reposted this story… Thanks.
The prosperity gospel is a false gospel, if it’s a gospel at all, and perhaps the word “blessed” is overused sometimes, but that depends on the heart of the speaker. You’ve not considered all the reasons why someone might say “I’m blessed,” and in fairness, I wouldn’t expect you to in such a short post. But there are good reasons why “blessed” is the right description for believers, so I think that the suggestion that we should stop saying it is misguided. I appreciate your provoking us to think carefully about our words, though.
Very good article! I, too, have been struggling with all the “blessing” we have and how little others have. Our approach is to live a “fasted lifestyle” and use the overage for missions and the poor. But I still couldn’t figure out how to describe feeling “blessed” – and from now on . . . I’m GRATEFUL! Thank you for a great article!.
The Beatitudes are a beautiful reminder of what is important in this life. Thanks for posting them.
Normally when I see these posts on Facebook I ignore them. I don’t want to take the time to read them. But today I was drawn to this for some reason and I wa convicted by it. Thank you for allowing God to speak through you concerning this. We “do” use the word “blessed” like it was candy given to us. Thank you reminding us what the word of God says.
First time I have encountered your writing but this is a topic I have been considering for a while now. Even in the less material realm, if I tell people we are so blessed to have a healthy family, what does that say about people whose child is seriously ill? Are they less blessed than I am? Or someone whose house burns down or whose plant shuts down and leaves them without a job? Are they LESS blessed than the rest of us? Very very good points you make – thank you for bringing some clarity to what being blessed really means.
I think I understand some of the sentiment you’re trying to express here, and anything written in opposition to the prosperity gospel is welcome, but a lot of what you’re saying is just plain wrong. For instance, “When I say that my material fortune is the result of God’s blessing, it reduces the Almighty to some sort of sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers.” The consistent message of the Bible is that material wealth and affluence is ABSOLUTELY a result of God’s blessing. If I reduce God to only a material giver or primarily a physical provider, then indeed I sell him short and lose sight of the Giver while idolizing the gifts, as C.S. Lewis and others have put it. But a more subtle and perhaps more dangerous condition is to fail to attribute ALL blessing including material providence to God. In so doing, we turn God into a being that deals largely in the spiritual realm with little concern for the material. One of the things that distinguishes Christianity from other religions is that it is concerned with the spiritual AND the material. The soul AND the body matter to God; there will be a new heaven AND a new earth.
It is very important to acknowledge that the eternal fate and daily holiness of our souls are of primary important to Jesus and are the main focuses of his gospel message, but we are also called to thank God for the material possessions he’s given and steward the wealth he blesses us with for his honor and others’ good. To separate the Beatitudes from the rest of the Bible’s teachings on “blessedness” and wealth is itself reductionist and creates blind spots in the things we praise him for. Let’s be thankful that our names are written in heaven AND for our next paycheck, no matter how big it is.
Trip…I don’t think the author is discounting that all things come from God, even his paycheck. I think he is trying to remind us that we should be careful not to assume poor folks aren’t blessed and set apart the “HAVES” as the ONLY blessed of God.
I would submit that one of the greatest blessings in my life has been the experience of intense grief over the loss of several young children. My children who never spoke changed their mother and made her a more tender and compassionate person, one who more fully understands the Holy Spirit, one who is better groomed for “being Jesus” to others, especially those who are grieving. EVERY day EVERY person is carrying around some type of grief, big or small, for EVERY day involves change…situational, emotional, etc….and every change forces us to grieve the loss of what we have previously known. What will never change for those of us who believe in God and have accepted by faith His words of truth is this— there will always be BLESSEDNESS! Whatever we are going through at the moment is either healing from the last storm or preparation for another, either short-term or long-term. I think this song says it best, even if it IS a hard pill to swallow: “What if your blessings come through rain drops, what if your healing comes through tears, what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re there….what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the darkest night…are your mercies (blessings) in disguise.”
One more thing — In all things give thanks, including bless NASCAR, boogity, boogity, boogity, amen.
Interesting post and discussion.
One more thing — In all things give thanks, including bless NASCAR, boogity, boogity, boogity, amen.
This link should go right to the song….
My strong suspicion is that most people don’t think this far into the meaning of the word “blessed,” which I suppose is part of the point. The word “blessed” has come into vogue lately because many Christians shy away from using the word “lucky” as that (on the face of it) denies God’s hand in things. What appears to have happened is that the former has become little more than a synonym for the latter, which is also unfortunate.
ahh my friend, you are a humble man, even if folks disagree! keep up the spirit!
I like that quote that “The glory of God is to be fully human.” not a direct quote but to be fully human, filled up in the spirit is true! Cuz of Christ, Love Lois Fredrick
It occurs to me that micromanaging which words we as Christians use to try and share our faith and lift up our Lord takes away from the bigger picture. We made the difficult decision to leave a church, in part, because they were constantly on us about language usage, raising our kids, giving, schooling, clothes we wore, etc. etc.. in other words they were trying to control us and how we express/live our faith so that we would fall in line with how they believed we should be living as outlined in the unseen rules of “Church X” as I will call it. Wouldn’t our time be spent more wisely by being workers and doers of our faith instead of trying to make all of our utterings fall within certain guidelines? We are sinners, our words will NEVER be perfect, NEVER be enough. This type of thing is part of what gives Christians a bad name. I have a hard time imagining that our Lord is taking notes on how I use the word ‘blessed’. This is an interesting discussion, though, and this type of thing is what keeps us thinking and learning about our faith and how we should always strive to be more Christ-like.
Reblogged this on FBCpaloalto and commented:
An interesting post on language, affluence, and “blessing.”
At 400+ comments, I’m sure someone has dumped Luke’s beatitudes into the mix. Just offering this up:
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Funny, when I use the world “blessed” I have never thought about it in a material sense. I have thought about it as a Father loving a child and telling them how much He loves them, standing over them, hand on head, praying over them. I have thought about it as “her children arise and call her blessed”( Proverbs 32:28). When I use it with people, I do it to let them know that I am a believer (who else would say such an arcane thing?), and that I have experienced something that only God can give, His true and wonderful love and forgiveness. This is the problem with words. They have so many meanings, nuances, and they change with time. It isn’t the word’s fault! I used to tell my daughter when she was little, that words aren’t inherently wrong, swearing is different from culture to culture. People decide if a word will be a curse or a blessing. So, if my “good word” is causing offense, then “it is better not to eat meat…or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.”(Romans 15:21) I guess there is a reason I have always loved the saying from St Francis of Assisi “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” Perhaps a little less “blessing” and a little more “doing” is what God really wants us to do!
Hmmm….this article is to say the least, interesting. I will start by saying that it’s not okay to assume what the apostles response was to Jesus in these verses, and adding verses that you thought may have been omitted doesn’t mean anything. We don’t know what they said, and we can’t assume that those three verses were there and just ‘left out’. I agree that outward signs of success and wealth does not mean someone is a ‘good Christian’. But I do believe that if we are faithful and diligent to God and do His will He will bless us. Jesus states in Matthew 6:3-4 “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” If we obey God and follow His commandments He will bless us. It may not be financially or in our worlds standard of ‘success,’ but I do believe that we should give God credit for every good thing in our life and that the word ‘blessed’ should not be a bad word for Christians. I am immensely blessed by God and I want people to know that.
And I have one more thing to ad Job 42:12 says “12 Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. “
Jesus is indeed the blessing. But, we like to equate things that bolster our self apart from God as blessing. http://choosetotrust.com/2012/10/result-of-the-blessing/
The key here is that there may be more than one type of “blessing” and we should be thankful for them all. One type of blessing may be “more important” than another (those specifically directed to spiritual growth), but it is likewise right to be thankful for “our daily bread” or anything else that God may provide to us. “Every good and perfect gift comes from above.”
I liked this article. It reminded me of something I heard once about the use of God in sports… Tebowing and the like. The argument was, if at the Superbowl, the winning quarterback thanks God for the win, then that means that for some reason of another that means God wanted one team to win and one team to lose. And why would God care about the outcome of a professional sporting event? Similarly, God has not blessed you with the goodness in your life. I like the use of the word grateful… it is good and humbling even to feel grateful for the goodness in your life. But it is not there because God chose it for you, because that would mean that he for some reason DIDN’T choose it for another person, and again, why would God want you to drive a nice care or live in a nice house. So much to think about here. Thanks for sharing.
Great article! All over social media I see – got a new car, so blessed…. went to pay my bill but had already paid it, blessed…. getting to go to Hawaii on vacation… god is good, so blessed…. I am ready to see – wrecked my car, lost my job, kid is sick…. but God is still good! I’m blessed!
You don’t want to be Blessed like I have been… my wife died 2 1/2 years ago, and I am single-parent to 2 boys. I don’t have a CLUE what God is doing to me/us through this Blessing, but I still praise Him.
My heart goes out to you Roch. Sometimes we cannot see what God is doing and it makes no since. At these times I focus on who God is and I then place my trust and faith in Him for He is holy, righteous and just. I rest in this truth. I pray for you and your precious sons in this most difficult period of your lives.
Not to tempt pride but this was well said. Thank you for sharing what the Holy Spirit has inspired within. God Bless,
OK, I’m about to split some hairs but I’ll try to be gentle:
This article states “If we’re looking for the definition of blessing, Jesus spells it out clearly” and then quotes the Beatitudes.
Correct me if I am wrong, but these are examples of people who are or who will be blessed, not the definition of “blessed”.
So many of these comments make me glad I believe I am more spiritual, and do not identify with any religion in particular. I would just like to say that anything I choose t o do is between me and God. I don’t believe he loves me any less because of my choices. I’m not gay. However, I believe that my relationship with God wouldn’t change one bit if I were. I don’t believe that being gay is a choice. Sure, the decision to ACT upon those urges is a choice. I won’t deny that. But I refuse to believe that GOD would allow people to be gay, and then refuse them his love unless they turn their backs on a sexual orientation that they didn’t ask for, and probably wouldn’t have chosen for themselves. To be burdened with the choice to deny themselves all basic human needs regarding love and affection, or embrace their sexual orientation and be refused God’s love and a place in Heaven, seems like a cruel game to me. And MY God is not cruel. The God that I have in my heart embraces love, ALL love. He is kind. He doesn’t judge. He understands, and is patient. And I believe that he doesn’t keep score in terms of people’s sins. I believe that he doesn’t care what I do , as long as I care for others, for myself, and try to be a better person than I was yesterday.
Good article but I believe everything is a blessing from God, right down to the air we breathe. I agree that God does not bless people solely through material possessions, but that doesn’t mean he can’t. He is God after all and who are we to tell him how he can or cannot bless people. I believe the main thing here is to remember that God does not bless us for our sake alone but to use that blessing to bless others. I have no problem saying, “Thanks God,” for the new car that my wife and I just bought. It is a great gift. Our old car was a piece of junk but now, we can lend it and give rides to people without worrying about safety issues or worrying about if it will break down. But the main thing is I truly believe God can bless people in various ways like the article suggests but in the end everything we have in life is a blessing from God and he deserves our gratitude.
Spot on Michael S !
I feel blessed I stopped reading this around sentence #3. God is good.
This was lovely, thank you.
I’m a Unitarian, and I enjoy when people examine things they take for granted, say as routine, etc. I share your feeling that the “prosperity gospel” idea has no place in faith. Financial success comes from a combination of where you’re born, luck, hard work, or your parents’ hard work. How much money/how comfy your life is has NOTHING to do with your religious beliefs or if you’re a Christian – otherwise, how do you explain rich people of other religions?
We are blessed by the good we do for others and the positive footprint we leave on the world before we die.
Thoughts?
I understand what you’re trying to say, and I agree with the principle (I think) behind what you’re saying.
However, I have two comments to make.
“10 The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. 11 Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him one [c]piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12 The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.”
The second:
I have been in a situation where I was on the verge of being financially bankrupt as I started my working life because I had to pay a backbreaking rent on minimum wage to support my family, and I thanked God for that and for a crust of bread when that was all we had in the house.
I thanked Him tonight when I ate a full meal and when I have a decent month’s salary coming into the bank on Friday.
Those lessons taught me that I am to help those who are struggling and needy, as He helped me.
They are both blessings.
Love the article. I think there’s a typo: $1 per day (not $10). You refer to the figure as “single-digit” two sentences later, so I’m pretty sure you meant to write $1.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention!! I just need to be grateful for all God has provided. May I continue to grow in Him and do my part to help further His Kingdom!!
I understand what the guy is saying. People drop that word “blessed” or “blessings” without really thinking of what it means. There are even non-Christian New-Agey types who do the same…with the phrase Blessed Be. Some treat it like some password or incantation to get all the goodies in life…and a you see a lot of that in the churches that teach the “Prosperity Doctrine.” Sure it’s easy to feel “blessed” when everything is going your way, but what about when it’s not? Are we then cursed? I think of Job when his wife told him to curse God and die. We’re to be grateful to God in everything, regardless of circumstances. It doesn’t mean being in denial, pretending all is ok when it is not. Sorry, if I lost my job or found out I have a terminal illness, I would not feel “blessed” and I would be very offended if someone expected me to deny my feelings by saying I must say that. God allows things to happen that are bad, for a variety of reasons…for us to depend on Him in totality…and to trust Him, no matter what. Really, if ya read Psalms, we’re NOT blessed…it’s the Lord who is blessed. One Psalm after another repeatedly says “Bless the Lord, o my soul, blessed art thou O Lord.” We as Christians need to be saying “I’m blessed” less and “thy will be done” more.
This is SO true. Overused & misunderstood.
“Blessed” always makes me think that the person using it about himself is really saying, “See how much better God loves me than you!”
I used to see a state prison inmate everyday (cleaning crew at my state office). I would ask her how she was, and every time she would say, I’m blessed. I don’t think she was saying God loved her more than me.
Thank you, BArbara GAtts! You simply stated the simple point the author was trying to get across.
I tend to call myself ‘spoiled’ when it comes to the great comfort I have. Blessed? That comes when the Lord helps me learn and grow, and that has yet to be achieved in comfort, I’m sorry to say. At least in my life. PTL
“Blessed? That comes when the Lord helps me learn and grow, and that has yet to be achieved in comfort”…
This is so painfully true, that it actually made me laugh 🙂
Thank you for helping us all to understand what we too often fail to remember…that God gave us a brain to use for good, for everyone’s good. We all trip and fall all the time because we are imperfect. Our need should be to follow God’s plan for us by asking Him to show us His way each day.
I am no longer involved with an organized religious group. I still am enthralled with the concepts outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. I have felt estranged from the political religious right since the turn of this century because they seem to see agnostic souls like myself as evil. I admit to negative feelings toward them as well…mostly because of their claim to be Christians while totally ignoring the loving words attributed to Jesus in the New Testament. Politics and money gathering do not mix well with religious ego. We all must strive to do well for ourselves and our family, but thinking God has our monetary gain on the top of his “to do” list seems to be very small minded and myopic. Thank you for your words. I feel less alienated from my fellow American.
I see some of the points this article makes. However, even if we refer to being blessed over material things I personally don’t think its because we earned it or are being rewarded somehow when so many are not but God still allowed it to happen. So, my belief always was that because everything that happens is God’s Will no matter what we do or don’t do, its a blessing….a gift…… So I look at all the good things in my life, material or nonmaterial, as not just blessings but gifts to be shared. And sometimes, even the not so good things become blessings because everything works out for the good whether we get to realize it or not.
Well said.
I agree, Cythia
I agree with and share your perspective
So true!
Very well stated.
I say I am Blessed in ALL things, because it’s all about HIM! all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord, and are called…
Wow, this really spoke to me in a time of great consternation regarding my faith. Like you, I am suspicious of the easy “I’m blessed” and also of the “Satan made me do it” exhortations of my fellow Christians. I don’t think God doles out goodies based on our socio-economic status, country of origin,or even our race or sexual preference. This whole “blessed” or “satan is after me” idea relieves too many people of thier own responsibility for doing what’s right.
you hit it right on the nail! I rather dwell on the “what if’s”. I remember in my college years, when Bill Cosby gave a show on our campus and made reference to a friend (Philosophy major) going around questioning things, such as “why is there air?” I remembered laughing so hard, not knowing that that phrase became the governing guideline as to how to view things in life. The important thing was that one always stayed in the middle and there was no emotional lingering to any side.
Moky
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Makes me think of Chris Rock’s bit, “God bless the USA and nobody else.” Thanks for the reminder.
Deuteronomy 28 gives another list of blessing.
I loved this article and it really helped me to see that when I struggle with financial issues it does not mean that God is not blessing me in other ways. I also read where God did bless Abraham and Isaac with material wealth, such as: “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him” Genesis 26:12
Genesis 24:35 The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. Maybe this is where people get this thought from…?
Notice you will always be going to Old Testament scripture to find prosperity blessings and promises. Old Testament is keeping physical laws = physical blessings; New Testament is Spiritual with the Holy Spirit and Spiritual blessings…the early Christianswere in abject poverty, tortured and martyred… and as pointed out in the article…most Christians today live in poverty and under extreme duress…but I thank God we receive Spiritual rather than physical blessings on promises. In fact Christ warns us not to store up earthly wealth but to focus on the spiritual.
I would just add that you don’t have to appeal to Scripture (or the lack of promises in Scripture for prosperity) to know that something is wrong with this unexamined habit of gushing about blessings while others languish in difficulty. We forget how many years passed before the advent of the printing press and how few people even now have access to or read the Bible if they have it. The presence of God in each of us provides enough discernment to notice that blessings are unequally distributed so indeed God must not be up to what we so often attribute to God. We must face the human origins of Scripture–which no doubt contains wisdom and guidance–but which also contains the rhetorical flourish of triumphalism, as well as the exuberance of those who’ve gone before us experiencing goodness and looking for words to fit the moment. These words when pasted all over the place(both at the time of their writing and now on all the places we write them) sometimes are very insensitive to the real life situations of others and leave God looking fairly capricious and as one who plays favorites. We all struggle to understand why things are good or bad for us and certainly we want words to express these realities, but i agree that we should try to tone down the religious talk, lest our “good be spoken of as evil.”
Well said!!! You certainly take much passion and detail in what you write. Good Job.
Reblogged this on Casual Perspectives and commented:
I was reading at various blogs out there and stumbled on this one. It’s a post to start some thinking. Enjoy!!
Good thoughts. Word of advice: proof read.
Somewhere in the over 400 posts, I lost track of a post that was in reply to my post about my friend who was given 3 months to live. They are ordering some sort of machine (I don’t remember what they called it) that has supposedly had great results for people with late stage cancer. I don’t know if it is the same place you referred to. Please DO keep her in your prayers. There are thousands of people through the country (and outside the country as well) praying for this sweet woman of God. and we would all feel blessed to see a miracle occur.
Vicki.
While I agree, there are some who inaccurately equate “blessing” solely with material wealth, health, beauty, etc., I don’t believe saying “I’m blessed” perhaps when a prayer is answered, (which might have included a newer car, or a college scholarship, or another day to live) is harmful, provided my meaning isn’t misconstrued. The meaning of the word blessed, (as a verb), means to give or to bestow, or to grant favor. My intent in saying “I’m blessed” is to recognize God’s hand in my life in whatever fashion it has moved. Since ALL things come from God, to say “I’m blessed” when He brings something to my life, I believe, is honoring to Him, shows gratitude, and exalts Him for what I have, not myself, and certainly does NOT imply that He would favor me over someone else. I recognize I would not have people or things or circumstances in my life unless God allowed them to be there. I consider my children blessings, my husband a blessing, my life a blessing. He has blessed me with certain talents and abilities, with a degree of intelligence, with empathy, with the gift of mercy… I am also blessed because of the things he has withheld from my life. To think otherwise would be insulting to God. Saying I’m blessed does not imply that God has chosen to give “more” to me. He just gives differently, at different times, in different places, to different people, in different situations, but EVERYTHING I do have comes from Him. To think otherwise is arrogant. We would also do well to remember that He also has the ability to remove His “blessing” as well, according to His will for our lives.
Here, here!
Thank you, and you are blest!
I agree. Blessings come from God in many forms to remind us of his involvement and loving care. Realizing that it is not because I am deserving just makes me praise God more.
that is the best most rational response to this post i’ve read. I am blessed. I thank God he bless’ me daily and I pray I never take for granted His blessings. I surely don’t deserve it but I’m still thankful and humbled because of His blessings He bestows on me…like Mercy and grace and forgiveness, etc. I would spend more time reading and learning God’s word rather than telling others how they should live or act. Sorry didn’t mean to start preaching at anyone… God Bless!
Couldn’t agree more.
Absolutely agree 100%
Well said. This is something I’ve wondered about for year, and I think I now feel comfortable saying I’m blessed because the glory is going to God whether He gives or takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Sounds like you feel like ” you’ve got it figured out”. That since you have been a disingenuous Christian who says things like” I’m Blessed ” for the wrong reasons ,that all the other people who are saying that must be doing the same thing. There are many reasons why people might say things like that. many are positive, like trying to be consciously grateful, or maybe expressing their Christianity and their reliance on God.Some are negative ,like having spent a lifetime in church and never actually experiencing Jesus they feel the need to act and speak Chistianese.But it’s no better for a Christian to judge the motivations of other Christians than it is to judge anyone else.
It seems like what your doing here is trying to shift from focusing on your problems to focusing on ” their ” problems and it sounds like unerneith all this explaining what real Christians should say talk what your really concerned about is,” if I have success and money am I gonna get punished for it”
Jesus gave up his job, which didnt make him wealthy, and walked around in modest clothes living off the kindness of others (and blessings from God: feeding 5000 for example),as did the other disciples, and said things like, “sacrifice your life as I have”,and things like, ” easier for a camel through the eye of a needle……”. And on and on.
I don’t think he meant a rich person could never find his way ,I think what he was saying is its not likely, so I don’t recommend it. Something along the line of: you wouldn’t tell your child to go out and quit school, and do drugs and go to jail to become the president of a company and have a great life.
Lastly knowing all kinds of cool stuff about the Bible and what we think it says can be a trap which leads us away from and not to knowing Jesus( as opposed to knowing about ) I wouldn’t concentrate so much on what” other people” are gonna think if we say things like”I’m blessed” but that’s just me thinking ” I know something”. “Rely not on your own understanding”. Human logic
The second sentence gave me pause. Too bad the author could not see the irony of telling people what not to say, immediately after admitting to disparaging his Mother. He wasn’t especially insightful about his own speech and lost some credibility there. Yes, folks should be careful of what they say about their blessings in public, because bragging is not nice. But to suggest people not praise God for their blessings because somebody’s feelings might get hurt, is well, odd.
Reducing God to a “cash register in the sky” is certainly one way of looking at the topic, but not the only way. Do you think God gives believers blessings in order to spread the Gospel? Nicodemus was a Pharisee who had wealth, influence and humility which he used for Jesus.
Also, it seems to me that while some are hearing the word “blessings” as “I’m better than you,” some of those hearers might also be saying, “I’m more humble than them.” Is that not the same coin, different side?
How about this, let’s not judge which blessings are legitimate or who’s more humble and simply encourage ALL people to follow Jesus and the Golden Rule? Thanks for your time.
He didnt disparage his mother…he disparaged his friends. And it was a joke. I think his point is all circumstances for a Christian are a blessing and to cry out that you are blessed when fun things happen diminishes the truth that bad things happening will be ultimately a blessing. I don’t think he’s saying not to give thanks.
I think what this all boils down to is what kind of a person are you? It doesn’t matter if you are Christian or not. The term “blessed”, generally, refers to a religious connotation, however, whether you are Christian or not, don’t be boastful. That is the lesson to learn from the original post. And from others in the thread, simply try to be a good person, whether you are Christian or not.
Now, moving one step further with the original post, and briefly mentioned in the thread, why would someone inflicted with a life threatening illness or life changing illness, survive or suffer or less more than someone who supposedly had more prayers submitted for them, such as a prayer chain? It doesn’t make any difference if more prayers were submitted or not. People still die or suffer no matter how many prayers are submitted. These things happen due to nature, not because God favors one person over another due to the quantity of prayers submitted . I would like to see who made the original post address topic this and start a new thread.
Hey Marilyn, To Christians it does matter if you are a Christian or not for the very reason you stated. Christians believe that there are no “good people” and that doing good works is not what gets you salvation( to heaven) which is why Jesus came to pay the price we could not( out of love for us) and we are saved through him. We were given the Bible to know how we should try to be and the ten commandments to break ourselves against. If you believe that people should just be good then you have to decide what good is. If ” good “is decided by mans version of morality then in some places its moraly correct that you should not murder and in other places its moraly correct that you should kill your enemies and eat them. Do you decide which is right or do they?
Most Christians also believe God created everything,incuding time ,space and matter, and that if God could create everything that Exists ,that he could also put a baby in a virgin, or a man in a whale, or answer whichever prayers he wants , however he wants to answer them.
Christians pray because we believe the Bible is inspired by God and the Bible says we are to pray and because through prayer we come to know God(not about God) As far as praying for others I personally only pray that people be saved. And when someone is suffering I just pray there name to him ,because I do not know what the best possible outcome is in this situation to all involved and even those who are not involved, because I do not know the future. But God does and he does what he does because what he does leads to the best possible outcome given the situation. (given free will and consequence).
You made the statement that it doesn’t matter how many prayers are said, that it is just nature that causes death, but you have know way of knowing that . Christians believe God created nature and controls it and can end it anytime he wills it. Just because Gods answer is no sometimes does not mean he does not answer. But like I said I only pray for people to be saved and as for suffering people I pray their names to him, as I dont know what is the best thing for all concerned, i dont know that what is happening at this time is not precluding other suffering ,and dont presume to tell god what i think is best. Maybe he has us pray for them for our benefit not theirs.
The Bible says ” God so loved the world”. Not God so loved just Scott,or Marilyn, or Bill. All choices have consequences and sometimes we are affected by our own choices and sometimes we are affected by the choices of others and sometimes we are affected by the choices of Adam and Eve.
Amem Brother
I have read this post with expectation of something totally different……Wow! I have to say, I am so guilty of this, especially the last two weeks( I will explain in a minute). I have NEVER thought about it in terms of making someone else feel slighted or unworthy of blessings! You have opened my eyes. Now…..I was diagnosed with breast cancer nearly two weeks ago, and I have told countless people who asked, that I felt truly blessed because it was found by(I know) not chance, but by God’s orchestration. I have felt blessed because it is small and not the worst kind. I have not realized that by saying ‘blessed’ I was making others who had a different type feel NOT blessed! I will try to make myself do like you, and say, I am grateful, which I totally am! Thank you for this posting!
One other thing that occurs to me, semantically speaking, is the way that this language lends itself to loving and glorifying the gift rather than the giver. For example, I think of how our language might be different when speaking of a gift given by our lover versus a gift that may BECOME our lover. I might say “I am so blessed, Jeff is so considerate and loving; he knew exactly what I wanted (or needed)!” This refers to JEFF BEING the blessing, not the gift. This is a VERY different message than “Jeff blessed me with a new car! I had been asking him for a long time for one and have been faithfully saving and working hard to get him to hear my request. Then, today he got me the most amazing blessing of a car…” This last message is about MY worthiness and the coolness of the gift; it says little or nothing about the relationship with and to the Giver actually BEING the blessing. My opinion of my worthiness and my new car became my lover in this example.
Take home message again is that relationship with the Giver is the blessing, not so much the gift. As we recognize the true “blessing” in the Giver, we begin to see more and more “gifts” (or blessings, if you must use that word) that we might have otherwise overlooked…
You are free to disagree with me, but I disagree. Material wealth is a blessing, but I agree it’s not a promise. It is not an absolute, for a lack of wealth can be just as much a blessing.
“[G]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thes 5:18, ESV). “Everything belongs to God…” (Heb 2:10).
God is ceaselessly poring out His blessings on us, despite our awareness and gratitude thereof. The simple ability to make money is a blessing; God deserves the credit. God created the wealth you possess; it belongs to him, and yet He has blessed you with stewardship over it.
To claim otherwise is to idolize oneself. You are right in saying God hasn’t chosen you over others based on some deeds you did or values held. No, for no other reason than His will, He blesses us each differently. No blessing supersedes other blessings; the blessing of wealth is no better than the blessing of poverty. We cannot look at God through human eyes.
TY
So Mr. Dannemiller, you haven’t yet addressed my question: why is it okay to minimize the sin of disparaging your mother by treating it with a casual offhand remark that makes it seem okay? You make your point about our thoughtless and often offensive use of the words “blessing” and “blessed”, and provoke much discussion. How about a thoughtful conversation about your casual disregard of one of God’s clearest commands, honor your father and mother?
I realized one Thanksgiving: Why do we thank God for the very things that keep us too busy to serve Him and too busy to spend much time with important loved ones?
OMG you have said here so clearly what I always feel when I hear people say that! I was guilty of saying the blessed word all the time until one day I realized I hurt someone. I didn’t quite understand how or why at first. I stopped using that word though. Now I understand why. Thank you.
Wow~ Perhaps my concept of the word blessed is too simplistic. I do believe that I am blessed. NOT because I deserve it of because of anything that I have done. I am grateful to God for what I have.
Scott, I appreciate your blog and love reading some of the entries here. I also appreciate your intention of helping Believers “clean” up some of the crazy things we say which add confusion to witness. Respectfully, I’d like to offer a different perspective:
You use one text—the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount—as your singular proof. Indeed, the word “blessed” that Jesus uses is literally translated “happy.” So, Jesus is stating that true happiness, joy, gladness or blessedness isn’t found in the typical system of the world, but in the counter-Kingdom life of Jesus. We will be happier when we live humbly, see sin for what it is, demonstrate mercy, suffer for our faith, etc. In this example, “blessed” is how I feel, my state of present contentment. And, if you only meant this, I would wholeheartedly agree.
However, you say that Christians should never say they are blessed (“It’s just plain wrong”) and misses the issue on several points in my opinion. First, There are dozens of times in the Bible where people received something from God and were considered “blessed.” For example, in Genesis 30:30, Jacob explains to Laban how Laban has benefitted from Jacob living on his land. Jacob states, “The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been.” In this case, blessing is equated with material increase. If someone had asked Laban, “Wow! What little you had has increased!” Laban could have well responded, “Yes, I have been blessed!”
In Deuteronomy 7:14, the Israelites are reminded of God’s covenant promise, “You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.” In this reference, “blessedness” is equated with fertility—the ability to multiply their people through child-bearing. God’s people, could have run out of the maternity ward and yelled, “It’s a boy! We are blessed!”
In 2 Chronicles 31:10, people brought contributions for worship and the temple and the high priest commented, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.” Once again, the evidence of blessing was abundance of provision. A neighbor could have asked another, “Why are you giving so much to the temple project?” and the other could have responded, “Because the Lord has blessed us in abundance.”
Job 42:12 observes, “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.” Clearly, this is material increase and Job would have been right on to exclaim, “I am blessed!”
In each of these examples, the emphasis is on the Blessor (God), not the feeling of contentment and happiness in the one blessed. So, to be fair, when someone today says “I am blessed,” they could quite simply be exclaiming “The Lord has been good to me!” with emphasis on “the Lord.” And, in this way, they would be solidly God-centered and biblical. In fact, I would not discourage, but ENCOURAGE, them to continue expressing how “blessed” they are.
This leads to a second comment about the post. You argue that to say I am blessed because “I got a raise today,” risks offending the millions of people who didn’t get the blessing. I think this is a potentially dangerous position. If you were writing a post about the false ideals of the prosperity Gospel that links material blessing as proof of God’s favor, I would say “Amen!” However, to say that I cannot rejoice and give God credit when I get a raise because other people didn’t get a raise is playing to a culture of “equality for all.” Little leagues all over the country are not giving out trophies anymore because it makes other teams feel so bad. So, can a pregnant mother not be blessed because she might offend mothers who are infertile? Can the man who just received a new heart not shout God’s goodness from the rooftop because he wants to be sensitive to all the people who didn’t get transplants…or who had failed transplants…or who live in countries that can’t do transplants? While I certainly believe it is crucial for Christians to be very sensitive to the needs/loss around the world and to never connect the gracious blessedness of God with their own spiritual performance or superiority, to keep silent is to miss an opportunity for worship. Psalm 67:1-2 rightly connects the blessings of God to global witness. God still blesses us “to be a blessing” and the blessings of God to me are my platform to proclaim the goodness of God to others around me. And, I should.
Where I think I was most put on my heels is when you wrote, “The problem? Nowhere in scripture are we promised worldly ease in return for our pledge of faith.” While the comment is 100% true, it is presumptuous regarding the intent of the person who says “I am blessed.” Not everyone who says they’re blessed because they just got back from an incredible vacation believes that they earned that vacation for their righteousness…that they gave good morals to God and God gave them a week in the Rockies. If they did believe this it would be a ridiculous distortion of the Gospel. But to automatically assume that everyone who says “I am blessed” is connecting their blessing with their righteousness is quite unfair. I know many God-honoring, humble people who would not hesitate to say “I am blessed,” and what they truly mean is “The Lord has been good to me. Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
I’m all for a strong fight against the prosperity Gospel. But, perhaps, to suggest that Christians cannot use the word “blessed” to reflect God’s tangible goodness in their lives doesn’t square with Scripture and risks confusing Christians who might very well be reflecting right praise to God for what He has done in their lives.
Fully agree.
Absolutely. Well-said.
Agreed. I am so happy someone touched on this and added plenty of scriptures to support it.
your point is well taken. here is my story.
years ago, when i was experiencing chronic pain, when asked how i was, i began to reply, i’m blessed. it was a reminder to me that i belong to Jesus and that is all i need.
i had one friend who didn’t like my answer because it didn’t reveal enough about my physical state. but my answer was & is more of a reminder to me that my life is truly blessed at all times, not just when things are going smoothly. it is the most honest answer i can give.
You question whether God is handing out blessings for positive behavioural reinforcement, and I would agree that is not the case.
You use the analogy of giving your kids M&M’s for toilet training, and I’d agree God is not like that.
But God does still bless human beings with an abundance of good things (and sometimes challenges). Why? Because we are his creation and he loves us.
To continue the analogy of a parent and a child, I assume you also feed, care for, protect, punish, help and provide for your children (irrespective of whether they pee in the potty). They are blessed, not in a sanctified or holy way, but becuase you have favoured them as your own. I would hope they would recognise that and be thankful for it.
Ultimately, I would agree that it is an “argument over semantics”.
TY
So true. I received a different kind of “blessing” today. It is called a wake-up call. Thanks.
Nine years ago my wife and I moved to our present location to be near our son and his family. This included being able to be a part of our church that is the kind of church we have always wished for. We are challenged to live for Christ. We have opportunity to serve in being a part of teams going to serve and sending other teams to people in need of help in many ways. We help by providing food for families in need who don’t attend our church. We don’t consider our church as the only church in town that people should attend. Each Thanksgiving when we say what we are thankful for, our family knows I will say, “our church.” In April 2013 our 49-year-old single son was found dead in his apartment. We received wonderful support from friends, relatives, and the people in our church. Our church friends continually check on us to see how we are doing. At the Christmas Eve service the realization that God gave His only Son to die for my son who is no longer with us hit me hard. Just after the service, I met a friend and he gave me hug and didn’t let go until my sobbing subsided. We are blessed to be in this town, in this church, and with our son and grandchildren.
Good point, but another perspective is that since we are blessed to be a blessing, to those who have much, much is required! So since we are so blessed, we better get busy blessing others.
You add the post-script that you’ve decided to say “I’m grateful” instead of “I’m blessed”. I’d ask “Grateful to whom?” Is this not still a tacit acknowledgement that we are not in charge of our own fates?
I agree with you that many christians have a shallow understanding of God’s blessings. But, to rule out the possibility of acknowledging and thanking God for blessings that take material form seems to throw the baby out with the bath water. God can and does choose to bless us materially at times. If I didn’t believe and acknowledge this, then the only other understanding left to me is to thank my own great talents, or luck, or fate. None of these fit with my understanding of my position in the world as God’s servant.
Do I understand why God allowed me to be born in a first world country with great material wealth, food in abundance, access to jobs, health care, a secure environment? No, I don’t. Do I understand why God allows people who love Him, are faithful to Him, to suffer with disease, poverty, wars, famines? No, I don’t. But I have met and had fellowship with believers in both circumstances that acknowledge their blessings with sincerity and truth.
God does, indeed, choose. He elects and predestines. I don’t understand it, but I acknowledge His right to do so. My purpose is not to make complete sense of His providence, but to take what I’ve been given, in what ever form it is given me, and use it to His glory.
People…let’s not take this to an extreme here…getting all religious about it…God forbid we start saying “you can’t use the “B” word” similar to how we are saying “He said the N-word!”
Great post, Scott. Thanks.
Wonderful article. Well worth sharing.
Hey, I just realized that the author is also posting under the name Scott here. This just came across my blog or whatever it is just came across my Facebook newsfeed and I didn’t look to see who the author was. I only posted a couple things a few posts ago and if I post again I will change my name to Ascott or something. Sorry for any confusion as I don’t usually post on things.
Reblogged this on Elaine's Random Thoughts and commented:
Very interesting post with good food for thought! I never thought about the meaning of the word “blessed” and how it may come across to others. Thank you!
OK, no. God blesses you because he LOVES you, not because of anything you have done, are doing, or will ever do. You SHOULD give God the glory for everything. Everything you have and everything you are, and everything you’ve been through. To do anything less means taking some of HIS blessings for YOU. Ain’t gonna work. And “offensive to Christians living on $10/day”? Give me a break. Do you think they give God the glory for that $10? You betchya. Please don’t turn blessings from God into burdens on you. Hogwash! Your blessings from God are no different than you blessing your kids: you love them! So you bless them! Sometimes with things or acts that they love. Sometimes with discipline or consequences. God blesses you because he LOVES you, not because of anything you have done, are doing, or will ever do.
Well said!
We are blessed, with money, time, food and energy, in addition to faith, to be a blessing to others. I can’t help but point that out. Thank you for your article. It’s very thought provoking
I don’t know what bible you’re reading, but you need to look closer at what God’s word says. In your article, you said and I quote:
” Why wouldn’t I want to give God the glory for everything I have? Isn’t that the right thing to do?.. No ”
Are you kidding ?
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul says ” In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Notice what that says. In EVERYTHING give thanks, for THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS concerning you.
Everything means exactly what it says. All things, whether good or bad. The good things are easy to be thankful for, but we are to also be thankful for the bad things because they produce the fruits of the Spirit in us.
I certainly do not support the prosperity gospel because it is preached by wolves in sheep’s clothing for the purpose of making money, not saving folks from hell.
But let’s not forget that Job was blessed with riches after enduring his trials, and Solomon also when he prayed for discerning wisdom was also blessed with financial wealth.
You can choose to exclude thanks to God for your good fortune if you wish, but you are in error telling others to do likewise.
Finally! Someone puts eloquently what I has been feeling for a few years. I would say its the the modern non denominational churches/feel good books that have changed that line of thinking to this & it has permeated the fabric of our speech. It reminds me if the time that the churches were teaching to wait for the one special person god has waiting/chosen for you. My response was, if that person does then why is the person able to find another person suited for them & find deep meaningful love? In our quest to be “enlightened” & think we know better, we have ditched the universal basic teachings of scripture. I also would like to point out that Jesus was the most controversial person & was killed for it. It isn’t going to be easy & we were told that but in the modern non denomination churches, I see the brochures implying the opposite.
Don’t be just a follower. Read the Bible. God speaks of blessing multiple times throughout His Word – not just The Beatitudes.
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This was a useful philosophical exegesis. “Blessed” isn’t a feeling like sad, angry, happy etc. so if you answer a “How are you?” question using that word, you are answering one that was not asked, and avoiding an invitation toward equal relationship. Psychologically speaking, it’s a defensive response.
you’ll be blessed
The article has a lot of merit. When it comes to Theologians preaching “prosperity gospel”, it is a hijacking of the word to teach all strong faiths Christians will be rich. It is more accurate to say that the Father will provide all of your needs while you are serving his purpose in His kingdom here on earth. If you only need 10.00 a day to meet your needs, that is what God will provide. If your purpose requires millions, you can bank on that too. “All of our needs according to His wishes in glory”. The most important part of the following verse is the first part, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God……and all these things will be added into you. It’s all about your purpose and your purpose will make a way for you in Him.
So according to your statements, God is not responsible for (or even involved in ) the “blessings” in our lives,ie job success, educational advancements, and family related decisions. I believe God is very intimately involved with His followers, close personal relationship with Him being the key to true Chritianity. Your attitude suggests that there is no need to pray about decisions, ask for prayer for sick loved ones, or praise God for the positive things that happen to us and our families. I can not accept this it does not correlate with the God I know from The Bible.
Great post. It reminds me of Luke 21: 1-4 1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” It’s not how much we give to God, it’s what percentage of ourselves we give to God.
My hubs and I have five kids and not very much money. I definitely feel like God has literally blessed us with material things. I think to have material things and feel like they aren’t blessings from God is bc you have always been BlESSED to have them easy to come by. I know our car is a blessing from him bc it is all paid off and it runs well and carries all our family and I am thankful for it. I’m thankful he is blessing us wih the money to pay our rent with student loans, but understand when we won’t have enough this June that it will be because He is choosing for us to learn other lessons like humility in asking for help from parents and reminding us they are all gifts from Him no matter which avenue they come through. And one day when my hubs is blessed with financial prosperity we will recognize that it is a blessing from him and not bc my husband is more awesome at work and deserves more money.
Every good and perfect gift comes from God–even the gift of pain and sorrow and loneliness ; anything that draws us closer to our Abba Father is a gift–material, spiritual, physical and however, whenever God allows it.
If your husband gets paid well for doing good work it will be because he worked hard and is good at his job. Do not discredit the hard work your husband put in going through school to get the that point, or the hard work he puts in to his job that facilitates him getting paid well. If you are to thank God, thank God for the patience and diligence it gives your husband. Thank God for the fact that your husband was in a situation in which he can get an education and a good job. But, for Pete’s sake do not ignore and denounce the efforts your husband put forth. I feel this is what the author is trying to get across. God made your husband into the type of person who was capable of accomplishing what he has and will accomplish, but it is up to your husband to accomplish it (this is a bi-product of free will).
There can be significant harm in ignoring all of the hard work put in by individuals by granting God all of the glory. This is also the type of mentality that pushes people away from religion; I know from personal experience. If God grants free will, then we are allowed to take credit for what we do with it. You may think it is pride, but as long as you believe and recognize that God gave you the ability to act, then you can still be humble. God does not do everything for us. God puts us into a position to do things for ourselves. Thank him for giving the opportunity and be proud you stood up to the challenge.
One must always give the glory to God. The author reminds us not to compare ourselves to others and to remember God’s tender mercies extend to all. It is to your husband’s credit that he has used his talents and resources to succeed and care for his loved ones. What the author is reminding us is that while some of us have both similar gifts,talents, opportunities and circumstances that if pursued and taken result in gratifying results, others share the same similarities in opposing circumstances,opportunities, talents and gifts. Many will squander their gifts and fail; many will overcome their disadvantages and succeed. Many like your husband will take advantage of what is available and apply themselves. Sometimes people of the less advantaged and even those who piddled away their chances need to know that God loves them. It in no way undermines the hard work of the successful to remember from whence their blessings, talents and opportunities were first bestowed. Even the very breath we breathe and for that sun which rises every day. Indeed it is those who walk into church seemingly having it all, who relish in their good fortune and chat amiably with their likewise self-made friends and leave again to enjoy a fine Sunday dinner that remind those less remarkable that they do not fit in. And this has always turned everyday people against religion. Heavenly Father asks only that we love one another and that we come unto Him. By so doing we will develop Christ like qualities insomuch that discussions such as this will become moot. All that we have comes from God and he blesses us when we use what he gives us for good. But if we start to forget who we are in regards to who He is, confusion and eventually dissention grows. I can offer only that we spend less time judging religion per say and put that effort into developing a relationship with heavenly Father. Only through him will we come to understand why we are here and what it is we should do according to eternal things for the mind cannot discern spiritual things through a finite intellect. We can only know God and ourselves as eternal beings by spiritual means. To know God requires that we put off the natural man and come to him as he already knows us. In that respect we are all exactly the same regardless of how we have applied his gifts to our lives one way or the other. We are all the same to him and He desires each of us to simply return to him.
I agree with you 100%, God gives us choices to make, and it’s up to us to see them through. Never thank God for material things, for he gave you the ability to make a choice that would put you in position to buy them yourself, by working hard and earning it. I do thank God for my husband and family, I do believe he watches over us, but we make the choices, he gives us the the ability, it’s up to us to make it happen. I was always taught by my parents to never pray for money, or material thing, but instead to pray for the strength and the ability to make things happen for myself and my family
Until you live in Africa and see that they work just as hard, and yet, because of lack of opportunity and jobs, still live in a mud shack, and can’t afford to pay the $20 transportation fee to take their dying child to a hospital. I just met a crippled man and his wife, who scoot around their mud hut on dirty floors and make handcrafted paper mache necklaces to eek by enough to send their kids to school. Not to lay concrete, or buy a bed. They are doing the best with what they have been given, and have to most amazing, positive attitudes.
Where we live is a gift that has been freely received, we did nothing to choose where we were born. Therefore, “to whom MUCH is given, MUCH is required”. We have been GIVEN the opportunities to make enough money and we are told why in 2 corinthians 9:
“HE has been generous to us SO THAT we can be generous to others”. Not so that we can keep more for ourselves, or take credit for how hard we work, but so that we can bless others. (See Acts 2 and 4) for other verses regarding this as well as Jeremiah 22:16, Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Isaiah 58 and about 200 more verses about our responsibility to care for the orphaned, poor, and widowed with our abundance.
“the righteous care for justice for the poor, the wicked have no such concern”.
Once you realize as a Christian that God is the owner of all material things, even money, then anything you receive in a material sense is a blessing from God.
So true! God talks often about money and stuff but it has zero to do with money and stuff, and everything to do with devotion. If we have a lot of stuff and can remain devoted to God, He entrusts us as stewards with more stuff.
Where in scripture does Jesus say that when we are faithful he will reward us with more possessions? His parable about the stewards is just that, a parable. It is not literally about giving us more money or things. I believe that a “good and faithful servant” will be richly rewarded by God, but God has far better blessings than money in mind. These include greater faith, deeper love, more compassion, etc. The parable had many more implications (Jesus is brilliant, after all), but, as the article above mentions, almost no classically recognised saints were blessed by financial wealth. Was Mother Teresa, a great example of Godly love and compassion, not a good enough steward to merit God’s financial blessings? What about Paul, or Peter, or the other disciples?
I apologize if I misunderstood your post. I’m not trying to tear you down or reject the notion that material blessings are from God, just that He never promised us them for our faith.
As a missionary in Haiti for the past 17 years I have come to know some people who are very devoted Christians and who happen to be very poor. No matter how devoted they are , or what good stewards they are, they are not “blessed” with more stuff.
I find that the more possessions I acquire and the harder I work, the more distracted I am from seeking God.
Perhaps I was unclear. I was going off the idea that God is God over material things as they are part of His creation. The Bible does talk about material possessions often, but what I was saying is not “devotion leads to material success”, I was saying that people who do have great amounts of material possessions and remain devoted to God have been great stewards of what He has allowed this to have on this earth. It is not in any way belittling the people of Haiti or Mother Teresa, or the apostles. Both the material rich and material poor who find favor with God share two main traits- their dependence and devotion to Him.
God has nothing to do with granting money. As the author said, God is not some wish-granting fairy that is passing along blessings of material things. There are those who are devout followers of God and those who are not. Out of both groups, there are both rich and poor. Frankly, among those whom are rich, there is less devotion to God and among those who are poor there is more. This is the reality. Recall Jesus’s response to the question of paying taxes. Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. Give unto God what is God’s/ The riches that are promised the devout are not those of material possession, but those of spiritual enlightenment and harmony, as well as a closeness with him. A true believer would say that one does not need material possessions and all they require is a closeness to God. This is why the saints were penniless, because those are not the riches promised to the devout. If you expect material gains to come from God, then, frankly, you are missing the point.
lovely sentiment. well stated, really well.
and so the world awaits every christian to begin answering those questions in actions and in the way jesus would …
Great writing and very good point to ponder. I worked with a lady that had lost her son in a drowning accident. Her son was a good swimmer and was with 3 other boys the day he drown. It happened in a river. She said the one thing that bothered her was everyone kept saying “God must have really been watching over those other 3 boys”. It really made me think and made me watch what I said about things like this … insinuating that God is only blessing those that survived or those that have fancy cars or homes.
I don’t think that the Beatitudes were meant to be a comprehensive definition of the term blessed.
Here’s some examples of blessings on David in the OT:
In 1 Samuel 26:25 it says “And Saul said to David, “Blessings on you, my son David. You will do many heroic deeds, and you will surely succeed.” Then David went away, and Saul returned home.”… in 1 Chronicles 17:26 it says, ” For you are God, O Lord. And you have promised these good things to your servant. 27 And now, it has pleased you to bless the house of your servant, so that it will continue forever before you. For when you grant a blessing, O Lord, it is an eternal blessing!”, and is followed by 1 Chronicles 18 wherein David’s army had extraordinary success against rival countries in war.
You could argue that David exhibited all the characteristics of how Jesus described the blessed, but I read that “blessed” is synonymous with victory- in Heaven as well as on Earth.
You said your response now is I’m grateful. Well what are you grateful for? You’re grateful for the common grace blessings that God has bestowed on you! Just because He’s chosen to bless you with material wealth and may not have granted it to others doesn’t make it any less of a blessing! God bestows favor on whom He will and it IS a blessing, but that doesn’t mean everyone who is materially blessed is a Christian and it doesn’t mean every Christian is wealthy! The problem is not being grateful for and recognizing the common grace blessings of bountiful food and shelter and money; the problem is failing to recognize the hard times and trials and poverty as equally God’s grace, and goodness, and dare I say even His blessing in our lives! The Bible tells us to rejoice when we fall into various trial for the trying if our faith works patience — a fruit if the Sprit. How could that not be a blessing?? We as Christians are far too prone to extoll God’s goodness on the Mountain tops and during the fat, but remain silent, or complain in the valleys and during the lean, but the truth is that God is ALWAYS good even while we’re struggling and we should shout it loud at ALL times! Because regardless of our financial state, if we know Him, if I am one of His own, His plans are to prosper and not to harm me, to bring me to an expected end! How AWESOME is that!??! What a blessing! What a mighty God we serve! 🙂
Love it!
I think that the issue here is not with the word choice as you and others have stated… the issue is with the heart of the speaker.
Are we focused on what God can do for me, or thinking about what God has already done for me, and what can I do for His Creation? His People? Language is ambiguous. I can say “I am blessed” with selfishness and greed or “I am blessed” with humility and acknowledgement of a calling to do something with it.
I think the former is what the author of this piece is (rightly) challenging.
The advantage, I think, with changing our word choice is that it allows us to be intentional about when we use “blessed.” Because it has been misused (frankly), using it more intentionally restores clarity and power to the word.
Likewise to how Matthew (and many other Hebrews of his day) seldom used the word “God” … not because this is the wrong word, but because it is a word to use with a certain reverence that was not promoted (in his mind) through regular use.
Rose thank you for sharing this. You expressed so well how I feel about blessings and the wonderful goodness of our God always.
Ross, thanks. I’m copying your response, printing it off, and going to reread it a few times over the next week.
Sorry Rose, not wearing my glasses, and saw it as “Ross”.
Amen!
When I as an older, white woman volunteer greet the black man, at the food shelf, with,” Hi! How are you today,” and I know that he is homeless, and comes to us for free food and he has mostly the cloths on his back, I want to start over again, another way. But in his gracious reply, “I am blessed,” I see that he has given me a simple lesson on blessings.
This is such an important message. Thanks for writing.
You lost me after “I was on the phone with a good friend the other day. After covering important topics, like disparaging each other’s mothers and retelling semi-factual tales from our college days…”. I know you were trying to be amusing, but maybe there are many things you’re saying that need cut out!! I know I’m being held to a higher standard lately.
Are you honestly saying that you were incapable to taking his point to heart simply due to a small piece of literary fluff. Please read this again and skip over that part if it gets in the way of seeing the point, because it is an important one, and missing it over something so trivial is such a shame. Remember, Jesus spoke in parable, which is one of the most obtuse and indirect literary devices. It was not how he said it, but what he was really saying that is important.
Feel Blessedness. Feel Thankfulness. Let others feel what they will and do because of God’s Grace. Love it what it is all about. Give Love. Judgment is not a Gift for yours nor my Giving. Is it?
When you say you’re grateful you’re saying the same thing as blessed. Literally the word means, “supremely happy,” “consecrated,” or “thankful.” Actually, choosing the word “grateful” diminishes what you’re trying to communicate. It’s saying you’re happily thankful, just not as much. The real reason you don’t want to use the word blessed is because of the negative connotation our culture has begun to attach to it. The word somehow sounds sanctimonious and fake when used in normal communication. It has become a filler word for many Christians because its true meaning has been forgotten; and, as a filler word, it’s meaning has become as hollow as the space it replaces. When saying, “I’m blessed,” it doesn’t have to imply something negative as you suggest. We are the authors, we are the shapers of language, we get to define what our words mean. Do not discard a word because others use it incorrectly. Teach them it’s true meaning instead.
His point, if I am interpreting it correctly, is that he chooses not to use the word blessed for the exact reason you claim. However, it is not the horrid action you claim it to be. He uses grateful so that he can reserve the word blessed for when it is real, not just as a ‘filler word.’ You are asking him to perform the action that caused the word blessed to lose its meaning instead of changing his actions to facilitate better, more accurate usage of the word.
I have read your statement and the comments. You are right. Being blessed is an action. Jesus was blessed. He was an act of God. His blessing was to die on the cross for our sins. His blessing was sacrifice. Yes… The beatitudes are to be taken literally and they do define being blessed, how to bless, and the rewards of blessings. And never does it say “blessed are the… for they shall inherit the Cadillac.” Material growth can be a great amenity in life and one can truly that one’s lucky stars (albeit secular luck). But true blessing is the discovery of self sacrifice for others. God knows there are enough in need of his blessings for us to pass around his cup. Remembering that an American President once reminded us that “God’s work on earth must truly be our own”. May you live long to pass along your statement to remind us all of the difference between our earthly rewards for our hard work and our heavenly blessings as God mobilizes his people to do his work.
No one can work themselves into heaven or eternity. It is through faith in Jesus and God’s grace to forgive our sins through Jesus that is the good news and the only path to heaven. Our biggest blessing is our faith in Christ and hope to live forever with God. God knows what we mean. We all should do our best to live a life pleasing to God but we all are not perfect like Jesus and we all sin and should repent for our sins, forgive others sins and have faith that Christ’s perfection and death for us saves us. The more we give to the less fortunate, God knows. He also knows that we are sinners and must have faith to enter His kingdom. Do your best but, more importantly, have faith in Christ.
For those who think that saying “I’m grateful” is no different to saying “I’m blessed”, that isn’t true. 1) Blessed insinuates that you have been honored by God specifically. Grateful is a much more loose term. You can be grateful to God but it doesn’t imply that you have been chosen amongst many. 2) Cultural connotations of a word MATTER. We can not say, “oh silly word not getting our Christian vernacular.” We are called to live in the world. To be salt and light and to relate to those around us. How can we connect with people who don’t understand Christian culture if we continue you to use words that they think to be sanctimonious? Culture matters.
I understand what you are saying. It isn’t that we are not truly blessed, rather it is the flippancy with which many people use the word. I have similar feelings about the way the word miracle is used. Now a days, whenever any thing happens that appears good, people say it is a miracle. When people pray for someone to be healed and the person is healed, it is said to be a miracle. No, it is not a miracle. Only deity and the apostles and a few other persons who lived in the time of Christ and shortly following his death, could ever perform miracles. The time of miracles has ceased, but, God does answer prayers! Not a miracle, but an answered prayer and because of that we can all be blessed!
We all need stuff, like food, clothing, and shelter, but the Book does not say we will have these in excess. It says we will have enough, and to be thankful for the ‘enough’. Too many of our churches are either social clubs or Sunday morning nightclubs, intent on pleasing the people more than serving the poor. Whoever said that “Christianity began in Jerusalem as a movement, spread to Rome and because an organization, spread across Europe and became a tradition, and came to America and became a business.”
I appreciate the sentiment behind the article. I do agree we are better blessed in the love and patience God has with us to use adversity to shape us more like himself, but it may be a step too far to say that is the only blessing we can receive. I think it is an overcorrection in response to the prospertiy gospel. While it is hard for us to understand, God will bless some with more wealth than others. The parable in Matthew 20 of the workers in the vineyard comes to mind. Mark Driscoll touches on this is his series on James. Here’s the link if you want to check it out http://marshill.com/media/james-jesus-s-bold-little-brother/james-1-9-11-16-18
Rich Jesus, Poor Jesus
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This is my revelation/realisation to add to, or even more important than the points made in the article. While thanking God for some timely physical blessings I found myself bawling, because I had also been praying for my unbelieving family. Even now I’m teary. What do I care about a jolly lawn mower as long as my sisters don’t know Jesus? We should thank God for our material ‘blessings’ because every good gift comes from Him, but we should be sure to keep our gratefulness in it’s rightful place. Eternity is more important and the eternal kingdom of God should be at the centre of our thankfulness and our requests.
I’m concerned for your heart, brother. While I have no doubt that some people use the phrase “I am blessed” flippantly, your suggestion that someone’s ability to earn money or God granting someone material wealth as being anything less than a blessing is wrong. It makes your claim of being “grateful” sound hollow at the end of your piece. To whom are you grateful? I think part of your purpose in writing this was to discredit the prosperity gospel. If that was your aim, then I am right there with you. But your assertion that it is wrong to credit God for what we have been given flies in the face of Jesus. You seem to be uncomfortable with material blessings. What about talents, our health, and all the spiritual gifts? Are you equally uncomfortable with those? All of our blessings, of which material wealth is one (no matter how little or how much), come from God. Crediting God for our material possessions in no way reduces Him to a genie in a bottle. It simply acknowledges that whatever we have comes from Him and not from ourselves. What matters is that we recognize and accept God’s grace. None of us are worthy. We are nothing apart from the blood of Jesus. In your attempt to take down the “prosperity gospel”, you are banging the drum of the “works gospel”. Both gospels are false. How we view our blessings is a big window into our hearts. In the second sentence of your blog, you joke about breaking two of the commandments. Another red flag is your mocking of scripture by jokingly adding to it. Not good, brother. Bottom-line is that if you are uncomfortable with your wealth, you need to take that to the feet of Jesus. Maybe He is asking you to give it all away. Maybe He thinks your line of work is unethical or spiritually unhealthy. Maybe He wants you to spend more time with your family or working with your church. I don’t know. That is between you and Him. But your veiled reduction of God, His law, and His Word in your humor while trying to convince your readers that using the term “blessed” reduces God, is double-minded at best. I pray the Holy Spirit would open your mind and heart.
My blog is Cast the Net. It is a faith blog (more recently) focused on current events and how Christians view those events from a biblical perspective. My last post was about the fatal drug overdose of Philip Seymour Hoffman – http://mitake111.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/life-and-death/
I will be publishing a post today or tomorrow on the recently defeated Arizona Religious Freedom Bill.
God bless!
So many responses, and yet I think most of them miss the point. I do say that I’m blessed, whether because of family and friends, material possessions, or even a good church. And yet, there are so many who are friendless, destitute, and without access to any church at all. God blesses us in so many different ways. And while I don’t think it’s wrong to say “I’m blessed” your point is valid and I appreciate it. Too many times posts like this make people simply react, rather than think. I’m glad to see that some “got it”, but far too few will glean the “nugget” that is here… sorry if that sounds sanctimonious, and it probably is, but the lesson here is a subtle one, and frankly, a good majority of people don’t do “subtle”…
Great article! I’ve thought the same thing before- always wanting to give God credit. Appreciate the perspective
In our infinite wisdom, we never seem to get it right… In answer to, “How should we pray” Jesus said don’t pray like the heathen, in vain rote and idle repetition. Nor as the S and P do, thinking they will impress with big words and fancy speeches… Speak to Him like you would your father – like this, “Our Father who art in heaven…” So we memorize His example and repeat it in vain rote and idle repetition !!!
God has blessed me immensely in my life. And I have been extremely lucky to be able to take advantage of His blessings. When I miss an opportunity, I don’t believe God has cursed me in that area…
But I would rather be blessed ANY day than lucky…!!
The 1 drop of poison that ruins the batch —> “Why wouldn’t I want to give God the glory for everything I have? Isn’t that the right thing to do? No.”
I agree that our God is not a religious slot machine. However, everything on this earth is beneath Him. This will become more apparent as you grow and identify Him in all things in your life. As for whether or not the term “blessed” is used appropriately; I think as long as it keeps your point of reference on God it is “ok” and again a part of his perfect will for His people.
I couldn’t disagree more. All we serve is death and condemnation but because of His grace and mercy He sent His Son to die for us so that we could inherit salvation and the promise of heaven. I DO believe that everything He sends us IS a blessing. God help us if we don’t see it as such. “Every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of Lights”.. These ARE blessings!! I find this article to be way off base!! I would be remiss if I didn’t speak up. Every time someone meets a need in our life or when a loved one is saved from a life-threatening illness… these are blessings. He sees our hearts and notes our thankfulness for such provisions. So… indeed… I AM blessed every day and in many ways. Blessed be the name of the Lord!!
Lighten up Cathy. The article’s points are not ‘way off base’. They are valid. Far too many Christians today equate material wealth with blessings from above, when they may or may not even be from God. Blessings are eternal. That list was complete in Matthew 6. Jesus did not mention anything pecuniary. Where does that leave us? With a debate. But to totally dismiss an excellent article is unfair.
I believe there is a issue with the different definitions of blessed.
The Biblical passages quoted are using “bless-ed” as in: held in reverence, sanctified, honored.
Where as when we say The Lord has blessed me with a new job. We are referring to being fortunate.
Two different meanings.
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Agreed with this. Many people say “blessed” the exact same way and with the same mindset of atheists who say “good luck” or “fortune.” Blessed is making it through hell and not getting burned to a cinder along the way.
And as someone who has lived through little cash and seen the ill effects of great material possession, I will say this. Things/cash will never be a ‘blessing.’ They are simply tools. To use, for good or ill, no more important than a screwdriver. They do not make anyone happy or fulfilled by the simple ownership. Its what you get out of them. And if, for you, that book/car/dress brings you happiness or contentment or whatever, fine. But its what you put in that makes it so. Things do not have intrinsic value.
And for me? I am as happy with my new, un-discount shirts as I was with my old clearance shirts. Its a shirt. I am not blessed for having a new shirt. I am blessed for having a new family, or friends, or the ability to freakin walk properly, even with pain. THAT is a blessing, and THAT has intrinsic value. I am blessed because of my family. I am grateful for the stuff I have. There is a difference.
there is the blessing of Abraham tho, that we have become joint heirs of through Jesus. The blessing on Abraham to was shown in all he had in all his wealth in all the kingdoms of the world. and his sons and their sons were blessed as well and because they believed in God to take care of them and provide for them everything, not just needs but wants.
This is why today the jewish people has been hated around the world cause the world has seen the blessing and power of God on their nation and as joint heirs with Jesus we are also partakers of that same blessing,
it also says in the Bible that all good things come from God James 1:17, So when Good things happen to me I am gonna say thank you Lord for Blessing me, It doesn’t mean that God loves me any more than those ppl in 3rd world countries,
what it means is those people living there are under the persecution and greed of evil men and women in their country.
I will not take any glory for any good thing I receive. I will always give that to God.
This writer here sounds like he is trying to be political correct and there is not pc in the Kingdom of God. You take the gifts God has given you and you grow them or you sit on them and tell the master when he comes to collect that you just sat on it and did nothing knowing he was a pc God that wouldn’t want his gifts wasted or everything so you did nothing, NO that isn’t what you do,
you use the gifts God gives you and you grow or you stay the way you are. God has given us every tool , all the power to be blessed abundantly and overflowing so WE the body of Christ can help the poor and provide wherever God has told us to provide.
Alot of times people are in lack cause they dont listen to God and I am one of them. God wants us to not live in lack. He wants us to be like Abraham and lived Blessed to be a blessing to others here on earth,
Lets start looking and acting like the Kingdom of God and not the Kingdom of man.
(Acts 3:25-26) And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with
your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be
blessed.’ {26} When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by
turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
(Acts 20:35) In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must
help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to
give than to receive.'”
(Romans 12:14) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
(Romans 14:22) So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and
God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
(Romans 15:27) They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the
Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with
them their material blessings.
(Romans 15:29) I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the
blessing of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 4:12) We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless;
when we are persecuted, we endure it;
(1 Corinthians 9:23) I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its
blessings.
(Galatians 3:8-9) The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and
announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
{9} So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
(Galatians 3:14) He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might
come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise
of the Spirit.
(Ephesians 1:3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
(Hebrews 6:7) Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop
useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.
(Hebrews 6:13-14) When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one
greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, {14} saying, “I will surely bless you
and give you many descendants.”
(Hebrews 7:1) This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He
met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,
(Hebrews 7:6-7) This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected
a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. {7} And without doubt the
lesser person is blessed by the greater.
(Hebrews 11:20-21) By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. {21}
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he
leaned on the top of his staff.
(Hebrews 12:17) Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he
was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing
with tears.
A good one as well:
(James 1:25) But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and
continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in
what he does.
Sounds like there who is faithful in blessed in that area? That does not mean God is setting one Christian higher then the other. We are all equal but some listen and some dont some thought they listened and heard wrong, im one of the ones that didn’t listen and i didn’t stay faithful and I had a debt and i had to file for bankruptcy and have a lot of messes and i knew things that little still voice telling me dont do this and do that and i became cold to them for a good long while, even now I sometimes know but not sure about things i should do. God wants us blessed, He does not make us poor and does not want us poor in anything. Lack is the result of the curse and God asked the Israelites in Deuteronomy 28 choose you this day, the blessing or the curse, well I choose to try and live in the blessing.
Through that last part count how many time I was used, I myself and I lol is what gets between God and His Blessings for our lives. We do more then satan, God never takes from us, He is a giving Father always and excpects Love and Faith out of us to receive it.
Yes Jesus said who was blessed but he was talking about those who would come to know Him as Lord and savior, See so many want to use the Gospels the wrong way. The Gospels are there to bring people into the Kingdom of God, then Acts to Revelation is to show the newborn How to grow and How to look back at the old testament to grow.
We even have a much more powerful blessing than before because of Jesus, We just need to read the Word and know how to walk in it like Abraham did. All Abraham did was lived in faith and this was before the Blood Covenant of Jesus, so if a man under a old covenant can walk in many blessings of the world to where he blessed those who lived with him and the cities around him, should we then not emanate this same thing as Christians and help others around us with what we been blessed with?
Ok I am done, shared what I had to say on this, I know we all have different ideas and beliefs when it comes to the Word of God. But our core thing that brings us together is the Love of Jesus.
The guy wrote this because he felt guilty for being blessed where he saw others weren’t, that is sad, never feel guilty for the good God has given you. Its how you react to it that shows your character and integrity.
I’ve never asked God to “bless” me because I’m very literal and could never figure out what I would mean by that. I have asked Him to help me, to be with me, to speak to me, to guide me, and many other things. When I have occasionally asked Him to “bless” others, I think the concept in my mind was that they would experience His nearness and His strength for trials. When I think in a general way of “God’s blessings” and thank Him for those, I have in mind the things that most of us take for granted and which even non-believers enjoy in abundance: health, relationships, the beauty of nature…and other good things we enjoy in this life. (Nothing in my comments should be construed as “I know all about this,” because I certainly don’t and I’m looking for what I still need to learn about “blessings.” These are just thoughts coming to my mind.)
There are times when people need money, and nothing else will do. I have seen God meet this need for myself, and heard or read countless testimonies of Him doing this for others–with many tales of how He met the need to the penny. Or sometimes more…never less. Psalm 37:25 comes to mind: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” That is challenging, because it seems the righteous should be able to count on God to meet every physical need. If a Christian starves to death, is that somehow God’s will for him, or did he not choose to exercise faith (from God) to ask for what he needed? Contrary to some here, I believe God still does miracles and there are many contemporary accounts of Him doing so.
It seems to me, as I read the beautitudes, that these people are “blessed” because God sees who they are or what they are doing and He plans to reward them for it. Sometimes the reward is in this life, but I think the overall idea is that the reward comes to us in eternity. So I think our truest blessing is that we know God and look forward to eternity with Him. Having possessions or a “good life” means nothing if we don’t have that–and our blessing is that we know it. I pity those who don’t know God and aren’t grateful for the many “blessings” they enjoy. But overall, doesn’t the Bible speak of good things as blessings and bad things as curses, or perhaps trials? We all get those in various proportions. Job was grateful for his blessings, which included riches and a fine family, but when those were removed, he said, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” So there’s another way to use the word “blessed”!
So much to think about! Thanks for the opportunity to reconsider and delve deeper into what we think and believe and say. I didn’t really need to add my thoughts, and this small box certainly won’t hold them, but with 500 others doing it…why not add my 2 cents’ worth? =)
You know, I agree with you in some respects. The term “blessed” is a dangerous one to wield without consideration and can easily be misused. However, I don’t think that any time someone thanks God for their place in life and calls themselves blessed, they are in some way subscribing to a prosperity gospel or saying that God has singled them out to favor above others. That’s a big presumption that I just don’t see in “blessed”. We have to acknowledge where the good things in our lives come from, along with the bad, and while the real challenge is to give thanks to God when life is less than ideal, I don’t think that acknowledging health and welfare as a blessing invalidates the concept as a whole. Remember, Abraham was blessed by Yahweh with a three-fold promise of land, descendants and blessing. We are most definitely blessed when we’re poor and persecuted, because that produces stronger faith, and it’s the much harder thing to do. But living in a country where we don’t encounter life-threatening persecution on a daily basis, where we have a roof over our heads, where we have clean water to drink, and food on the table is no less of a blessing.
I feel blessed for reading this.
The world is in turmoil, the country is deteriorating into an amoral abyss, hatred between those with opposing opinions is at an all-time high, our public schools are sewers that are turning out illiterate young people that can’t fill out a job application, and this is what Christian leaders and writers are worried about? Whether we say we are blessed because God has allowed us to prosper in this country instead of being born into a third-world country?
No wonder we can’t win the world.
I have no use for the prosperity Gospel, but I seriously doubt that those that believe in it are telling people who are struggling to find enough food to survive another day that it is because they don’t have enough faith. I question the veracity of that statement.
If you don’t think your material goods are blessings from God, try misbehaving and grieving the Holy Spirit for a while and watch how fast they dry up. No, I do not think God is handing out goodies, like, “One for you because you were good, and none for you because you were bad.” But if you grieve the Holy Spirit, He’ll grieve you right back. And if you don’t think your life will wind up in a mess-financial and every other way-guess again.
And,, this is one of the most nit-picky articles I have ever read.
In addition”
There is such a thing as having the favor of God. And there is such a thing as losing it if you don’t walk with Him.
But I agree that the biggest blessing of all is living in accordance with the Beatitudes and walking closely with Him, knowing He is right here with us, even when we are being thrashed and persecuted by the world. But blessing in these verses means “Happy”. It’s a different kind of blessing than having a car that runs, etc.
No way am I going to tell God that what He has given me is not a blessing. But His biggest blessing came the day He pulled me out of the pit.
Soooooo…..Job wasn’t actually blessed with twice as much in the end. Hmmm…
Sounds like a load of crap to me. Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I could give you as many proof texts for material blessing in the “Nasty Now & Now” as you give for the spiritual blessings in the “Sweet By & By”. Blessings come both ways. Also what seems like a curse, often is a blessing. Believe I know about blessings in disguise. You’re over thinking.
This article has taken an extreme in the opposite direction of “health and wealth. I see the point he is making… But it’s not entirely accurate either. Anything that comes to you in your life is most definitely a blessing. It doesn’t mean that it is a better blessing than the next, or that you are more blessed than someone else. Or that material blessings are better than any other sort of blessing… God absolutely blesses with wealth in certain cases, or opportunity, or gifts, or talents… To say otherwise is to take away from his power and ability… It is wrong however to assume that if one has less materially, that he/she is less blessed…
Proverbs 10:22, Ezekiel 34:26 talk about helping a land bear fruit (ultimately prospering him) Deuteronomy 30:9 talks about laying curses on you enemy and prospering the work of your hands. In Job. It clearly says after job prayed for his friends THE LORD, made him prosperous again.
There are many places the bible talks about blessing with material things. We make the mistake when we compare one blessing to another or try to judge our spiritual journey, or Simone else’s by how much he has materially… I may have some money.. But maybe I’m jealous of my brother and wonder why god has not blessed me with a wife like he has.. Or maybe I wonder why god has not blessed me with greater wisdom… Do I then conclude I am not a good enough Christian because I have not received these blessings. No, I conclude that all are blessed differently, and we need to accept the blessings god has given is, spiritually, materially, emotionally, mentally, with wisdom, with grace, forgiveness…. But to say that god does not bless materially, is biblically incorrect.
Dear Scott, I can’t thank you enough for this article. It was a blessing of the most wonderful kind. You see, my husband and I have made the same type of mistake for many years and you are right. God is not a “wish fulfilling Genie” in the sky. My husband is in construction and in the last few years survival has been anything but easy. We have always gotten through on faith, always reminding each other that “God will provide all our NEEDS” and He always does. However, our latest downfall was harder for me to handle than any before and I actually wrote to my Pastor and asked him to pray for me as my faith was definitely faltering. You see, I have been very angry at God lately for this constant, seemingly unending road of trying to make ends meet. Of course, my Christian education takes over immediately and then guilt follows. (Job) Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who are you to question Me? Then depression sets in. Again, thank you. Your article said it all so perfectly and placed everything back into perspective for me. Your prayers would be coveted. You may count on ours. P.S. I read your article to my husband and he loved it as well.
I 110% agree with what you have said. Good fortune is not bestowed on people because a dysfunctional sky father likes them better than anyone else. It Grace that I appreciate for what I have. 2011 was a horrible year for me in every way imaginable. However, grace bestowed me resiliency and the ability to develop plans A,B and C. Do I deserve it more than others? Nope. But I do believe that the good that I have done as a nurse will not make me a millionaire but it will let me live comfortably so that I can comfort others.
I really dislike the prosperity gospel. I have been in mansions that the owners felt that God told them that they should build and furnish them in luxury so that they can support Christ. So they host a Bible Study group once a month to say thanks for blessing them with so many Things. What a farce. Live sparingly and support the 50 families your income would allow you to support instead of living in 10,000 square feet for a family if 5.
I really enjoyed your blog. This is a gift for all of us frustrated open hearted Christian types who are tired of the mean kid Christians not wanting to share anything with others.
See you on the playground.
I understand and respect your point, but I must disagree. I consider myself blessed every day. I am blessed that I have breath in my lungs, that I have my faith, I have time with loved ones, I have my health, and yes, I have food on my table, a roof over my head, a running car, and a stable job. Why is the ability to put food on the table less of a blessing than the air I breathe or the sunshine? You suggest that to call ourselves financially blessed, it alienates those who have very little. Then are we not allowed to count our health as a blessing, just because not everyone who has faith is blessed with health? Is it less of a blessing that we have the freedom of religion to worship, or not to worship, as we see fit, since not everyone has the same? Or does it make us that much more blessed? The word blessing does not imply something that is necessarily given to everyone. Each of us face our own unique challenges and lessons. That bears repeating. We each face challenges and lessons. Who am I to judge what those are, or should be, for another?
You now substitute the word “grateful,” and I have no qualms with that. Perhaps it is closer to the truth. I call all these things “blessings” BECAUSE I am grateful. But that begs the question, grateful to whom? In my case, I am grateful to the infinite source, the owner and giver of all life. I give credit to God for everything that I have, be it financial or intangible, and indeed for life itself. If we give thanks to God for what we have, no matter what it is, then how can it not be a blessing? The very act of gratitude makes it so.
You make an excellent point, that the things we receive, no matter what we call them, come with great responsibility. What will we do with them? What will we do with our money? How will we use our good health? In service to God; as a blessing to all life we contact? What will we do, today, right now, with the precious gift of our life itself? How will we apply our own understanding of God, for that matter? So yes, I consider all these things blessings. And I also acknowledge that every “blessing,” or gift, or good thing that comes my way, comes with responsibility, almost in the form of a challenge to me: how will I use it?
Reblogged this on Letters in Longhand.
Exactly and amen!!! Jesus said to count the cost before deciding to follow Him, because it is very costly. He is not our Santa Claus or Disney Dad. He is however the only one worth following.
I agree wholeheartedly that people are being duped by the prosperity gospel being preached from so many pulpits. It is clear that the Bible does not promise prosperity to those accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and of course you are also correct that none of the apostles enjoyed lives of wealth and comfort. However, as others have pointed out here, several Old Testament saints did in fact enjoy lives of wealth and comfort and the Bible makes it clear that it was a direct result of God’s blessing.
While I cannot explain why I have more than other people (anymore than I can explain why I have less than some other people) I do give God the glory for everything I have. I try to thank him in both good and “bad” times. I can look back and see the growth that has taken place during times of “suffering” and I am amazed at the way He works in my life to provide for my needs and yes, sometimes even my wants.
I don’t believe that anything really happens by chance and therefore I do attribute everything that happens in my life to God. He either blesses me or he allows things to happen but either way it is all because of Him. I think that if we can convince ourselves that if we were REALLY spiritual we wouldn’t thank God for the blessings he gives us and the trials we endure then the devil wins. Ultimately it is the devil that does not want to see God get the glory for anything and he is the one that is being served by my silence if I fail to give God the glory.
Unfortunately there are many who are looking for happiness in material comforts and they are depending on God to give that to them. Or at least they are until they realize that isn’t how it works and then they jump off the bandwagon and blame God for not making them wealthy and healthy.
I think where Christians miss the mark is first of all trying to win souls to Christ with the “Happy life” theory and secondly in only seeing blessings in material things. When someone asks how we are doing how about saying, “I had a difficult week but God showed me…” or “We had a tough year financially but my wife and I have really grown spiritually.” or even “This has been a great year financially. God has really blessed us by allowing us to serve in (name the way)”.
Bottom line, God promises blessings for obedience and wise living. He asks us to “try” him in relation to tithing and giving. If that is a person’s sole reason for doing those things then they are not seeking or serving God out of a repentant heart and theirs is a problem of not being saved. Either way, the last thing I need to do is stop giving God the glory for how He chooses to work in my life.
Wow a lot response because you are “blessed”. Well somebody mentioned that “God” will bless those who support Israel. Guatemala a third world country that seem to be christian since the worst dictator in history and genocidal maniac was president of that nation, brought the “blessing” of forced religion upon the country.. Efrain Rios Montt also brought Galil rifles from Israel and blessed more than160 villages with the bullets from these rifles upon innocent unarmed Guatemalan civilians.
Why would a psychopathic military Waco be this way, he was blessed with an education at the School of the Americas in fort Benning Georgia, courtesy of $300,000.00 worth of training from the US tax payers. Further he became even more “blessed when he met Pat Robertson and his KKK 700 club and Efrain Rios Montt also became a new born again minister of the verbose Church (Part of the 700 club mission with a gun in Latin America !). Why should this matter to you in the context of this blessed conversation. Well the Ray o vac batteries, the coca cola products, Pepsi cola, del monte fruit and many other things that you are ” blessed” with daily are made in Guatemala or other third world countries with similar government religious indoctrination. Why? Because they are cheaper and when somebody wants a raise or justice in their jobs they are fired and during the government of Rios Montt they just simply “disappeared”.
So you see this lifestyle that you are ” blessed” with is the result of many other peoples suffering, unjust working conditions, lack of education, lack of access to healthcare, lack of ” blessings” as you would put it.
I am one of those people that gets sick of somebody saying ” God has blessed me with a new car, new house, better paying job, etc. I think that the invisible being that you believe in is also republican, because it laughs at the needs of the immigrants and the poor. It gives jobs, house, and power of transportation to those who had the rare opportunity of attending a good school or university, it gave you the white skin that allows you to also feel blessed because nobody shoots you down for playing music in front of somebody ‘s house blessed with a semi automatic weapon who believes that music is deadly. The God you mention also forgets that justice is an instrument of peace and not a commodity for sale.
Your God also,blesses the drug dealers and until recently El Chapo was free enjoying “Gods” blessings. Although he still has his 35 billion dollars to pay somebody and kill who ever he feels like blessing for his capture. Last year the same God Blessed Efrain Rios Montt by overturning the depiction from a court that convicted him for genocide in Guatemala. I guess we have the right people being blessed and for the right reasons!
Blessing I think is not what you think. I saw a blessed child last week take her last suffering breath after her poor family could not afford the medicine and dyalisis she needed to live. Her suffering and tears ended, that my friends is a blessing. She will not have to live through the denials of a society that ignores the poor and the reason she is poor. She will not have to face the fear of rape because she not only lives in a third world country , she also lived in a country where justice is for sale and he who has a “Christian” lawyer with a better “blessed” education goes free. She is fortunate because the color of her skin will not be the reason to be ignored or thought of less than human as well. She is blessed because she will not have to live in a world where the mighty being that created all, forgot that she was also created and had rights, right to be happy, right to health care, right to eat, the right to become a woman and a mother, the right to love a human being ,and the right to be loved. Third world country , fourth world country, it does not matter even in the good old USA there many like this child that daily give their last suffering breath with a blessed death.
Christians baffled me because of this, they are blessed but ignore the rest of the world that it is not. I guess that is what they are taught, their God only gives to them and everyone else is ignored. Like I said you have to be that dictator who forced religion upon a country with the force of the bullets and blessed many with the fire from Galil rifles!
So if you see somebody laughing every time you say you are blessed and “praise The Lord” it is me or somebody like me who sits on the sideline watching this pseudo Christianity show of ridicule and patting yourself on the shoulder. I am not unhappy that. you have what you have, I am unhappy that you don’t know how you got it and the day somebody tells you that was a the expense of the death of many innocent people, you probably choose to ignore it. That is Christianity folding your arms and say “what “! What did I do?! Nothing ! That is what you did you blessed people!
Reblogged this on friarmusings and commented:
I am grateful for the parishioner who sent me the link and for these thoughts so nicely expressed.
I agree with your opinion. If you look at it conversely, it is easy to see that if something bad happens to you that you might think “I am bad, or what did I do to deserve this…?” I think that this could be the thought process behind guilt in the grief process. I really struggled with this for years after my son died.
When I say I’m blessed it doesn’t always mean with physical blessings which they are GOD provides my needs.My biggest blessings are knowing GODS WORD AND TRUTH I’m spiritually blessed which is way more important then the stuff I have to sustain life but I won’t say those to are not blessings from GOD they are no they don’t just appear out of no where when I speak of blessings I speak of the food,job,home everything is from GOD and it is to keep the word of GOD MOVING to those who are lost in this world.GOD provides my needs not my wants and that is who I give Glory and Praises and Credit to yes some can over use it and make some think we are given everything we pray for NOT TRUE I thank GOD many times for unanswered prayer He knows what is best for me and what will hurt me not physical hurt but then to sometimes HE has a better plan further down the road for me so it is in HIS WILL I ASK AND IN JESUS NAME.One thing we don’t want to do is say GOD burdens us that will make HIM angry and HE will dumlp the whole load on you.GOD is like a YOLK for us HE LIGHTLENLS THE LOAD it is us that bring the burdens on ourselves.GOD has a greater plan we don’t always understand it but IF we study HIS word chanpter and verse it is revealed and it is awesome.GOD BLESS ALL
Reblogged this on Adventures In Hooterville and commented:
I’ve been unemployed for nearly two years now. I’ve had cancer, and a 13-hour surgery to get rid of it. I can’t pay my rent or my bills without help. But through it all, I keep coming back to these three words. I am blessed.
It’s so nice to know that you are writing about our words. I find we are crammed into patterns of thinking (with out even knowing) in our strange christian”ized” culture that no one is questioning! There is power of life and death in the tongue! To really know what it means to be blessed is such a good thing to set our minds on. Thank you for such a thought provoking post! Here’s to evaluating way more of what we say & lining it up with the Truth! I recently have up my very favorite adjective “crazy” that I over used in every conversation to describe (not well) how wonderful of remarkable something was. Now I use those words instead. Crazy actually has twisted & warped connotations. Mentally deranged is the dictionary definition. It’s not “crazy” at all, it’s remarkable! Thanks again for your post!
This is thoughtfully written and expresses how I have felt since moving to a developing nation, but I was not able to put it into words the way you have done it. I hope it’s ok if I share a link to this on my blog and encourage my friends to check it out.
Reblogged this on In my own words and commented:
I really like the post from Scott Dannemiller. It touches on the theology, or gospel of prosperity, that is so popular with some people today. This was something I was going to address in my piece about “fitting through the eye of the needle,” but I really like what Scott has written here. So, I hope to keep an attitude of gratitude for all I have, going forward.
I totally agree with your insights on “I’m blessed”. I find that I do it as a reminder of the easy life that I was given. Though perhaps should not expect such an easy afterlife because of it. I also would like to eliminate “CHOSEN” from our Christian lexicon, as in “We are God’s chosen people”. Ain’t we special. Not. Every human being is a Child of God, to lose sight of that reality is to commit idolatry. That sin has allowed “us” to persecute, subjugate, enslave and vilify “the pagans” from the time of the ancient Hebrews. Religion is culture, Christianity is the culture that I was born into and is my duty. God speaks to all of God’s people in God’s wisdom and has done so throughout time. Humility, not pride, must be what we seek.
Very well said . . . goes hand-in-hand with what I’m reading in David Platt’s “Radical,” which is to say that we as Christians in America today have too often been drawn into the “American Church Dream” version of The American Dream. We spend tens of thousands on cars, hundreds of thousands on houses, then feel like we’re doing God a favor by “giving back” some paltry percentage of what He has entrusted us with. I would strongly recommend this book, but be forewarned – it could quite possibly reveal biblical truths that show how far apart our comfort zone truly is from full obedience to God’s will & Jesus’ instructions!
Excellent point! Thanks!
Good article with powerful points. We can only play the one string we have self will. The choices we make mold & determine this life & eternity . I think this book would really equip you further on the heart & mind of God: Transformed by His Glory by Charles Ryrie
I haven’t read all the comments, but they clearly show that we all interpret scripture in our own way. Many people interpret a blessing as something material but I don’t remember seeing anywhere in the Bible that says God blesses us with all the material things we want. If that is the case, then why do non-believers gain wealth and power? Is God giving them a blessing?
I believe that everything we have belongs to God and He blesses each of us in different ways. If we have prayed for something and believe that God had provided for us, then we should certainly be thankful. I attribute a lot of successes in my life to God and I also feel blessed that He has allowed me to go through difficulties so I can become stronger, more understanding and more compassionate. However, I don’t think it is a good Christian example to proclaim openly to others about receiving continual blessings from God. This is boasting about ourselves as it can make other people feel bad or angry. Instead we should thank God in private and pray for those in need. We can be a blessing to others through our kindness, generosity and love.
God has a different plan for everyone in this world and He does bless us according to His will. Many people have difficulty believing in God because people are suffering and question why God doesn’t bless them, but He is blessing them. Many people don’t understand what a blessing is. Being blessed is having God’s love and mercy. I feel blessed every day knowing that He is always there beside me. God allows everyone to have free will because He loves us and this includes the bad people who cause the suffering. God is not responsible for the evil in the world. If we believe in Him, someday we will be in Heaven and there will be no more pain or suffering. In this, I praise God and thank Him for HIs blessing!
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Very perceptive article, you have a lot of us talking. I think my beef with the typical “I am blessed” response that Americans throw around glibly is what it does not say. I have no doubt that everything that God sends into our lives is a blessing (from life itself down to the inconveniences that pop up). I’m not saying that everything that happens is “God’s will,” however. My understanding of God allows for some measure of real present and future possibilities, a bit more open than a completely determiniistic, closed system. But, be that as it may, in that limited sense, saying “I am blessed” (in whatever situation) may be OK. Two cheers for I am blessed. Can you hear the sound of one hand clapping there? BUT, I’m pretty sure in popular parlance that is not often the use. lol. God told Abraham, “I will bless you and you will be a blessing and through you and your family all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Or, “will pronounce their blessings of one another in your name”). Now, a mature sense of blessing is just this … I am blessed (in whatever instance) for a purpose, to bless others to spread blessing—a sense of being beloved and favored by God—to all families of the earth. I think what I hear the author of the article critiquing is a sense of entitlement, that when we have some lucky turn and label it as a blessing and our thought process stops there, we short circuit the growth and self-emptying that this language can bring. Any group of people that have this feeling and reinforce this feeling of being favored, blessed or especially chosen by God that does not immediately think of this favor, luck or blessing is converting that blessing into dumb luck. The result is a sense of luck, perhaps, or even worse, a sense of superiority (in the unspoken assumption that SOMETHING attracted this blessing to me). That is the breakdown of and inadequacy of Deuteronomic and wisdom theology critiqued in Job. In other words, when you have seen the god of that theology (without the counterpoint of Jesus you have not really “seen God,” (as John 1:18 implies). God said Job was the only one who spoke the truth about God, and Job said some pretty harsh things! Essentially, the Deuteronomic view is a monotheistic version of the same sort of blessing talk that pagans can have, the ones that feel blessed by their god for fulfilling their god’s requirements. You can see it fully explained in its clearest form in the opening chapters of Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews. But when we divert it toward others in that generous movement of the soul, that gesture of self-emptying, then we are becoming “children of our Father in heaven,” imitating the sort of movement that the gospel has taught us to see in God. I can applaud with two hands that sort of blessing talk, because it has been properly baptized into Christ.
Dear Scott,
Thanks for penning your sincere thoughts about how Christians should stop saying “I’m blessed” to refer to material blessings.
However, I do not think that you are considering the total Bible by simply quoting the beatitudes. What about Deuteronomy 28? This text explicitly states that those who obey God will receive the following “blessings,” and many of them are materialistic! Read verses four and five:
[4] Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
[5] Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Just because you realize that in your own heart you were insincere when you said that phrase, you have no business accusing other people of the same insincerity.
And your saying that this business of saying “I’m blessed” has got to stop, shows what an empty “religious” spirit you have regarding your understanding of this area of God’s awesomeness.
No, God does not want us to FOCUS on material things. He says, seek first the kingdom of God… And then all these things (referring to prior statements of what we should eat or drink or wear… Materials) shall be added unto the. He wants to bless us so that we can bless others and bring them into the same blessings that we have… First and foremost a relationship with God in salvation through Jesus Christ.
No offense to you personally, but I think that your article gives people a really skewed view of the God of the universe who loves them and wants to provide for them, and who many sincerely acknowledge as the provider of all things both material and nonmaterial.
Perhaps God showed you this revelation so that you could understand your own heart with regards to God’s blessings. And maybe some people would benefit from considering this as you have. However your sweeping generalizations about God and about the hearts of all believers are not well conceived. I want to encourage you to keep writing, however please consider when you may be bringing others into bondage when you project your own motives/personal conviction of sin onto others.
Respectfully submitted,
Laura
Laura, with all due respect I think you would do well to remember Scott has spent time in a third world country which offers a perspective on Christianity that I suspect you may not have. I think a point of clarity is expressing gratitude for “a” blessing as he suggested instead of the focus on “me” being blessed. Hope you hear my heart and wish you had heard Scott’s.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post. I can’t say I’m totally on board with all of it, but I understand your heart. The core issue, I think, is one of motivation: What are possessions for, personal comfort or meeting the needs of others? Paul seemed to think the latter:
You will be enriched (literally, “made wealthy or rich”) in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:11 ESV)
I don’t think Christians should stop saying “blessed,” because blessing come in many forms, including prosperity:
Genesis 24:35 The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.
Deuteronomy 2:7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
Deuteronomy 28:1-5, 8 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners takeor sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
Psalm 112:1-3 Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses,and their righteousness endures forever.
Psalm 128:1-2 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor;blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Malachi 3:10-12 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
What about the New Testament? For example, II Corinthians 9:11 was just quoted above. I was also reminded of what at least one other person referred to, Matthew 6:25-33, which clearly indicates material things will be supplied by God if we seek His kingdom:
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Also, Philippians 4:15-19: “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
If there’s any caution, I think it’s not to mistake wants for needs. But the Lord often does give us what we want, in addition to what we need. He won’t reward greed, of course, but He often gives us far more than we ask or expect.
Oh, and don’t forget the principle described in Luke 6:30,38: “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again….Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Beautifully said. And, I agree whole heartedly. Thank you for saying what many of us have felt for sometime…
Well said, and I fully agree. Too often “blessed” comes across as either acknowledgement of a “gospel of prosperity” or insincere. As an added benifit. “grateful ” allows us to acknowledge the particulars of the I AM to whom we are grateful.
Great read.
Good post. I graduated from a Christian college and spent over a year after that unemployed. I did get some interviews, but not much in the line of jobs. During that time, I watched my friends post on facebook about how blessed they were with their new jobs, some even in the field we studied in. After a while, I started to wonder if God hated me because I wasn’t getting blessed as well.
Hadn’t really considered this concept…food for thought!
Thank you so much for writing this!! I have struggled for the last few years listening to all the “I am blessed” and “God is good” comments (while sitting on the beach or in some other wonderful context) that friends toss out without a thought. Meanwhile I was enduring the hardest trial I had faced. If God is good because I am sipping a latte on the beach, does that mean that He is less good if I am in the hospital awaiting a test result? I was feeling anything but blessed and it really troubled me that people equated their blessings with “materialism.” My mother died due to medical malpractice, I was losing my home and there were no vacations anywhere in sight! So, was I “cursed?” When bad things happen to me, does God love me less?
Your article really helped me identify why I am so disturbed by this implication. Thank you!
Great post. Being the light, and being the salt, are Jesus’ hints at what real blessing is about. Its about being given something that you were meant to share with the world.
The issue I have with this topic, referred to as discussion by some, is how people (Christians) view God!
God is the eternal, the Creator the One and only who is not bound by time or space and we will not ever understand this until we meet Him – if we are blessed to see Him because of our beliefs, actions and commandments. Meanwhile, it’s utterly arrogant that we even “discuss” the Creator’s intentions and what He giveth or taketh away!
We are blessed by God Almighty if we follow His commandments. Otherwise, we are no different than animals who roam the earth aimlessly. Why is there a Heaven and Hell? There’s Reward and Punishment and even then God’s unparalleled Mercy gives hope to the Devil himself that God may forgive him. But we are told that God will not have mercy on one (the devil) who challenged God to prostrate to His creation, Adam.
We are blessed that God helped us recognize and believe in Him. We are blessed that God will have mercy on us and admit us in His Heavenly Kingdom. And while we strive to do the right thing on earth, we are blessed with whatever results we achieve or rewards we receive. We are blessed when we don’t see the results we wanted or are rewarded with what we think is “rightfully” ours. This is God’s wisdom. He knows what’s best for us and what might be a curse on us: more money, nicer homes, etc.
We are blessed when we are patient and put our total trust in Him. For everything from Him is BEST for us even when we don’t realize it – now.
Wow, in this sea of comments this one will be totally lost. I too have been called out by not thinking through what I put in print. We rely on body language to help convey the words, we’ll, wordpress falls a bit short there. I have learned “words have meaning” and I try to be careful.
About the post: we’ll said, blessings are spiritual and should not be confused with material things.
A Servant
Dang those auto correcting programs “well” not “we’ll”
This was really convicting!
Outstanding Thoughts!
I am blessed because God saved my son i am blessed because all of my children are healthy i am blessed ultimately because i know Jesus
I understand what you are teaching to those that may misuse the word “blessing”, however I feel it shouldn’t be directed towards all “Christians.” My family and I are devoted Christians, and by all means are not perfect in any way, no one is. We love Jesus, and will always pray in good or bad moments of our lives. Do we think receiving a new car, home, raise, or perhaps a good grade in school is a “blessing”? Not exactly, we know that in order to receive anything matieral that can provide for our families is derived from hard work and education, That grade Iv’e been striving for is from my hours of devoted study time and preparing myself for the final exam. However, we do Thank God on a daily for many blessings.
I wasn’t offended, just a little perturbed that you indicated all Chrsitians think like this, which is why so many non-believers feel Chrisitians are self-righteous, arrogant, or so “Gody” so to say.
Yes, Jesus indicated we are blessed for the non-matieral events in our life, and I truly believe that if are true “Christians” who devote our time to the word of God, walk in abundance of love, Humble thyself on a daily, will know that using the word, “blessing” is more than just the work of man, it is the works of God.
Great post. Thank you for the wisdom and insight here.
I get what you are saying and you are entitled to your own view points because that what makes America great but I am not going to stop thanking god for the many blessings he performs in my life on a daily basis because with out I am nothing. God provides the tools and if I decide to use them than it is on me.
Reblogged this on Berna's Vibe~The Way I See IT and commented:
There isn’t much more that can be added to this; so I won’t..Excellent perspective. Superbly expressed..Outstanding write! >>Re-blogged by Berna from the Accidental Missionary blog
Thanks for this. I hear this so often from people who have visited here in Honduras – as well as others who’ve gone on “mission” trips. That is sad.
What’s even sadder, though, is when the poor think the rich are rich because the rich are blessed by God.
We did an interesting experiment in our parish with base community leaders, all poor, asking them to respond on a sheet of prayer to the statement, The rich have money because they work.”
We had a wide range of responses – from “The rich have money because they are avaricious or because they take it from the poor,” to remarks that “The rich have money because they are blessed by God.”
These people work hard – struggling to survive.
I weep (and I think God may be weeping too.)
Nothing wrong with having blessings come in materially but they do come in other other forms. It does not mean everyone will be millionaires or have perfect health, or have an easy life. A good word I use instead of blessing is “Thankful,” for any ray of sunshine ,healthy day, an unexpected opportunity and even experiencing a turn of fate or change in the tide. Great post.
I am grateful to read your blog. Thank you for sharing.
I completely agree. When my sons were making a lot of money before the crash I was concerned thinking that it could really be a curse. We are instructed by Jesus Christ to be on our guard against all forms of covetousness:
And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
(Luke 12:13-15)
What does of life consist of? It consists of knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Our life consists of knowing and doing the will of God as revealed in the Bible. Our life consists of sharing the gospel with the lost so they too can have eternal life. Our sins are forgiven, we have a home in Heaven, we know the Living God Who created all things as our Father, we are blessed to be among the beloved who are redeemed by the blood of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that we are reconciled with God. As Jesus said: Because I live you will live also. So our life consists of knowing, obeying and serving God. If we are “blessed” with material possessions then God instructs us through His apostle Paul:
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
(1 Timothy 6:17-19)
And the cure for covetousness is also found in this portion of Scripture:
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
(1 Timothy 6:6-10)
So let us be content with what we have knowing the covetousness is a work of the flesh and will only result in sorrow and cursing. God bless you:)
http://holdingforthhisword.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/the-grid/
Love your point of view
Thanks! Loved this!
Reblogged this on tjphull.
Thank you… so much.. for this realization.. 🙂
There’s nothing wrong with saying you’re blessed, just know that it’s a self condemning statement if you are not using your blessings (material or spiritual) to bless others. Genesis tells us that Abraham was blessed, and by this it meant he had great material possession, influence, and favor. Scripture goes on to say that Abraham was blessed so that he would be a blessing to the nations. Jesus tells is that we’re to put our blessings to use in the parable of the talents. It is sinful, idolatry, to profess love for God when all we truly love is what He can give. Or when we selfishly exhaust our blessings solely for our own pleasure. Again, there’s nothing wrong about an American Christian saying they are blessed, but we should strive to go further than mere recognition of our favorable state of being, and ask why, and how can I use this to further the kingdom of God in Christ?
Really thought-provoking and the truth of it is undeniable when held up to the scriptures! Thank you.
I think you make a good point. Sometimes I worry American Christians focus too much on the monetary side of things. Money is just a tool. God never tells us to seek money, he says “To seek first his kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.”
Can you be rich and be a Christian? Yes, I think so. But how much more awesome would it be to see God do miracles in your life? That’s what I want to see. I know that no matter where I go, no matter what country I’m in, I can trust in God to provide be it through providing a job to pay my bills, multiplying food, or yes, giving me a car. Why? Because he is my father and loves me.
In the end, I think the most important thing is to review why we are following God. Is it because we want to get something? Or because we want to draw near to him? And the last question, what are you going to do with what he has given you? Are you going to use it for yourself, or to further his kingdom?
I agree with this. The greatest blessing is having a relationship with Jesus Christ and enjoying “the walk” with our Lord in this life and looking forward to “the eternal destination” that awaits us.
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To me, this doctrinal fallacy is just an extension of the old secular adage that “more labor brings greater reward”. If that’s ever been true, it’s certainly not now (and certainly not here where I live). Furthermore, God never asks us to “work on” our faith to be blessed. That’s His job. I feel sorry for the people in Guatemala whose local missionary pastors are making them feel guilty about not having enough faith. Certainly doesn’t give the Christian religion a good name 😦
You hit the nail square on the head with this post. Too many people believe that a faith in any God entitles them to wealth and prosperity. To be rich from faith is to be spiritually abundant, not materialistically rewarded.
I should say I’m not a devout, but I believe that this is exactly what the message is abaout. Love. The main purpose in Jesus and all the religious doctrin. Great text.
Well said. If you have the mindset that your comfortable life is evidence of God’s blessing, then you have to account for all of the poor unfortunate Christians around the world who were born in less fortunate circumstances. Is God just testing them? No, if the New Testament makes anything clear it is that wealth can be a detriment to the Christian life, not the other way ’round.
And I feel your pain on the ‘lucky’ comment – pity for foolish Christian for using the word, for he will be corrected and chastised by his brethren.
This post mirrors my thoughts on so many levels. I often say this as a Christian and so many disagree. Thanks for the candor. Beautifully refreshing
Reblogged this on adrianv38 and commented:
I’m in the money can I get a woop woop!!!
FLIPPING LOVE THIS!
Amazon post.
Though I’m not Christian but a Hindu I can relate to what you have posted. Here in India too we feel blessed only when we buy a house or get a job.
And I believe the entire misinterpretation of the holy books like Bible or Mahabharata for me may be the entire issue.
I mean there is literally a very famous line we have which means do your work, don’t worry about the results.
Still we only pray for the results. There are hardly people who could explain what being blessed is all about.
And I’m sure it is NOT about a job or a home.
Something more spiritual.
Very insightful, thanks for posting this so well. I do believe blessings come in many forms — and not always materialistic, tangible blessings, because which we Western and rich Christians usually equal blessings with wealth. Someone said many of the OT patriarchs were wealthy (all those cattle ‘n stuff), and this is true. God even said there will be material blessings; but all blessings aren’t material. I think we Westerners get caught up in the ‘stuff’ because that’s what we’re surrounded with everywhere we turn around.
I do have to say the ‘luck’ comment did throw me the first time I read you (un)revised version. I *knew* what you meant, though. I’m glad I found your blog.
Reblogged this on Life Smiles Tears And We ! and commented:
So true do correct! Impressed! 🙂
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“It’s one of those things we can’t see because it’s so culturally engrained that it has become normal.”
That’s incredibly interesting, because in the tradition of Christianity in which I grew up and still observe, this usage of “blessed” isn’t culturally ingrained, common, or normal at all. I might actually *never* have heard it from anyone in my own family or faith communities.
I agree with this post and it’s always bugged me deeply when I have heard the phrase used this way, for the same reasons…but this is actually something not pervasive to the culture of Christianity at all…
Reblogged this on Where are you my God?.
Lol this is so true. Great post.
Great post and I totally agree with you. It irritated me to the core when some Christains overuse the word “blessed”, it made me wonder if God is taking a speacial interest in them, and cursed me to a living hell. Having been forced out of church 10 years ago because my cell leader and missioner felt that God must be punishing me for some secret sins I had haboured when my ex decided to break up with me just because my family was not born again. Meaning in my 3 years there, I was considered not bearing fruit when none of my family members convert to Christainity. What they didn’t know was my dad threathened to throw me out of the house if anyone goes to church with me. Therefore my ex concluded that I was not truely born again and that God does not will us to be together. What devastated me was everyone shunned me including my own family. I was subsequently asked to leave the church because I caused a lot of awkwardness among the churchgoers just by being present and they could not ask my ex to leave because he held too important a post to leave. The thing is I thought they were my family since my real family rejected me for my faith and I have nowhere to go. The pain of rejection was so great that I moved half a world away to Istanbul and has been living here for the past 8 years. Since then, I was cheated of all my savings by my husband, ran away from domestic violence, lost my father to cancer, got estranged from my own family, got cheated out of my rightful money from ex boss, in the process of a divorce, became a single mother and gave up my dreams of furthering my studies in psychology because I need to provide for my son and am struggling to make ends meet while putting him in school. If what you said is true, then I am truely blessed because despite having lost completely everything, I became a stronger person. Maybe that is a different kind of blessing that was not preached so often in church.
Reblogged this on royandmandyp7707's Blog and commented:
I found this on a brothers blog; oh, how we all should live by the words of Christ
Reblogged this on Earth According to Emily and commented:
Incredible
This was a wonderful post. The Church of Materialism that is dominant in America offers nothing of any eternal value and you have written of that beautifully. I am going to be sharing this post to my Facebook friends because I believe that it expresses something which every Christian should read and consider. Very good work, my man!
Reblogged this on Musings and other Mental Wanderings and commented:
This is a beautifully written and well thought out post. I wish I had written it:-)
Well.. in the Bible we can see that God does reward people with materialistic things in abundance for their strong faith in him. So, that could be a reason why we tend to say ‘It’s a blessing’ when we achieve materialistic things in life.
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Amen!!!
I always thought that blessing were to casual. God would not be interested in blessing a car, a house or anything plastic. God would be involved with the bigger picture. Amen to that brother.
This reminds me of the song “Lord, Wont You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz,” by Janis Joplin. She sings about superficiality infiltrating our faith. Well done. A very thought provoking article.
Hey, for lent I am doing something pretty cool. I am fasting and praying for world hunger. I wanted to get as many people as I could to pray for world hunger during lent. I was hoping if you could spread the word. Thanks. Have a blessed day.
I thought this was a great article, and no apology or correction should have been required. I look at the blessings in my life: family, friends, and the support of the faithful who pray and help guide me through this world. None of those things consist of material wealth. In matters of finance, I recently wrote of about preparing for opportunity (http://randolphfine.com/preparation-for-oppotunity/) and how I really appreciate what James wrote:
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” – James 4:13-15
Talking to my brother yesterday and discussing my new job, a promotion with more pay, it just came out ” God has blessed me”. When I said it, it didn’t seem right. I felt something deep inside and it gave me no peace. After reading your message, I agree that I should have said ” I am grateful”. I also should have said that God has given me more responsibly to share with others. “… To him who is granted with much, much is required”.
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I’ve been blogging and I found this wonderful expression of my own thoughts. Thanks Scottt!!!
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Interesting perspective on blessings. I can’t say I agree completely but I do see your point. I look at blessings a bit differently. I feel blessed to have everything I have; good healthy, loving friends, and monitory items: for a few reasons. First, I grew up poor in a very dysfunction volatile environment. I gave my life to God at 7 in the midst of the chaos. From that point I’ve done the best I could to listen to God and follow his plan for my life. I have loved on others and practice giving more then I take. It would have been easier to go down the path of my parents but I wanted more because God wanted more for me. In telling others about him and loving on people in his name I feel that he has blessed me with the life I have now. I am married, well off and have a beautiful baby girl. Second, I see all the things as blessings from God because he is the one who as allowed me to have them. Without God I wouldn’t be where I am or have anything I do. He gave me this life and he has walked beside me though it! And last, seeing everything as a blessing from God helps me not take it all for granted. It reminds me that all things are from him.
I think we do toss around the work blessed without truly knowing how or why we’ve been blessed. In the he scripture you quoted; it seems, blessings are for those who are pure of heart, merciful, righteous, etc. which to me says those who share the good news and do their best to live like Christ. I have detoured from these things and found very little blessings on my live but when I follow them I am blessed in more ways then I can say.
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Nice 😀 😀 😀
This is exactly what I have been teaching my RE kids for years. I am so glad I am not the only person who feels material items are not blessings. Like you said, some of us had the “luck” or whatever to be born in a developed country. I have great parents that would help me out if I needed it. Not everyone has that and I refuse to believe God said- you get a good family, but u other people, to bad for you, you have no one, no resources, nothing to help u better your life. I refuse to believe God “chooses” bad circumstances for some and not others. It is the luck of the draw, God does have a plan but also gave us free will. It’s so easy for those who never knew hunger or homelessness to have a holier than thou attitude, and feel their “riches” are deserved because they go to church on Sunday, then don’t think about God again until next Sunday. Plain and simple, if u read the Bible and have half a brain you can see that we are not to hoard our riches, but to work tirelessly to help our fellow man. Not to sound cliche but seriously, what WOULD Jesus do? By a speedboat or feed the hungry?
I am grateful that I discovered your blog on freshly pressed ! 🙂
What an interesting take on such an overused word in our community… I like what you had to say about it!
Before I say anything else, I will be clear about something: I do not believe in religion, but I do believe in God. That said, I also think that God is not some creature that grants our wishes and prayers based on our faith and belief in Him. He has already given us the tools we need to reach our own dreams by giving us free-will choice and a brain that is capable of finding creative ways to resolve our problems.
When I read Matthew 5: 1-12, which are written above, my first thought was this: people are blessed when they treat others the way that they want to be treated. When you are kind, loving and treat others with respect, you will have those same benefits.
In the United States, it is easy to assume that our prosperity is a blessing from God. Even those who are among the poorest in our country can make a reasonable living. Minimum wage means that we certainly make more than $10 per day. And forget about that, when I went to India, I saw millions who were living on $10 PER MONTH. (I would have italicized, but I’m not sure how to do that. Sorry for the yelling.)
It is my belief that material prosperity comes from the way that we use our brain, personal talents and free-will. For many, the factors that hold them back do not relate to their faith. The things that hold us back are our own insecurities, our lack of education or our misunderstanding of how to capitalize on our own talents.
God gave us a brain. How we use our brain and the skills we develop are entirely up to us.
Reblogged this on crazysunshine.me and commented:
Thank you! You summed it up when you wrote, “My blessing is this.”
My prayer is that I might be a bright light in a dark place, not because of my goodness but because of His light in me.
I like your honesty about not knowing why you were born where you are and I agree. I think that because we live in an imperfect world and we have free will, we can’t claim that everything we have is a result of God blessing us. I don’t think God would choose me to have a better life than someone else.
What I do know is that when we experience pain, we grow spiritually and He is there for us, our soft place to fall. I am grateful that He loves me. Your post touched me.
You make an excellent point & now I mist rethink what “I’m blessed” means to me!
This is a humbling piece of writing. Thank you for presenting the Beatitudes in today’s terms.
Couldn’t this same logic be applied to ALL instances of good fortune, not just material ones? For example, when one is fighting a deadly disease and they pull through and then people thank god for that – what about the people who DIDN’T pull through? Did they not use the right words in their prayers? Does god love them less? It’s an incredible arrogant thing to suggest that the supreme creator of the universe is helping you out. It’s also kind of silly, since one can clearly see that good and bad things happen to everyone at the same rate, regardless of whether they even believe in god.
Wow. Thank you so so much for this post! You pulled together some thoughts and issues that are so important for us to get a handle on and clarified this issue of blessing so beautifully. Gratitude should be the foundation of our relationship with God. When we think we can earn blessing, or take credit for the gifts of God (we worked hard etc) we end up feeling entitled. What amazing things could happen if we really understood blessing and began sharing our gifts.
Reblogged this on Soham's Blog.
I agree. I will say that it is for personal reasons. My father in law flat out told me that God was blessing him and punishing me. And that until I was following the word of God, God would not bless me. He said that he was following the word of God and that God had blessed him for it.
What he did not realize was that I have been on a life long journey thinking and learning about God. That I read the Bible and many other books. That I prayed. That I thought of God. Wanted to know him. Cried and repented for my sins. Listened to talk radio about God 4 hours a day driving to work and back.
So what I am getting at is that people do not know God from their own son in laws. This man knew no more about God than he knew about me. And I suspect that he spent just as much time getting to know me or God. If you know God you know people. You know their lives. Their thoughts. You understand them too.
People are too worried about knowing the self. Sadly because of my contact with my father in law. I am bankrupt homeless and I do not get to see or live with my wife and children. God did not do this to me. One mans ignorance of God did. Unless I am still being punished by God. Which makes his actions irrelevant then…
I am blessed that I can see both sides of a situation. And that I know that no matter what happens in this life good or bad. I will have the chance to be forgiven for what I may have done not knowing what I have done. Father forgive them for they know not what they do. I something I think about daily now. I remember that sometimes my blessings may not be blessings for others. Life must have a balance. Some win and some lose.
I don’t think it’s so much that we need to stop saying (and remembering, btw) that we are blessed so much that we need to say and remember we are blessed ALL THE TIME. Good days and bad! My family and I are in full-time Christian service at a Christian camp and are supported like missionaries. During our busy season (summer) we make under a $1 an hour (for all three of us, not each) at the support we are at right now. During the fall/winter we make $3 something. But we are blessed at both times because even though we are well under poverty level at both times, all our needs are met and we have plenty to eat, a roof over our heads, a car to drive, air to breath, water to drink and bathe with. We have clothes on our backs that don’t have holes in them and they fit us.
My pastor has a saying that I really like and it is this “Anything above hell is a bonus”. And that is so true!! If we got was was really coming to us, we would be in a sad state of affairs. And if people looked at life in that way instead of ‘I need this and I want that’, there lives would be drastically different!!!
Okay, my rant is done… blessings to ya!
😉
I usually shy away from anything religious or political, but I enjoyed the issues you raised in your post. Thanks!
I enjoyed your post and find the points you make interesting…but I must agree with Angel…….
Reblogged this on Noraa916’s Weblog and commented:
This is a beautiful message and very true. But I want to add my few experiences of being blessed and I would say it out loud. I recall last month, I said I felt blessed being able to make music with my very own teacher on stage, meaning, we shared our God given talent with the audience. And every single day I would feel blessed for having the best family, mother and sisters God could ever give me. And of course, I am grateful for everything I have in life.
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Reblogged this on immerseindifferences and commented:
This is exactly what I think churches need to here, especially the one I used to attend.
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It is an interesting read. Scott, I think that you make a good point about Christians mistakenly thinking that the circumstances in their lives are controlled by God. However, you miss the mark on WHY. You point to Matthew 5. But that passage continues through chapter 6 which states 6:25-34 “take no thought, saying What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Witherwithal shall we be clothed? for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” Matt 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find….” Jesus goes on to explain that, don’t worry God will provide right, he knows what we need and will not let his people suffer. This is a teaching you can find in the bible, and even in Matthew! This sounds very much like God is in control of circumstances in our lives. I would offer another reason why us Christians should not refer to our physical well being or possessions has if God manipulated things to happen. Have you thought about, who Jesus was talking to in Matthew? Obviously, Israel. A people who God promised earthly blessings and protection and prosper (Deut 28 chapter of blessings and cursings) You are correct when you say that God never promised US earthly comfort, but your reference in the bible is incorrect. Because God did promise Israel earthly comfort of physical things in their life, because of the promised he made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob Gen 12/19 the beginning of Israel. For us today who are not part of Israel and their earthly kingdom but rather part of the Body of Christ and heavenly places. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3). So for us today to say I feel blessed because of (insert physical possession/circumstance) would be wrong because our focus is not on things of the earth (because the earth was promised to Israel) but our focus is on heavenly things because that is where we are going. Colossians 3:1-3) We should be thankful in all things for this is the will of God (1 Thess 4:18) and because all things consist by him (Col 3:17) (and simply because he is the Creator). But I agree with you that God is not a ‘prayer ATM’, he has no obligation with us the Body of Christ to give us any physical blessing, where he did with Israel in times past. There are a lot of good resources at studygrace.com if you care to learn more about the difference of God’s dealings with Israel and God’s dealings with us today, part of the Body of Christ. 🙂
As I reach closer to my 60th birthday… I realize the blessing in my life have not always been the things I have gotten or the things I have used to make myself comfortable or feel good. I realize the blessings are when God gave me strength through my trials and where I could be used to help others through terrible times. My husband and I have started to downsize and realize that are real life dream is to serve God. So as Jennifer said, “Use me”
I did not want to continue reading after the second sentence of how you disparage your mothers. Shame on you or ‘Oh My Gosh!’ Oh yeah, Christians don’t like when you say that either… they believe it to be taking God’s name in vain (PRC anyway). No ‘Oh my goodness’ either… blaspheme. Poor Shirley Temple, she must have gone to hell. Maybe you should have realized how blessed you are to even have a mother instead of disparaging her. She had to wipe your butt and did not receive any M&M’s for her effort. As a Christian wife and Mother I hate that if we are used by our children and then disparaged it is like telling God who He chose for you to have as a parent was wrong. Parents don’t have to say to God “use me”,… the children He blesses them with will be how He uses you… Hope your wife does not hear that ‘disparaging’ talk when her children are older. Even in suffering we should give God the Glory for it has been appointed for us to suffer for His sake. Besides, how can you put a monetary value on being blessed. In your ten dollar statement it shows that you DO believe to be blessed is by ‘material” or ‘dollar’ or ‘wealth’.
How can you be refined without the struggles in life and not call it a blessing. Yes. You are to give God the Glory for everything.
“Good Providences!” to you.
Reblogged this on ordinaryjerry.
Great post…feeling very blessed!
Great post, but what if you are pure at heart, or a peacemaker? Are you blessed then? I understand that we should no say we are blessed because of our material possessions, but has God not blessed us with life full of opportunities?
Very interesting food for thought. My thoughts, however ,do lead me to think that a blessing of -enough-, in material goods, can be a blessing from God. Especially when we keep the law of tithing. When I consider the boon of earnings I’m able to gain from my job, larger commissions than I was expecting in addition to my paycheck, I do consider that specifically a blessing from God, because that money will be something I can stick in savings and then use once I give birth to my child and quit my job to stay hoome with him/her. This is something I deeply desire but can’t do if we don’t build up a tidy savings – and of course, God knows this. So I do consider that a blessing directly from Him. I’m not certain it IS entirely fair to compare American disciples with those in a third-world country because it tends to simply be more expensive to live in a first-world country than a third-world. And yes, there are those in complete poverty in America, too – but God has told us not to fear and to only rely on him. And maybe He will get His child out of that terrible situation, and likely wealth will be involved. And maybe He won’t, but His child will have enough. But then, I do think I see your point, and I do think I also agree to a degree. But perhaps it’s less of a blessing as a reward, and more of a blessing of some tools, with the expectation we will use them properly. Either way, I know I’ll be re-evaluating the way I see my material possessions. Thanks again for your post!
Reblogged this on theambermichele.
The bible clearly shows us in Job that material things are not excluded as a blessing from God.
Job 42 : 12 – 13
12. The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13. And he also had seven sons and three daughters.
Thank you for writing this. We need this message. I grew up in a family that took me to church every Sunday, but I learned the most important things, especially about faith, trusting in God’s Holy Will and what Christ calls us to, by being poor. I’m still poor in the eyes of the world and my children and I have had to struggle, but because of faith, I don’t see it as being unfortunate. As a Christian, no matter what my circumstances may be, I’m truly always grateful. My faith is my treasure. Although I’m not a writer, my heart longs to tell others about the beautiful things that await those who trust in God. I wrote some things about some of my experiences, if you would like to read them.
https://bvm4us.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/remembering-silence-2/
https://bvm4us.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/what-welfare-really-is/
I really enjoyed your post. Now I know that I am not alone. Besides God blesses us to bless others not because we are good. Thank you.
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I think this has been talked to death.
Nice to share this cute post@ I like money money money pic@
#wordpress!
Thank you so much for this truthful encouraging word. I totally get where you are coming from. Years ago I was involved in a prison ministry and remember thinking at first “there but by the grace of God go I” because of the circumstances of their life it was not surprising they ended up in prison. However as I listened to each lady I met with, they recognized God’s grace through the consequence/discipline of prison. They said it literally saved their life. I came to understand my pride in thinking somehow I had God’s grace (which yes I do) but (heres the pride) that they didnt implied by that cliche’. I have since been forced into single parenting and have been struggling in every aspect of life (financially, emotionally, spiritually). I have been unintentionally shamed by Christians who see my situation through same eyes I used to see. Thanks for evoking the memory of my story and lesson I learned. Grace and forgiveness for myself and those around me has been ushered in. Now THAT IS A BLESSING! Another blessing is your link was sent to me by my daughter who I now know sees my heart. I am very grateful!!
As a Christian (and perhaps because I’m a writer) I often find myself thinking about the words that my peers and pastors use. Many will attribute the slightest most trivial things to 1) direct conversation/command with/from God; 2) direct contact with God; or 3) direct blessings from God.
As a younger man, I wondered whether I was just not as good as my peers, or not as holy, or more sinful, but eventually I realized that wasn’t the case at all. They simply kept seeing a mirage in the desert and confusing it with the real oasis that was and is God.
Some do this with their own opinions as well, and mistake a strong feeling on a subject for direct communication from the Man Upstairs.
Why? I have no idea. Perhaps it’s because they don’t actually give their words real, objective thought. But I still cringe every time someone says they’re “blessed” to have a job interview, or “the Lord suggested” buying that car, or because they’re emotion they “can feel the spirit.”
God knows every hair on your head, yes, but that doesn’t mean he combs and styles it for you.
Reblogged this on Dos.Rinkaku and commented:
“being Blessed because of the material things you attain is completely wrong”
Reblogged this on Cradle of thoughts and commented:
Read my thoughts exactly. Being blessed has little to do with the material reward. Thank you
The harder I work at helping others the more blessed I become in my life and work. I think that not all blessings come from God.
good post…keep doing it…as I am new blogger I posted couple of blogs and not able to get that much popularity please visit my blog http://mindtechnorms.wordpress.com …please help me by reading by any blog (as I read yours) and try to find is there any writing issues or I’m expecting too early…your valuable comments will really boost my writing skills…
I’m a little confused by this post. You’re seeming to imply that people who call their cars/houses/jobs blessings are only doing so because they have learnt to expect it from God because of what they do?
You criticise the people who count their materials as blessings for assuming God is a ‘wish granting fairy’ when I would count them as the ones who appreciate the things they have in their lives.
On that note, your definition of blessings as only spiritual understandings seem to actually take away from God and all his goodness.
It seems that you assume that people who DO count material possessions as blessings, also have no knowledge of a relationship with God and who he is, which bottom line sounds as if you are making a massive judgement call against where this heart is with God and what their spiritual understanding is.
And I’m REALLY confused about your writing about your experiences in a 3rd world country- you seem to highlight how little they have, yet not allow what God has given those of us in 1st world countries as being supplied by him, and therefore a blessing.
I don’t mean to sound rude or aggressive in this at all, but I am legitimately confused by what you’ve written.
This so insightful and wise. It is such a great thing to see others who recognize using the phrase “I am blessed” promoting worldly goods is very self righteous. Thankfulness would be a more appropriate feeling to share.
I’m a little late to weigh in, but my buddy just shared this on Facebook. I disagree with this on many levels. Just to name a few: EVERY good and perfect gift comes from God, who owns all things. Every good thing I have or receive comes from God, and therefore I acknowledge that He has blessed me – with food, clothing, a home, and everything else. God’s blessings are not “positive reinforcement” for good behavior; they are evidence that we serve a God who LOVES to bless His children with good things, both spiritual and earthly, and that IS Scriptural. Second, whether a believer receives one dollar or a hundred, both are blessings, and contrary to what is suggested here, God HAS promised to supply every earthly need to anyone who seeks first His kingdom and righteousness… in other words, anyone whose heart desires the things of God above all else. It doesn’t matter what impoverished nation one lives in, God keeps His promises. Third, the poor are blessed for reasons that Jesus gave, and “woe to you who are rich.” But Jesus is speaking of those who are wealthy without being rich toward God. Rich folks who give generously to help the less fortunate are equally as blessed, for they are storing up treasures in heaven. 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 establishes a principle that those who give generously to the real work of the kingdom will be replenished abundantly so that they may continue to be generous. This is God’s word, not just some “prosperity” teaching. I will always call myself “blessed” when I receive any good thing, and I will not compare myself to someone who has less or speculate why I have more. My job is to be faithful – and thankful – with every BLESSING I receive. They all come from God.
Thank you Don, I was just going to leave that very verse about every good gift coming from God, but now I don’t need to!! 🙂 Have a blessed day!! 😉
I like to tell you help me in my life
If you like you can help me in business
subtleties in language make all the difference. I’ve stopped saying “i’m jealous” and started saying “i’m happy for you” because they are interchangeable but mean completely different things.
lovely post.
Blessed you are because you were chosen to receive a gift and then given an opportunity to use that gift to spread the messenger that is inside you. This an awesome power to bestow on a human because humans can corrupt the message based on their feelings and other influences. So I would say your blessing ( Gods trust) is a big one. And we are all born blessed with the most important of all blessings… Gods love and forgiveness.
Completely agree with this. People I know who use the word ‘blessed’ so much it loses meaning and they start to come across as people with pride and arrogance. They put things like ‘Went for a walk, feeling blessed’…’Husband cooked for me, feeling blessed’.
It makes Christians look bad IMHO. People need to be humble and respectful about their blessings, not Hash-tagging them!
I completely disagree with the article. After all, Scripture also says, “Every good and perfect gift comes from above.” We are taught in Scripture that if we as humans don’t give God His praise, even the rocks will cry out to His glory! I always say, and I mean, “I am blessed and highly favored.” At no time do I think that has anything to do with who I am, but who He is. I don’t have all the material things that some do, but I have so much more than many others. For whatever reason, I am exactly where God has placed me in His Sovereignty. (I do think that to whom much is given, much is required – you are to be a conduit of blessing to others – like those in Guatemala) May I never lose sight that everything comes from Him. We are also told that if God was willing to sacrifice His only Son, how would He also not freely give us all things? I do not believe that is license for a name-it-and-claim-it gospel of wealth and prosperity. I am blessed and highly favored not because of WHAT I have but because of WHOSE I am. I am the daughter of the Most High God of Israel and a joint heir with Christ – how could I ever stop saying that I am blessed.
Jesus said, “To whom much has been given, much will be expected. To whom much has been entrusted, much more will be asked.” God has entrusted us with much, Our material wealth are blessings. We must not say that God is present “here” but he is not present “here.” However, we must not forget that we have free will. Our material wealth are blessings but are not ours. We have been entrusted with this wealth. Therefore, we must use our wealth to glorify God. Because we have been entrusted with much, God asks more from us. We must share our wealth with others. We have a responsibility to be the hands and feet of God in this world. We have been commissioned by God to give to the poor, visit prisoners, and help widows and orphans (among other things). If we revel in our wealth and do not do God’s work, we are like the man who hid the talent in the ground. If we do not use our material wealth to glorify God, we have sinned.
I think that looking at one scripture in relation to ‘blessing’ provides a pretty narrow view. Psalm 67:5-7 Let the peoples praise thee, oh God; let all the peoples praise thee. The earth has yielded its increase: God, even our God will bless us; and the ends of the earth shall rear Him.
It is referencing provision (the earth’s increase) and blessing together.
An interpretation of the Hebrew word for ‘blessing’ God “blesses” us by providing for our needs and we in turn “bless” God by giving him of ourselves as his servants. See full explanation here from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_bless.html
God even established a feast celebrating His provision – First Fruits, the feast for acknowledging the fertility of the land He gave the Israelites. They were to bring the early crops of their spring planting and “wave the sheaf before the Lord.”
I don’t know off the top of my head if the word ‘blessed’ is used in association with this feast, but certainly thankfulness for God’s provision.
Another scripture Malachi 3:10 bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and let there be food in my house. And test me about this says The Lord, as to wether I will not open to you the floodgates of heaven, and pour out to you a blessing, all the way to abundance.
I checked several versions and they all use the word ‘blessing’. This is talking about provision!
Now if you are ‘blessed’ by God’s provision that does carry a responsibility to bless others who may be in lack, Christians and non-Christians, So they can also be thankful for blessing. Maybe that is why there are Christians in lack, because those Christians who are blessed in their provision are not blessing others in need with a share of that provision.
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I have to say, too…I disagree. If the word of God is truth and “every good and perfect gift comes from above”, then who are we to take that glory away from Him? I absolutely believe that the goal of God’s blessings are not just to give us superficial things and that we are absolutely given blessings so that we can in turn use them to benefit His kingdom, but if I’m in need of a car and God supplies one, is it better to not give Him the glory? Not giving God the glory because we are concerned about offending someone who wasn’t given the same thing is wrong. In the same manner, should we also not say we are blessed and should we fear giving testimony to God’s glory when he heals us from a sickness or delivers us from a bondage someone else may not yet be free from? God tells us He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory. When He is true to His word, should we not give testimony to the world that He is a faithful God who keeps His word? I do absolutely agree that it’s not a license to see yourself as better than others or make others feel inferior because they have not received the same blessings, but it seems extreme to not be able to say God has supplied – whether it be for a time in need or a time when abundance flows. In Genesis 24:1 it says “Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.” For Abraham that meant with blessings of health, prosperity, and the birth of a son he never expected to have, in the midst of a life full of many trials and tribulations. If God’s word actually says that blessings come in the form of abundant provision, who are we to take that glory away from Him? And if the response is to be “I’m grateful”, then what are you grateful for? God’s blessings? 🙂 it actually hurts me to think that we have to be afraid to give glory to God because we’re afraid to offend someone. God has done some incredible things in my life in the last year and a half and it breaks my heart that He has reached down and does reach down to give us good gifts and that we must fear giving Him the credit because WE struggle with comparing ourselves to one another. That’s on us and does not change who God is or how/what He provides for His children. I am absolutely blessed that I was born in this country and I’m blessed that I have been allowed to have children. (which we were told would be nearly impossible for us). And the house that we are in the process of buying is so much more than we ever dreamed we’d be able to have right now. And not a bit of it has anything to do with me being a great Christian or a great person or being outstanding at…well, anything. It is all because of who He is and has nothing to do with who I am or what I’ve done. And that is why I must say I’m blessed. If it was because of me I could say “I’ve worked hard and I’ve earned all of the good things in my life”, but these blessings are unmerited and unearned gifts from God, and if my options are to say I’ve been lucky or I am blessed by the hand of God, I choose to give Him the glory! Anyway, that’s at least my take on it.:)
Sorry, one more thing…that word “burdened” hurts me. We are actually told “come to Me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” Does an abundant blessing give us a responsibility? Absolutely? An obligation to be a good steward? Most definitely! But burdened? Never!
Well said! I completely agree!
I believe that, though you touched on part of thr root of the issues, the bigger problem is that people are feeling less capable and more lazy.
They want a fairy god mother to grant their wishes. They also do not want to worry about anything yhat they feel would be less deserving than the next guy.
People hear about these guys who win the lottery and are mad. They feel like they need the money more than the next guy and because of preachers and Christians saying how they need to have faith, that they feel derserving for God to prove Himself.
I have first hand knowledge and experience with this, and learned quickly that people are vain.
To expect life to be happiness is vain. To expect the best when you do not give your best is vain. To expect another person’s life when you have not done the most with uour own is vain.
With that being said, God does not help those who help themselves!! That is also false.
God does not help those who are dying by speeding up their death, or by negating the death itself.
If you have faith that you will survive penniless, but do not act like you are penniless, then you are a hypocrite.
Life is there for everyone to enjoy, but you must also live.
A person who never rides a bike will never know the joy of it, but they will still see the pain that a bike accident brings. By this, they could believe that God did not like the guy, God did not help the guy, God was the reason, or that God does not exist. None of those are true.
Chance is taught a lot in the Bible but never preached about. Would be nice if a book was wrote about it.
First, I hate scrolling down more than 700 comments to get to the comment box. There’s got to be a better way. Obviously your post is blessed with reactions ( 🙂 )
Be. Thanks for a real post. I think the term “opiate of the masses” came from a realization that people of various religions (let’s not parse the term here, please) tend to homogenize into same speech, etc., habits.
Your remarks challenge the health and wealth “doctrines” that are preached by many. On my cable TV, there is one particular religious program that — when I hopscotch over is — is always in a fund drive where the exhorter exhorts the exhorted by repeating “Claim God’s blessing by your giving.”
Years ago my father, who was a VP of marketing and product development for a then-successful textile company in North Carolina, told me the company supplied Oral Roberts with nonwoven fabric that the evangelist used for prayer cloths that he sent to people who donated to his ministry. Seed Faith was his mantle.
The fabric was second-hand material, meaning it was not good enough for its intended purpose. Yes, I know this opens up a host of spiritual metaphor. But take it as it was intended. Just a bit ironic, I always thought.
Lest my response garners outrage, I accepted Christ back in 1972. He accepted me — the more important part of the agreement — before anything was. At least, that’s my understanding.
Since you’ve posted this controversial blog — what do you have to say about the United States as a Christian nation? I’m curious how far your discernment covers.
I have to respectfully disagree.
While it is true that God is not a wish-granting fairy in the sky, it is also true that God reserves the prerogative to ‘bless those that bless you’, and ‘curse those that curse you’ [Gen 12:3] (and commands us to bless those that curse us).
Fact is, that even if God is not the wish-granting fairy in the sky, God is also not ambivalent to our earthly needs. If He feeds the birds, and clothes the flowers, and suggests he is much more concerned with our needs than, indeed, it is as extreme to say he is not concerned with worldly ease, as it is to say he only concerns Himself with it.
To say that believing in Him does not come with blessing of the worldly sort is to constrain God. Jacob certainly was blessed in this way [Genesis 30:31–43]. Lest anyone accuse me rationalizing some type of prosperity gospel let’s be clear – the point is whether God blesses us or not – all is vanity
Poverty and wealth, wisdom and foolishness, all skill in work, envy of one’s neighbour and the pursuit of pleasure – all striving after the wind, vanity [Ecc 4]. So the point is not to make worldly blessing the focus of our living. Jesus was put to death. So must we be prepared to be.
However God’s blessing us, and His promise to bless those that bless us – should not be thought of as a thing of shame, for nothing God does is shameful.
Couldn’t have made a better reply. This was exactly what I was thinking while reading this post. I completely agree, well said.
Amen. I don’t even pray for material provision more than just in passing. Given Matthew 6+7, I just assume Christ will take care of that stuff, and He always does. The more we labor for the true riches—the Heavenly treasure—the wealthier this world will be.
I don’t have time to read through all 700-some comments, so forgive me if I repeat what has already been said! I think you are confusing the word “blessed” with the word “rewarded.” If Christians went around saying “look at all the great rewards God has given me!” you would have a point. Rewards are earned, so the implication is that we must have done something to deserve them. But blessings are totally different. Blessings are unearned, unmerited favor. To say “I am blessed” is not a way of saying anything at all about who I am (or what I deserve). But it IS a way I proclaim who God is — He who gives me so much that I can never deserve. When I say “I am blessed” I am saying how grateful I am for everything God has given me, and I don’t just mean the material things. I don’t even PRIMARILY mean the material things. Those things are inconsequential compared to what He has done for me! I will never stop saying that I am blessed, because regardless of what material things I have (or do not have) and even regardless of what difficulties I am facing, I have Jesus and the hope of heaven and I AM BLESSED! I know that nothing touches my life unless God has allowed it to do so and that includes pain and suffering that He allows so I can grow. And I am blessed! Blessed by the good things that flow from His Hand (including material things), blessed by the pain that He uses to grow me and mold me, BLESSED. What a beautiful word! In my mind, saying “I am blessed” is much the same thing as saying “Praise God, look what He has done for me!” It’s a way of expressing my awe at His undeserved love.
In regards to your questions about why God has given so much more to some people than others (all of us in the western world are rich!), let’s look at it another way. We tend to think of prosperity as a good thing, but Jesus said that it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven (but with God all things are possible!). So, maybe by being chosen to receive the prosperity that we have, we have in some ways been given the harder path. In many ways our lives are not happy ones. We are way too busy, and the technology and conveniences we enjoy certainly have a downside. Perhaps when we see things from God’s perspective someday, we will realize that our prosperity was not the good thing we thought it. There is also the fact that the Bible makes clear that God expects more from those to whom He gives more (Luke 12:48). That places us under an awesome responsibility that makes me pause sometimes to think “With all I’ve been given, will God be disappointed with what I have done with it?” We may have been given more stuff, but that means more responsibility, too, and that’s kinda scary actually! So again, material things may be among my blessings, but they are the least of them. I am blessed because He created me and I am fearfully and wonderfully made and He loves me and He died for me and He has given me His Word and etc, etc, etc,
The Bible is filled from cover to cover with proclamations of “Look what God has done for me!” And “How greatly He has blessed me!” It’s in most every book multiple times, but to give you just a couple of examples, read Mary’s words in Luke 1. Or David’s words throughout the Psalms. You can turn most anywhere in the Psalms and read about God’s blessings and how marvelous are His blessings. And we also read multiple times in the Bible “Bless the Lord, O my soul” So, both are equally important: our recognition of His blessing and our response of love and service and gratitude. To be silent about His blessing to me is to show a lack of love and gratitude. I just can’t imagine NOT telling people that I am blessed. “Let me tell you what He has done for me,” (Psalm 66:16) “I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done” (Psalm 118:17) “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” (Jesus’s command in Luke 8:39)
Finally, have you ever considered that suffering can be a blessing? I think I mentioned that above. It has been in my life, and I thank God for that blessing as well, and when I say “I am so blessed” I may very well be talking about suffering. It’s all in how you look at it. I think our definition of blessing is far too narrow. It is so much more than just love and happiness and material things. Just because we count certain things among the greatest of blessings, doesn’t mean God does. For example, it is a blessing to suffer or die for Christ. We probably don’t have that on the top of the list of blessings we want, but God probably considers it one of the greatest ones He can bestow! It is a blessing to be molded by Him into a better image of Himself, even if the process involves pain (and it always does). It is a blessing to have been given life by Him and to have every moment of time He gives, even those we don’t enjoy. And no one is worthy of ANY blessing. Blessing is by definition unmerited, unearned, undeserved. Anything that is earned is “reward” not a “blessing.” So, I will never stop saying the I am blessed, because regardless of the circumstances I am in at the time, I AM BLESSED!
There is a major problem with this idea: scripture does not support it.
This is the promise God made to Isaac:
2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Genesis 26:2-5
New King James Version (NKJV)
So you live a comfortable life. Have you ever considered that it has nothing to do with you and what you’ve done, but maybe it is the fulfillment of a promise God made to an ancestor whom you never met and whose name you do not know? Was God’s delivery of the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey in which life would be much easier and more comfortable, somehow not a blessing to the Israelites who actually got to live there?
Consider Job. A rich and devout man is attacked by Satan with God’s permission and loses everything, including his children and his health. No matter what happens, he is faithful to God. Here is what the scripture has to say about how his ordeal ended:
12 Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.
Job 42:12
New King James Version (NKJV)
God blessed Job by restoring and prospering Job’s earthly possessions.
All good things: love, joy, satisfaction, a comfortable life, prosperity, a good marriage, children, friends, and so much more come from God and God alone. He is the author of all goodness.
To refuse to say that you feel blessed because of a comfortable life or a good year of business or wealth or anything else is to deny God the glory He deserves for blessing you with these things.
Now if these things aren’t blessing you, you may consider that God is telling you that you should be doing something else, something that doesn’t include a comfortable life. But that’s between you and God, and it doesn’t make your comfortable life any less of a blessing for the time that you get to live it.
Thanks for insight and scripture quotes to back it up.
Reblogged this on She's called Devs and commented:
I just can’t help but re-post this blog.
I agree that we tend to equate “blessing” with “more money.” As the author points out, that is indeed a mistake. However I must wholeheartedly disagree with this statement:
“First, when I say that my material fortune is the result of God’s blessing, it reduces The Almighty to some sort of sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers.”
Has his own hand gained his material fortune? If that were the case then the author would be a modern-day Nebuchadnezzar, ready to be struck with insanity by a God Who will not share His glory with another.
Has the devil blessed him with material wealth? Possibly, for the enemy of our souls will do anything he can to turn us from the Father, but I seriously doubt that is the case. Why would the devil encourage spreading truth by rewarding it monetarily?
Neither wealth nor poverty can be measured by our bank account, and I think that’s what the author is trying to say with this article. But to not give God glory for his possessions is prideful and selfish. If he doesn’t call it a blessing, which he indeed does, then he must regard it as a curse. And that, in my opinion, is very close to heresy.
Just my 2 cents-worth.
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Mandy I posted this on FB and also wanted to share with you! Love mama
I’m glad to read others that disagree with the idea of removing ‘blessed’ from Christian talk. When I’m networking at a public place the trigger word has always been ‘blessed.’ When someone says that I know I can inquire a little deeper about their spirituality. I love using the word and wish you would instruct with examples of what Christians SHOULD say instead of what they SHOULD NOT say.
I wrote about them on my blog; http://troyjonathanritchie.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/the-one-thing-christians-should-do-speak-life/
This is a very hard concept to wrap my mind around. Being one of many Americans who has been let go from a job and almost a career. I feel I am extremely blessed after many months of prayer that God blessed me with another opportunity that allows me to provide for my family. I am grateful, but maybe blessings could be better defined as events we feel are truly from God and not from anything man has done.
It is easy to fall into cliches. I am appreciative of your candour. I would only replace “use me” (which our Lord has done through your post) with “amen;” but again, not the cliche version. Rather “so be it. This is most certainly true.”
I appreciated your message of not looking at material things as blessings BUT I do feel blessed on many levels by God. His provision on the cross is a HUGE blessing & I will shout it to the mountain tops! My friend wrote an excellent response to your post, straight from her heart that loves Jesus so much. http://live4change.net/2014/03/03/yes-we-are-blessed/
Scott, this is so true and very much needed where herds are following those false prosperity gospel charlatans.
Preach it my brother and I can say that you would not be very popular preaching this as most of the phony Christians want God to write checks instead of asking them to carry their cross.
God bless you abundantly, I will keep you in my prayers.
Sherebyah
I believe you are right. I have struggled with the “I’m blessed.” Statement for awhile. One person is cured of cancer and another is not. I know that God loves both and that He had a plan, but when the one cured says they are blessed then what is the other? Grateful is so much better.
We are blessed and are being blessed, as we continue to be thankful, so thankful that God is! Our youngest of five sons, an adopted deaf Russian boy we came to us at 10 and was killed just before 25, will continue to be used by God to bless our life – as we mourn through our remaining days. Pages could fill the ways we have been blessed through this tragic homicide, and it has NOTHING to do with our misguided concept of material blessings!
I totally agree with the message in this article. Saying “I am blessed’ all the time makes Christians look foolish, discriminatory, and somewhat greedy, by the rest of the rational world. If Christians spent more of their focus and resources on “evangelizing” like Jesus did (100% by the way) and less time working to be blessed and then telling everyone how blessed they are, Christianity of today would be a lot more credible than it is. Kudos to Scott to say it like it is. All so called Christians should pay heed to his advice.
Amen! (Pun, Intended).
Jesus did not spend 100% of his time evangelizing. Even after he started his full-time ministry at the age of 30, he didn’t spend all of his time evangelizing.
100% correct, and I liked the picture that went with it, perfect fit, FOR THE PERFECT MESSAGE.
Enjoyed this from start to finish. You just very calculatedly said most everything I have been thinking for the last few years while I flip through my Facebook Newsfeed. Wonderfully written post.
Reblogged this on Awesome Safari.
Okay this awesome, eye-opening stuff, i must say thanks, this is so true.
Reblogged this on properlyridiculous.
Hi!
Material things are also blessings from God 🙂 Of course it’s okay to say “My business is good. I am blessed. Thank you, Lord!”
However, we must understand that this blessing becomes a CURSE if we refuse to share it with our neighbors (the sick, the hungry, the naked, the prisoner, the orphan, the poor, etc.). When we refuse to help the needy, we become PAGANS (Pope Francis).
If your business is good, you are blessed. You are able to provide jobs for other people. You can use the money for charities. You can lend money to a friend in need. There are unlimited ways to share your material blessing.
BUT saying that you are “materially blessed” becomes shameful if you know in your heart that you are keeping the blessings all to yourself.
The guilty feeling is NOT coming from saying “I am blessed.”
The guilty feeling is coming from the fact that you are NOT sharing this material blessing 😦
Maybe this is why Jesus said that it is easier for a rich man to get through a needle’s eye than to enter heaven.
If God is blessing you with material things, please don’t ever think that you are reducing Him into a fairy or something like that. It only means that He is using you to help others. More is given to you, more is expected from you.
We are blessed. And we are grateful. We don’t have to choose between the two. Let’s not be confused, please 🙂
May God bless us all.
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Reblogged this on ilivelaughlovepray and commented:
What it really means to call yourself blessed
I never heard the word “blessed” be used in such common, everyday language as I have since I came to the south. It has become a weightless word in our culture. This blog definitely sets it straight.
Reblogged this on SpiritLed and commented:
Some serious food for thought……
Somehow I always seem to arrive late to the party. I have a few comments, but they’re a bit too lengthy for a “leave a reply.” Find them here http://christophermichaelrich.com/
I really enjoyed how you analyzed the thoughts offered here. While I understand the point Dannemiller is getting at, changing the way I give glory to God for His blessings on me doesn’t accomplish what he wants to accomplish. I think that if people feel blessed by God for anything, they should say so. I think the reaction that Dannemiller and others who support his position are having comes from the idea that claiming a blessing is a “humblebrag” – a way to tout the wonderful things going on in your life and essentially blame them on God, even though you really believe that all the wonderfulness is due to your own intelligence, shrewd business acumen or hard work and sacrifice. But people have been highjacking Christian words, phrases and symbols for as long as there have been Christians. Rather than fuss at Christians for using the language of the Bible, why not fuss at those who say “feeling blessed” as a way to point out in a nonconfrontational manner that life is good, rather than to actually give glory to God?
Thank you for taking the time to check out my thoughts. I like what you’ve added to the discussion.
I agree that saying you are ‘blessed’ makes you look (how can I put it with out insulting anyone) “A little bit something something…” {insert chosen religious person reference}. As a non-Christian, the way Christians talk in their religious jargon is often totally off putting. You have every right to talk how you want, I’m just saying tone it down abit around us normals so we don’t think your totally crazy.
As a Christian, I don’t want to be off-putting to anyone, but can we examine what you wrote? First of all, Christians are not normal, so why should we speak “normally”? Talking about being blessed is normal for us. “Blessed” is not religious jargon. It is a real, commonly used English word with a commonly understood definition. Why should we have to stop using real English words? What your advocating is political correctness, do you realize that? You want to censor how others express themselves because you consider it to be off-putting in a way that you can’t even really define. I don’t like the tit-for-tat nature of this next statement, but I can’t think of a better way to say it. Those who exist in the primarily secular society don’t give a second’s thought to how their word choice affects Christians. The name of our Lord is routinely used as a swear word. The holy, precious name of the Almighty God – can you imagine how that cuts a Christian to the core? Ugly, base, foul language is used everywhere, TV, radio, in public, etc., regardless of the mixed nature of the people present. We Christians, even if we don’t have cable or get TV stations or listen to pop music still find ourselves having to explain to our very young children what “pussy” means, and you can imagine that I’m not talking about a cat. Yet, here we are being told by one of us to stop using the very word our God uses to describe what He has done and being told by a normal person that we are the ones who need to tone it down. Really?
Firstly, thank you for responding to my post. Let me just respond to yours and then I’ll try to explain myself a little better. Just try and understand where I am coming from without getting angry or taking offence, I really don’t mean to offend.
“As a Christian, I don’t want to be off-putting to anyone, but can we examine what you wrote?” Feel free, after all I was just responding to the original poster and the 700+ comments from Christians who have something to say on the matter. Just trying to bring a little balance to the situation.
” First of all, Christians are not normal, so why should we speak “normally”? ”
You are completely right Christians are not ‘normal'( sorry you said it first, just joking ;)) what is normal after all? I just find that when Christians spend their time in the company of Christians and never associate with other people, they form a Christian clique. It can be very easy to become very insular and become completely cut off from ‘normal’ people. Pretty soon they can no longer relate to anyone who isn’t a Christian. You might think that is fine but I sure the bible has something to say on the matter.
“Talking about being blessed is normal for us.” but may be it shouldn’t as the original poster says, Jesus’ sermon on the mount focuses on many very different things than the ‘Blessed because of my wealth attitude that is flying around’
““Blessed” is not religious jargon. It is a real, commonly used English word with a commonly understood definition. ” Actually it is religious, it means ‘made holy’ or consecrated. Holy or consecrated actually means to set apart or dedicate to god. I think it is not what most Christians mean when they say they are blessed, but hay there we go. I think just saying ‘I’m happy’ would be better.
“Why should we have to stop using real English words? ” You don’t, just think about how, where and why? Or just make up your own (it was good enough for Paul).
“What your advocating is political correctness, do you realize that?” No actually it is not political correctness. (do I have to explain why?) All I am saying is do you realize how you sound to other people?
“You want to censor how others express themselves because you consider it to be off-putting in a way that you can’t even really define. ” Actually no! as I said “You have every right to talk how you want..” You have every freedom to speak how you want. But if you want to relate to the outside world then you should think about how you sound.
As for the rest of what you said I agree. I myself don’t like swearing, but I understand the need for it at times, it depends on the context. I am not happy with blasphemy as it is disrespectful to others like yourself.
“Yet, here we are being told by one of us to stop using the very word our God uses to describe what He has done and being told by a normal person that we are the ones who need to tone it down. Really?”
Did I say ‘stop’. Nope! I didn’t do it! What I said was ‘tone it down a bit’. And no I am not one of you, but I did used to be a Christian.
My expression is one of (takes you aside and calmly says “Hay you know you were coming off a little bit of a crazy person, perhaps go easy on the religious jargon”.)
“Really?” yes really! 😉
Thanks for the thought-provoking post. I agree words should be chosen carefully. As I probed my own heart with regard to using “blessing” in my vocabulary, I found this to be true: I sincerely believe that God’s blessings are not contained just to the spiritual realm, but to every facet of life.
Even my breath is a blessing from our Father in heaven. I in no way want to communicate as you said, “The Almighty to some sort of sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers”, but I also don’t want to rob God of my gratefulness of any of His blessings either.
When we love Christ and our eyes are fixed to Him, we are grateful for every blessing we have spiritually and physically. I am not looking to use God to amass wealth or spiritual superiority. I’m simply looking to honor him by being grateful for all of His blessings.
http://www.brianfriedl.com
Regarding the idea of feeling blessed, as with everything else, everyone has their own opinion of what that really is . There are those who feel blessed even when they are poor -financially, and there are those who feel blessed even when they are not sure where their next piece of bread will come from.
To me, feeling or being “blessed” is just a way of saying that we remember that God is “with us” – “around” , and present. To me, it doesn’t matter how much money I have in my pocket or in my bank account; it doesn’t matter if I am wearing blue jeans or wearing an expensive fur or wearing a tank top or shorts. It simply isn’t about “what we have” etc.
To me, being blessed is just a way of acknowledging God, and even , reminding myself to thank God, daily, if not more than that.
And for the most part, it doesn’t have anything to do with comparing myself to others who have more or to those who have less. I think , in our society, we sometimes forget that humans can make a statement about themselves, even when talking spirituality or religion or prayer, without really having a reference to someone else. So when I either say I am blessed or feeling blessed, this is not discount to those around me, nor is it a put down of any kind. But that’s just me and what I feel about the expression.
Personally, I feel blessed (so there you go, I’ll say it) to be living in America. And, yes, indeed, this is not putdown to anyone not living in America. To me, the phrase or expression means merely that I am aware of my position, of my conditions to where I live or go, and I am thanking God that I am here and that I have the fortune to be here. However, at the same time, I have friends and relatives who live all over the world, yet, still, I can feel and acknowledge that I feel blessed to live in America without insinuating or thinking that anyone not living in America has it bad or is not as comfortable. I guess what I am saying is that though I might use a phrase , “I am blessed”, that doesn’t mean that no one else is “blessed” nor does it mean that I am better than anyone else. It’s just my way of smiling with my words, thanking God, acknowledging God in my life and simply a way of expressing my joy and happiness and contentment.
And, no, smiles, it , in no way, means that I have it all or have it made nor does it mean that there is no room for improvement , yet, yet, yet, my simple phrase “I feel blessed” or “I am blessed” might be taken in a different way when others hear me say it.
And this is life, and this is society. We hear words and we make our own judgment about those words. We take in or we experience only that which our own experience has permitted us to take in. So, in knowing that I have no control over what anyone “thinks” about my words or about my declaration, I still can and do say, I feel blessed. –with no offense to anyone.
Apologies for the long note, but those are just thoughts I had when I read your entry about being blessed. 🙂
If you are uncomfortable with the word “blessed” than use the word “grateful”. I am grateful for my job, I am grateful for my country, I am grateful for my new car, etc. However, you can not deny that God has blessed you with your job and He has blessed you with clients. It is all because of God that you are doing so well, so give credit where credit is due. He can take it away at any point. If someone has a new car or new house that they have been praying for and they are financially able to purchase one, that is absolutely a blessing. This does not in anyway diminish the blessings that the people in Guatemala or Haiti or anywhere else have. For they too are blessed. Yes the prosperity gospel is evil and unbiblical, however if we fail to thank God for the things that we do have and think of it as receiving these things because of our own works we are failing to point people to the one that has provided when we couldn’t on our own. Thank you for asking the questions of “what will you do with it” because this does make us step back and see what we do have and evaluate how we can use what we have to further the kingdom of God.
Great post! I have worked overseas many times and I completely agree with what you are saying here. The phrase “blessed” is misused quite frequently in our American Suburban church culture and it is unfortunate because it causes a lot of harm and misdirection.
Thank you for sharing.
~Aspen
horcruxesheroesandharrypotter.wordpress.com
I think we as Christians forget the true meaning
of being blessed, and agree solely with you.
I think though that the reason that for
some of us feel blessed for our wealth is
because there are some that are in worse
shape, and we feel blessed for what we do have.
Yes, that may be greedy, but it’s human, and after
all we are human. However, I do say I am blessed
for the simple things.
Thanks for the great article. Another phrase I think that we should not use is “you deserve it”. I cringe if someone says to me – “You worked hard and you deserve this.” I feel like I don’t deserve anything. Like my friend does not deserve to have cancer, or lose his job or get hit by a car. I am grateful, but I am not deserving…
You have no idea how much I needed to hear this ‘Nowhere in scripture are we promised worldly ease in return for our pledge of faith. In fact, the most devout saints from the Bible usually died penniless, receiving a one-way ticket to prison or death by torture.’ Thank you. You’ve done more than you know.
God Bless you and your family,
Tracey.
Reblogged this on che0329.
Reblogged this on katiemmeert and commented:
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning,” James 1:17. God’s blessings don’t always come in the form of comforts. This blog makes note of how we call comforts blessings and encourages us to review the list of blessings that Jesus gave in Matthew 5:1-12. There’s more to life than comforts and a lack of comforts is not a sign of a lack of God’s blessing or favor.
Reblogged this on Dr Denis’s Weblog.
Now I see where original above captioned post has been put on the Huffington Post, and I must say that it “should be removed.” Please understand that Jesus doesn’t need people to post things that scripturally, is simply in error.
The point the writer is trying to make is understood, however, I find it entirely lacking in the area of our living out our faith.
It is important to stand for Christ and to try not to offend, and I don’t wish to offend anyone with this response. I care about others too much to approach this writing in anger.
I approach this with a caring and thoughtful heart to share a little of how I believe the writer is in error. Please accept my apology if I do not show Gods love in my remarks.
REMARKS:
I said all of that to make one important point that God is God! And as His children in the faith, we should always testify as to His Blessedness!
1 Cor 10:31 & Col 3:17 are just two examples, of many, that shows our need to always acknowledge the loving grace of God; and to glorify Him in whatever we eat, drink, do, and say.
I don’t ever want to be told, or made to believe, that I cannot; and should not thank Him for the many blessings He has blessed me with.
Without being thankful in every blessing, either by what He has done for me, or by what He has allowed to happen, scripture teaches to give Him the praise and the glory in all of it.
“I am blessed by the one and only true living God!” I say this not as some sort of condescending way to put someone down; but to testify before my Father in Heaven, to say I love you God!
Praise Honor and Glory, “ALL” be to Jesus Christ my Lord.
Thank you Jesus.
I think there are many kinds of blessing from God: spiritual, physical, material, social, etc. To relegate God to only one type of blessing is not in my opinion correct. ALL GOOD THINGS come from God. He may bless me materially so that I may serve others. It is not for me to hoard, but to share. Not to give God the glory for all things He supplies to us is just plain wrong. To some however, material things are NOT a blessing …they are a distraction….which in that case would not be a person who would give God the glory anyway. If a brother is cold give a cloak. If he needs a cup of water give in the name of Christ. Now days if you have clean water you are more blessed than a huge percentage of the world. Don’t hoard … To whom much is given much will be required ,
Wow, what a revelation! I’m changing my vocabulary. I’m grateful! Thanks for sharing this revelation. Recently, I was seeking more understanding about “joy”. As I got more clarity I understood that in order to experience the joy of the Lord on a daily basis it needs to start with gratitude.
It occurs to me: Do you recall the story of the group of friends who were determined to get their lame friend to Jesus to be healed? So determined that they toted him who knows how far, then up on top of a house, then ripped a hole in the roof so they could lower him in?
So according to this theory that we shouldn’t claim blessings as blessings because others are not similarly blessed, would you say that those men and their lame friend shouldn’t have claimed that the strong legs and backs and good health of the group were blessings from God because the other one was lame? Do you think that the lame friend would have preferred that God not have blessed his friends with working legs and arms?
Do you think that the lame man should not claim the blessing of being healed because others aren’t healed?
We support a child through Compassion International – our support provides her the opportunity to go to school, nutritious food every day, medical care, and a stipend for her family. I’m sure that she and her family know folks close to them who do not receive such support and who live in squalor, maybe even are starving to death. This girl and her family used to be in that position. She claims that she is blessed by God and by my family. Should she not claim that considering the plight of her neighbors?
Your whole premise confuses me. You don’t want to alienate non-believers by talking about the great works of an Almighty God, though the Bible, His Holy Word, is full of examples of His people do exactly that. But do you think that you are going to catch the attention of non-believers and make them want to know more by eliminating the word blessed from our vocabulary? By secularizing our gratefulness and whitewashing the impact of God’s goodness in our lives?
One can be grateful to anyone for anything, but the term blessed has a particular connotation: that one recognizes and is grateful for the influence of and the working of God in his life, either through direct action, such a prospering a business, or through an indirect means, such as a prosperous business man giving from his prosperity to those in need.
Why would you want to dumb down the gospel message inherent in “Feeling blessed”?
I wonder what that is?
shediac1981.wordpress.com
Scott, I deeply appreciate and resonate with this so much. I think that God does provide a majority of Americans with material/monetary gifts and because we are American, we equate that with “God bless America” and I think whether we Christians mean to or not, when we say some of the things you mention, most people’s minds go to “I don’t have that, so that means God doesn’t love me”. I saw a post once where someone who’s family bought them baby girl clothes (their previous children were boys) wrote in their post, ” #jesuslovesmykids “. The family are missionaries in Uganda. My first response was “you equate God’s love with things you are given or the material things you have”. Jesus doesn’t give us things based on how much he loves us. If that were true, than 90ish percent of the world is unloved by God (based on that concept). I am very much over the prosperity gospel that many wealthy and well known Christians spread to people, whether they realize they do it or not. I am not rich but I do ok and even I struggle with not wanting to equate what I have with “God loves me because of all the things I have” because I want to be careful to not use that as a reason to be unwise in how I spend money and accumulating things that aren’t necessary for my living. I do not believe that God wants for all of his people to have money and “do well” by the definition that our country has. I think all of that gets in the way of what Jesus really calls us to do in our lives here. However I always strive to be constantly thankful for what I have and the good things in my life because the truth is I don’t deserve them and they won’t last forever. I don’t think things are blessings but people and situations and things that make me closer to God and grow in faith are blessings.
Anyway thank you for your post and I am thankful for people who are brave enough to post their thoughts when there’s a chance most people will take a jab at you.
Adding to the discussion: In the case of the words, “God Bless American!” I have often found that to be more of a prideful (slap you in the face) command rather than a humble request before the Throne of the Almighty Creator. “God Bless America!” has become less of request and more of divisive battle cry for whatever political stance you might wish to take. Often it is used to chant in the face of those we would like to see fail. We MUST remember that Christ’s body is the global church WITHOUT BORDERS, without political divisions or rulers. As Christians, we might do better to face the real battle (not of flesh and blood) with a humble prayer: “Lord bless our efforts to win the lost, pray for the oppressed and to proclaim your Name among the nations”.
I know of no one more qualified to have raised a political protest than Christ, Himself against the cruelty of Rome towards the Jews…..but it didn’t happen! His Kingdom is not of this world. May we learn to love without borders and spend our time and energy praising God among all the nations sharing our spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3) and our material blessing (Mark 9:41) to those in need (1 John 3:17; James 2:15).
So true, Joy. Why the grandiose statement, “God Bless America?” This is one of the things that Scott is addressing in this post.
“Lord bless our efforts to win the lost, pray for the oppressed and to proclaim your Name among the nations.” Well said.
Good stuff. Amen. Being grateful and acknowledging God’s blessings go hand-in-hand. I guess the real issue is what do we equate blessings too?! It’s not just material things, but the other things as well. Prosperity is good, and God definitely wants us prosperous in all areas, but it should never replace Him. That to me is truly the key.
For me God’s blessings refer to all the things it pleases Him to do in our lives both spiritual and physical. He is the source of everything and I believe we must acknowledge this all the time. Salvation, provision, protection, preservation, healing – just name it; all come from Him. The word says He has given to us all that pertains to life and godliness. We are Blessed because He says so not because of what we have.
Reblogged this on misshydrangeabloom and commented:
I am in agreement with you. We should feel grateful for the love and grace that God has bestowed on us. However, I do not believe for one second that God favors me more than my fellow Christians in a third world country. In my prayers, I never ask god for “strength, fortune, or favor.” Instead I ask that I remember his teachings when dealing with struggle or adversity.
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Thank you for this post. Your thoughts and some of the comments raise interesting concerns. Particularly about prayer as an ATM and material blessings. To say we are blessed because of our material blessings makes it seem as though people in poverty are less blessed, less cared for by God and that isn’t the case. I’ve always been taught and believed that those who have more have it to be used for God’s glory – i.e stewardship. As far as how we should pray I think the simplest answer is the best. Jesus asked for his “daily bread” so I think it is acceptable to God that we ask for ours. Sometimes we just have to accept that God does say No. Not because we lack faith – we ALL lack faith – but because He has a better plan in mind.
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While I agree that blessing goes beyond the physical provisions God makes for us, they are still, indeed, blessings. Not because of anything we did to deserve them, we don’t. However, He entrusts the blessing of provisions, both spiritual and physical, on us that we might share them with others. So it is more than semantics, my friend.
Reblogged this on Daniel G. Alcorn and commented:
“I’m grateful.” Much better.
God is not a celestial vending machine – insert prayer – get blessed. Amen, oops. Well done. I like what you’ve shared. Keep up the insightful work.
I am a nominal christian.Nominal, because I am such a sinner. I found your article very truthful. Being grateful and content is really very good, because let’s face facts, material stuffs don’t go to heaven.
“Deuteronomy 7:12-14 (KJV)
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.”
Reblogged this on kellybod and commented:
This though….
Thank you for sharing this; I really appreciate it. Truly, we need to take every thought captive to Christ, be slow to speak, slow to anger and very careful to listen. There are many things that we should stop saying. Since we (yes, even Christians) will be judged for every careless word we say, let us always be careful in our words, even as we are also called to be bold as lions. Somehow we must be bold and careful at the same time. Let us speak (and write), as Peter encouraged in 1 Peter 4:11, as one who is speaking the utterances of God. Paul’s letter to the Ephesian believers is an awesome encouragement; in 5:4 it says “…and no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” Going back to the first paragraph of your post, you and your friend dishonored your parents? You re-told semi-factual tales, that is you re-enforced lies to one another? Brother, may these things not be so. For the sake of our great God, Lord, and Savior, Jesus the Anointed. Maranatha. Peace.
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This argument still confuses me. If I just say I’m grateful for certain comforts in my & my husband’s life, it feels like I’m only giving credit to ourselves & I always want to give God the credit for anything in our life. That doesn’t mean I felt I earned His “blessing” or favor, or deserve it more than others. The bottom line that’s embarrassing to talk about is when awesome ministries or charities or people looking for funds to go on a mission trip need to find financial support, they can ask us and I feel grateful & blessed to be able to help.
http://normangee.wordpress.com/tag/money-jesus/
Soooo right!!!
You have made some interesting points here. I think your take on the subject is very original. I often feel very grateful for so many things in my life.
I have to respectfully disagree to a point. Being grateful for your blessings is one thing but to say having a car. A home, an ideal job isn’t a blessing is discrediting The Lord. The Lord blesses us all, however, were all blessed differently. There people in Guatemala who are scrounging for a meal may have blessing that you and I may never have the pleasure if receiving. The Lord blesses all of his children, some the same and some differently. He blesses us with health to maintain that ideal job, the cozy home, that car and the maintenance. He blesses us with strength to keep going when times are hard. Every little good thing you have is from God and IS a blessing. Again, were all blessed differently whether it be with money, friends, health, whatever it is. Following The Lord doesn’t mean are financial circumstances will get better, but there’s a chance it may. We don’t follow The Lord for these blessings we follow him because we love him and we accept the blessings as well as the challenges that come with following him. You’re right when you said he is going to ask us what we did with our blessings… Did we help those who are slacking in areas we may be rising in? Do we accept help in areas that WE may be slacking and others rising? God loves all his children and he blesses us all differently and he has his reasons on why some have certain things and others don’t and vice versa. I appreciate your thought though. Thanks for sharing!
I think the original blog, whether intended to be so or not, comes very close to saying that being materially wealthy not good. Why isn’t it right for all the needs of your family to be met? Why isn’t it right to have the means to help supply others? True, we shouldn’t be praying for material things, but there is nothing wrong with acknowledging the blessings we have and needs being met – it’s part of gratitude, and often we find that expression of that gratitude results in richness of all types.
Why ought we not pray for material things? God cares for each of us in the particulars of our lives. Why wouldn’t we pray about those particulars?
Thank goodness someone finally wrote about this! I am sooooo tired of hearing “I am blessed” because my car started or it rained or “Be blessed” or have a “Blessed day” at the end of voicemails and e-mails — random usage. Hmmmmmm… all of us are blessed by our very nature and being, however, it is thrown out there wildly to connote spirituality seemingly. Yet, it does not mean that at all to me and immediately smacks of limited/narrow thinking and sheep mentality. Anyway, I am most grateful you wrote about this to awaken those who use it so carelessly. More importantly, perhaps it will actually mean something the next time the word is used…
Just because it sounds random to you doesn’t mean it’s random to the person who’s claiming the blessing. Why would you assume that this good this has not come from God, who is the author of all goodness? Is that not the limited/narrow thinking? Perhaps rather than being critical of those who talk of the way God has blessed them, you may open your eyes to the way God blesses you and give Him the credit for it.
Reblogged this on vwoods1212 and commented:
Eye opening.
To my way of thinking, what the author was trying to say, to which I wholeheartedly concur, is that many people use the word blessed far too often, without really thinking about what they are saying. [I never wrote anything about where goodness comes from or not.] In my life, I have found that many people use the words “blessed” in a context and in a way that a divine consciousness would have no need of. Often, those who say, “Have a blessed day”, have much less spirituality, less love/tolerance and a lot more religion and dogma. Naturally, this leaves less room for divinely inspired thinking and being in the moment of spiritual inspiration and THE awareness of divine consciousness. Seemingly, it is because those in their particular circle use these words, they use these words. Does it mean that people who say “Have a blessed day” are bad or wrong or mean or not blessed or any other negative connotation? No; the author was merely pointing out that too many use it far too often with little or no regard to its deep significance. To the point, that now, when I hear someone say, “be blessed” or “have a blessed day” often, or religiously (pun intended), it means very little to me. Now, it strikes me as someone who is copying others because it sounds nice, although that person has not given it much thought at all and may not really feel blessed or wish others pure blessing. Enough said, moving on now…
So, then, praying is hoping without bothering God?
Reblogged this on SiriusCoffee and commented:
I too have struggled with the “I’m blessed” casual response when people ask how things are going. Undeniably I’m blessed – but it becomes trite, because blessing can be measured in so many ways other than finance, career, or ministry. Maybe we were all blessed today when war didn’t break out between the U.S. and Russia? How would we know?
I’m torn. Though I believe James 1:17 that states, “every good and perfect gift is from above,” I’m barraged with the insincere whitewashed “blessed” statement. When that is the go-to statement, it loses credibility. Can anyone seriously tell me that The Bible’s intent includes the eight cents Aunt Becky saved on creamed corn on triple coupon day?
The use of “I’m so blessed” is actually evidence that the Christian verbae is being heard and mimicked by those of the world….which is not really a bad thing. It is when Christians say, “I am so lucky” or “I am so fortunate” that God is distressed. Luck and the 3 Fortunes (witches) have nothing to do with the blessings we experience. Eph 1:3 tells us that all spiritual blessing come from God. Material blessings are given to the just and the unjust (Mat 5:45) Let God be praised in all things…acknowledge Him in ALL your ways (Prov 3:6)….Just because some of us might be “tired” of hearing it…God is NOT tired of people who acknowledge Him. Even Jesus blessed God for His daily bread. Stop trying to “judge” those who use the phrase and turn you efforts and energies into “praising Him” in ALL things among the nations….so that they too can begin their journey in acknowledging Him….as imperfect as it may be. It is a good start…AND who are we to judge where they are on their journey. That truly is above our pay grade.
Those are some good points, Joy. My intention wasn’t to be derogatory, just that I believe that the phrase is overused. There are those that genuinely mean it, and I’m not trying to minimize that. There are also those that use it for a myriad of other reasons. In my experience, I probably hear that phrase from those who use it wrongly, if that makes any sense.
Is it said to give the glory to God, or is it a veiled attempt to bring attention to the individual? The answer is oftentimes evident, and that is what I was considering.
Ted, my question is, what would you rather people say? I am thankful that people may actually perceive that their blessings come from beyond their own efforts and their self-made accomplishments. Whether they are just beginning to appreciate that fact or they truly have an abiding relationship with the giver of all good things. Let’s not criticize the one good thing they may have gleaned from our Christian influence. Let’s help them to “perfect their faith” …even if it is just the size of a mustard seed.
Just as Paul on Mars Hill did not criticize the heathen culture of idoletry, but rather found the ONE good thing he could appreciate in Athens…and took advantage of that attribute as a door to the gospel. Great example for us! Find a door of opportunity instead of closing it with criticism.
Why do you get to assume that her “blessed” is whitewashed and insincere? You think that God’s blessings are only for the truly needy or come in big ways? Come on, accept her “blessed” at face value and stop questioning everyone else’s motives. What if everyone’s go-to greeting was “Christ died for you.” Would the commonality of that make you question its credibility?
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Good food for thought. It will make me think twice before I throw out, “I’m blessed” in order to give glory to God. Thank you for the reminder of what/who is blessed.
I understand the line of thought that you are sharing, and I completely agree that “blessings” are very misunderstood in this century and especially in the Western world. But I don’t feel like we should be analyzing our words to the point of exhaustion. When I was raising my girls, I recall Dr Dobson’s teaching that moms should find things to say “yes” to, because. per our job description, our days are filled with a lot of “no’s.” I can’t start my day analyzing if I’m say “blessed” too much—the minute I open my eyes, I face my own guilt and mind battles, and literally run to God’s Word. Let’s point people to more Yes’s–the Yes of the Gospel, the Yes of Christ’s love, the Yes of living in the Grace of Jesus Christ and being freed from condemnation. I choose to be and say “grateful” and “thankful” most of the time, but I’m not going to feel condemned if I say “blessed” on occasion.
“I was so blessed”, and. “By the Grace of God” used to be thankful for winning a game, or even being saved in a car wreck’ has always bothered me. ( although I’ve said them!). You are right’ we need to stop saying them, because it implies we were chosen over someone else! — my loving God doesn’t do this!
It’s not that God chose you over someone else. It’s that He chose you period. That God blesses you does not reflect on anyone else’s relationship with Him, nor does it say anything about what God thinks of anyone else. So no, we don’t need to stop giving God the credit for the good things in our lives. They all come from Him alone, and He deserves all the credit.
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Wow, interesting insight. I think I agree with you, life is blessing enough. A fruitful life is our office; so those that are hungry, on the outside looking in, can be fed by the fruit of our labor.
Well said and a breath of fresh air. What you are doing, in my opinion, is moving away from tired old theological beliefs and challenging oppressive materialism with all powerful spiritual insight. This can only have a healing effect on those you encounter.
Notice what Jesus Christ has to say about covetousness, another term for materialism in His Word the Bible. God bless you:)
http://holdingforthhisword.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/covetousness/
Among the myriads of things that society tells us Christians that we should feel guilty for – saying that we feel or are blessed by having some amount of wealth or success is not one of them. Didn’t God Himself institute a litany of blessings and curses to the Israelites in Deuteronomy? Blessings for obedience and curses for the lack of it. Life is tough – it’s work to keep the faith sometimes. Being grateful for, and naming God’s blessings to us is nothing to be ashamed of. Nor does it make light of Christians who are suffering. God’s providence is in it all. To worry about our use of the word blessing is to split hairs I think. I can tell that the person who makes the point loves Jesus very much. His concern for the church is evident. At first I felt mildly convicted by his views on “blessings”. But as I continue to think on them – I don’t think I’ll be adopting them myself.
I agree, I think. Here’s the thing- everything we have is in a sense a blessing and yet it can be a bad thing. God has blessed us with the ability to provide for ourselves and our loved ones…. For most of us that is more than we need. doesn’t theat mean we have more to give? He has given us more so we should give more. The more we have the more I belive he’ll hold us accountable for. If it meets a need it was a blessing if it simply fills a wish list, well, maybe it’ll be a blessing when we give it to someone who needs it. Consider the retirement fund…. shouldn’t we provide for the needy now and trust God to provide for us then?
Thank you dear writer for sharing a lesson deeply rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Nowhere in the Gospels does He or anyone with His authority promise earthly “blessings.” Nowhere does He hint that his blessings are wrapped in the trappings of worldly prosperity. I think He would approve of your version of the conversation that followed the Beatitudes. Thank you for reminding us all.
I’m sorry that so many of your readers don’t get it. It goes to show how deeply ingrained the ideas of prosperity theology have become. Some readers say how much they like your article and then justify their belief that God is “blessing” them. Sadly, others just declare that you are wrong. Their arguments sound an awful lot like the secular version that justifies greed and lust for earthly comfort with the words, “I’ve worked hard for what I have.”
What makes you think that we don’t get it? We “get it” just fine, and we have rejected it as not only unbiblical, but unnecessarily divisive and condescending. The fact that we claim the blessing we have as being from God does not mean that we subscribe to the heresy of the prosperity teachings. It means that we understand from whom and by whom all good things are given and in fact exist at all. We are giving God the credit by saying that we have been blessed by the opportunity to work and make a good living, by the good health we enjoy, by the loving family in the nice house, by the freedom afforded us by this great nation, by the fact that our cars started and that we didn’t have flat tires, and so on. Something tells me that many people who respond with “I’m blessed” likely are talking about being grateful for things like their spouses still living even with the cancer diagnosis, that their children have recovered from the injuries sustained in the car wreck, that the mortgage is still getting paid even after the layoff, that the life they live is still being held together despite all the hardships and potentially devastating events they’ve experienced. Why does anyone feel like they can blanketly question every single “I’m blessed”? Let them speak from their hearts, or not. Who are you to say that you know the sincerity with which they speak?
Why are we convinced that only pleasant things are blessings? After my parents were killed, I lived in a household w/ brutal, abusive adults & children & I was the recipient of much of their madness. When I became an adult & was able to take an honest look back, I realized that while their brutality was real & hurt me, it also saved my life. I was so depressed, so sad after losing my parents, I just wanted to die & be w/ them. At the age of 7, I was taking pills because all my other attempts to die had failed. By learning to fight those crazy people, I learned to fight my own sadness, learned to fight myself; I was a much more dangerous enemy than they ever could be.
That God would trust me w/ such an horrific experience, that He trusted me to turn to Him & not become like the people who abused me continues to boggle my mind. The gift God gave me was excruciating & exactly what I needed. He knew. I didn’t.
If all things work together for good for those who love the Lord, then all things are blessings for those who love & serve the Lord: Warm, sunny days & tsunamis, acts of heroism & acts of cowardice, & everything else. We needn’t like all our blessings. We need only trust that God knows what He is doing.
Saying, “I’m blessed” or “have a blessed day” is often trite. If we are honest w/ ourselves, we know when there’s sincerity & when there’s not, in ourselves & in others. Perhaps the author of this piece is simply calling us to be aware of what “I’m blessed” or “have a blessed day” means & how easily we can begin to believe, ‘because I have been given pleasant things, God loves me.’ God loves us even when life is horrible.
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This is such an interesting post. I really like that it opens our eyes to what true blessing is, rather than material items.
God bless you real good for sharing this. Truth is one thing that will always stand no matter how people for selfish reasons try to twist it. “Thou shall know the truth and it shall set you free”. Thank you for sharing this.
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Reblogged this on The International Blogspaper.
Although I agree that we are misusing the word Blessed and I will in future use the word grateful. Christians started using the word blessed as a way of acknowledging that God is important to them. We are actually grateful and it feels like what we consider a blessing to have a home, clothes, and a job. Other religions have phrases such as “Praise be to Allah” or ‘Amituofo’ for the Buddhist. We want God, Jesus to be acknowledged in every part of our life not just the religious part and we want others to know it. Which is a great thing because we need God to be the center of our lives from which everything emerges, not just one aspect of our “busy” lives only on Sunday and only when “appropriate”.
Yes ‘blessed’ is highly misused. Thank you for citing the passage in Matthew.
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Just today I had two people object to me ending emails simply “Blessings,” siting that it is an irrelevant thing to add. Per your suggestion, I shall attempt to retrain myself to close with “I am grateful,”
The objections immediately brought to mind the “Christmas with a Capital C” song by Go Fish. 😉
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wow- this is really great –
“My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable. I know a God who comforts the sorrowful. And I know a God who has planted this same power within me. Within all of us And for this blessing, may our response always be “Use me.””
I like the way you worded this very “murky” topic – and was just discussing the problem I had with the movie “facing the giants” because it all about “being blessed” with a “win” – when that is incorrect theology.
take care,
y.p.
GOOD NOTE ON PROSPERITY GOSPEL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLRue4nwJaA
I agree with everything that you said in your article. Thanks for your perspective. I wonder if you could answer a question for me–with this new mindset of feeling grateful rather than feeling “blessed,” what do I call all of the good things that I have anymore? I just got a new job, would I not call that a blessing? “Good fortune” makes sense, but since it’s something I’ve been praying for for so long…is there no longer such a thing as a “blessing” if it’s a “thing”? Would you no longer say, “I’m grateful for my blessings”? Is there no one to thank for my new job? I just feel like I don’t know what to say in my prayers anymore.
Every one of us is blessed all the time, every second, every minute, really, in reality. We just do not seem to notice it until we get a great new job or that business deal goes through or something nice happens. You can use the idea of sunlight: Just because there are clouds in our view, does that mean that the sun is not shining?! Prayer is something we can do all the time to keep our consciousness in alignment with the Divine consciousness. To my way of thinking, we do not pray to a “person” or anyone in particular, although often people feel the need to pray to a someone. Yet, we can become part of a profound, intense, understanding of pure Love and Joy through our prayer. Yes, we can be very thankful, grateful, joyful, feeling “lucky”, fortunate, even blessed every day, every minute, for big and small things. Being aware of what we say to ourselves and others is important because it expresses our own awareness and conscious thought. When many people write at the end of an e-mail “Have a blessed day” or “I am blessed”, or “blessings to you”, it often smacks of a trite little saying that has limited impact and authenticity. Naturally, at times the person saying this IS deeply thoughtful and it means a great deal. The author here is just trying to remind us to be awake, aware, alive to what we say and to what we REALLY mean and are trying to express. Being truly blessed is so much greater than a little happening or circumstance that is good for you. As soooooo many people have mentioned here, these little sayings can become meaningless when over used and without much real thought. Again, every one of us deserves blessings and all good things and we can experience wonderful things and blessings all the time in our thought, in our prayerful and aware thinking. This is not miraculous because seeming miracles are the reality and ultimately all there really is. Blessings are happening constantly and should be for all….
Life is a blessing. Everything has the potential to be a blessing: your new job as well as the circumstances, no matter how unpleasant, that led you to pray intensely and, hopefully, grow closer to God. Of course we pray to Someone. God isn’t an impersonal force. He is Being itself and cares for each of us in the particulars of our life. I’m grateful He has provided you the experience of needing, praying and receiving.
Perhaps, the issue is dishonesty. We tend to say, “I’m blessed” either referring to the pleasant things in our lives or as a way to avoid speaking of the unpleasant and painful. Perhaps we need to modify it to, “I don’t always like it, but God is constantly blessing me.” If only the pleasantness in life is a blessing, there is a dearth and the Cross, the worst that could ever happen, loses, most if not all, of it’s meaning.
The ugliness of Christ’s passion and death is the greatest blessing we can ever have. But on the road to Emmaus, the disciples were surprised that Jesus did not know what had happened & not in a, ‘Let us tell you the good news’ way. It was the most horrible story they could tell. Joy only came when Jesus broke the bread & they knew Him. But the blessing existed even when the disciples were in ignorance & pain.
I like your new response and by remembering the beatitudes, I will attempt to respond with, “Yes, I’m grateful.” I do want to pass gratefulness on to my family.
Reblogged this on The Ubiquity Principle and commented:
Found this post while browsing the “Freshly Pressed” feed. It’s a fine example of the ubiquity of cheap expressions of blessedness. The fact of my atheism doesn’t stop me from acknowledging and a theist nails it, and Scott Dannemiller absolutely does.
I’ve often had similar thoughts. It’s a conundrum: I feel blessed, but to go beyond that to think that God has singled me out for special favor is getting close to, or crossing, the line into the “prosperity Christianity” that I reject and deplore. But at the same time, I also recognize that linking prosperity with God’s favor is an abundantly (if you’ll pardon the play on words) frequent theme in the Old Testament, though not in the New.
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Amen. I couldn’t agree more. I think we completely misconstrue what ‘blessing’ is…and we fall apart when we don’t get it. I think we forget that God is ultimately making us more like Him…and that is the blessing, no matter what the form.
I say the same thing! I never thought about it before, but you’re right I think. I think I’ll start saying I’m grateful. Because I am.
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Reblogged this on inspiremylifeblog and commented:
This is the first article that I have reblogged as part of my site. The main motivation behind doing so was the fact that since reading this article at the end of February it has kept returning to my thoughts and I believe the message behind it is important. I personally lost touch with my sense of faith several years ago, something which I keep an open mind about should it become a part of my life again in the future. However, I could identify with many of comments made in this post; many people I knew (myself included) would refer to themselves as blessed when things were going well for them and thought that they must have done something wrong if life wasn’t going perfectly for them. For me personally a more mindful approach has allowed me to appreciate that our lives are characterized by the highs and lows all of which come to define us; our material worth does not define us. Our particular circumstances do not make us ‘blessed’ but our approach to all our experiences with an openness and faith that characterize our particular beliefs.
To tell u the truth I couldn’t get past the remark about disparaging your mothers. How does that give glory to God.
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I am an atheist and it irks me when I see Christians post their “blessings” with millions of Christians starving. If I were a Christian I would be insulted… thank you for this post though. Quite enlightening.
Hi Joseph – I love the fact that you as an atheist are reading and openly commenting. With no agenda outside of wanting to hear your feedback, I would love to have you visit my website http://www.deceptiveinluences.com and give me your thoughts. If you do thanks in advance. While I may tell you what I believe, I never tell you what to believe. I just believe that we as humans deserve the total disclosure of information. I was totally amazed at what I learned in school and what I learned after schooling was over just by digging into my questions. It just took me a lot of years to make a decision to dig into the subject.
Wow! I have read many of the comments but there are so many. I just love it. You have created an awareness and caused people to think. How we as Christian are perceived is totally up to each of us and our ability to recognize or maybe realize how we are viewed and the impact we have on others, either Christian or nonchristian or some other belief is extremely important. The point is that if your friend you are having dinner with is a recovering alcoholic, you probably shouldn’t order a bottle of wine with your dinner. We so often become so involved in what we have to say we many time don’t recognize how we sound. We lock into so tightly what we believe is correct we cannot see the Forrest for the trees. Thanks for stirring the pot. It needs to be stired or our awareness becomes stagnant.
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I have a teenage son, so I know the correct answer to questions like “How are things going?”
“Good.”
I get upset when people say they are blessed because it seems to imply that others who are not in the same situation are not blessed. Almost as if God has favourites. Your article highlights this problem -thank you
Glory to God, I needed that, Thank you God in Jesus Christ name John 16:23-24
Thank you…
He also said “Matthew 5:42, give to those who ask, and to those who wish to borrow turn them not away” The ultimate in non attachment, but Christians are the most attached.
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Right here is the perfect blog for anybody who would like to understand this
topic. You realize a whole lot its almost hard to argue
with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa).
You certainly put a fresh spin on a subject which has
been written about for decades. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful!
Now, do one on the ‘peace of God’, then I would feel blessed.
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Thank you for bringing this to light. I agree that people can be grandiose about all that they have in life. I agree that God does not bless me more than others with a new car or house while my friends in Ethiopia (who are also blessed by God) have no clean running water. I do believe because of my abundance, I am able to sponsor children in Ethiopia to help give them a better life. As I read through the responses I see those who believe (as I was taught) that we are to take the Bible literally. I’m so grateful that Adam Hamilton has written the book “Making Sense of the Bible.” It has helped me to understand how the Bible works in my life.
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hi folks! thx for your sharing, its really happends in real world.
for me sometimes, as we ministering and in cell groups we expose the skin of our lives of how good is God, how good is our busineses etc, and it really make us feels “mmh something is not right, but it is the good things” to show and strengthen people in our circle that God’s blessed is with us. in God’s view i believed that blesses has a different and much more than our richness, always focus on money things. but in reality our money is always in tight budget. so to be honest, sometimes we are too excited to show God’s greatness – in many term specially in materialism, but we forgot the essence of bless it self.
please pray for all of us, we can honestly to teach people the essence of God’s bless. and do practice about that.
Scott,
This was a very needed article. The thought has passed through my mind before, but I forgot about it and fell right back in with the “I’m Blessed Above the Rest” crowd. The problem is: many of the church people I know say they are blessed by their 30 year prison that they just signed half their life away to, but are they? Leonard Ravenhill said “are we cursed with blessings, or blessed with curses”? Many so called blessings hinder our lives from Gods will. Anyone with a dollar in their pocket can say I’m blessed. Let me say “I’m Blessed” because I serve The Risen Savior!
Ecclesiastes 5: 19-2019 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 20 They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.
Sooo….
I totally get the point. When material possessions is the only/focus/expectation that is wrong.
But based on the bible “when god gives wealth and possessions”, they ARE blessings. No , we are not promised how much. Yes we are told things will be hard. But it’s taken too far when we are told “I’m blessed” cannot be applied to materials things.
My defination of blessing is: Christ Himself, He is the very substance of blessings, paul writes and says that we have been blessed with all manner of spiritual blessings ‘in christ’, christ has been made ‘all things’ to us.
Christ is the blessing.
Thx for the post
Dear Scott Deannemiller,
That is an interesting perspective. I think if one is prayerful and convicted about something than he should listen to that conviction. However, I don’t feel like people should be ashamed to say they are blessed. There are unknowns. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do some people live in affluence and some in poverty? Why are some women fertile while some struggle to conceive? In our mortality, we do not have all of these answers. We do know some absolutes. What is good comes from God, for nothing good comes from the enemy. I do not see a problem in celebrating this goodness. I do think we need to be sensitive and mindful of our intentions, but I don’t think we should stop seeing the goodness in our lives as blessings. If someone gives me a gift, I am grateful, but I feel blessed that person also blessed me. People can bless others. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. One dictionary definition is the act or words of a person who blesses, in addition to a gift or a favor bestowed by God. I choose to see that God gives me the ability to prosper in all ways. If I take Him out of it at all, then I feel that is denying His involvement in that process. If I don’t see my successes as blessings, then I see them as benefits of my own human accomplishments without Him. A few verses that I note discussing God’s blessings, which also include prosperity in many forms include
Psalms 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.
3John1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (the first prospering is not health or salvation because those are mentioned separately. This speaks to me that this is financial and lifestyle prosperity)
Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember the Lord they God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor and life.
Abraham comes to mind and how richly blessed he was with flocks and herds and even silver and gold.
I think people feel blessed with different things and amounts of things. God sees the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). We must be in his will. We cannot comprehend nor should we judge others’ circumstances. We do not know why we go through crisis or financial burden. What I do know is that He can pull us out of these things if we focus on Him. This will be in His time. Often that time frame is hard for our human selves. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Matthew 5:1-12 outlines many who are blessed now and eternally; however, those are not the extent of the blessings that people encounter. I would challenge that when you say,
“ I feel grateful”, ask the question why you are grateful. For me, it is mostly because I have been blessed either by another Christian or my Creator. When acknowledging my blessings it is not to say that I am more deserving or to judge others. To say that if God blesses one than he must be purposefully neglecting another is to oversimplify the matter and to be rather presumptuous that we know the workings and intentions of God.
So, if one feels convicted, he or she should pause. However, this conviction should come from God. With much other personal evidence and scripture basis, I don’t believe this is a thing Christians should stop saying. I don’t feel convicted about celebrating and giving God the glory for my many blessings.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
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I almost whole heartedly agree with you. My one exception is that the things God gives us, or allows us to have are not blessings. I agree that the immaterial are the greater blessings such as knowing God. However, to swing the pendulum all the way over to the other side seems just as dangerous to me.
I believe, and am not saying that you don’t, that God is interested in the mundane of our lives and that includes our financial status. I think where we tend to mess up is in not giving God the glory for that and being wise stewards of what he has blessed us with. God blesses so that we may be a blessing. That means one has and one lacks. That is an unfortunate reality, coming from having been on both sides. If I have been blessed, I should be mindful to be a blessing. That can be a mission around the world, or it could be the person sitting beside me at Church who can’t pay their electric bill. If I am the one to be blessed, I should remember not to be envious of what God has given others, that I have been placed in the Body of Christ where I should be able to ask for help, and to trust and rely on God’s promise to meet my needs. I can truly say that I have been in the place where receiving a single dollar was definitely God’s blessing!
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I read this on Facebook and WOW the firestorm! I get why folks got upset because most of us have been taught that all blessings come from God and to not give him credit is, well, at least one of the top 5 bad things to do. I don’t, however, think the point was to ignore God’s hand but rather to think about how some of the things we say and do sound to non Christians or those that are truly struggling. I’ve been a Christian since I was 11 but it has been a bumpy road (and most of the bumps were caused by ME, MYSELF, and I.) However, I distinctly remember an occasion that I was sitting in a hospital room at Tripler Army Medical Center after being air lifted from Okinawa Japan with my daughter that was born with Spina Bifida. No less that 4 different doctors had paraded through my room to let me know the miserable life my child would lead. Sitting there, I also knew my marriage wouldn’t survive this. A friend emailed me to see how I was and to let me know what was going on “out in the world.” She and her husband found a beautiful home and she told me that “God blessed us with an easy closing.” I could only think, “WOW! I am so glad God had time to assist with their closing while my baby is going through her 3rd surgery and my marriage is falling apart.” I don’t begrudge her that house. The point is, that word “blessed,” couldn’t have hurt worse if it were a knife in my gut. My faith took a kick during this time and the last folks that helped me were fellow Christians. Do you know where I got the most peace? From a Jewish Rabbi. Truly, I don’t think this blog was meant to make us feel badly or encourage us to be ungrateful to God. I think it is about reflecting on our words and deciding which ones help us become the hands and feet of Christ.
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An incredibly well-thought post! I personally am Buddhist, but I happen to believe in God due to my own spiritual work. In any instance, I think this idea goes beyond religion. We have to recognize how much of our “blessings” come about as a result of the accidents of where we are born, what people did or did not like us, etc. Not to say that the good things that happen to us are entirely out of our control, of course, but to pretend that they are within our control entirely is deeply entitled, spiritually and psychologically myopic, and just false.
Hi Scott,
I think the fact that your article appeared in the notoriously anti-Christian HuffPo didn’t help your case one bit. Any article in HuffPo that claims to reflect on “Christianity” is almost always certain to be meaningless liberal dribble with very little in the way of proper reasoning.
I fully understood what you were TRYING to say in your article on material windfalls and the term “blessed” and you certainly don’t deserve derision; but your article definitely deserves correction.
You use the beatitudes to define who and what constitutes a blessing- note, your family isn’t in there, but I know my family is a blessing. Life isn’t in there, yet it is a great blessing that you have lived to glorify God. In any event, Christ was addressing spiritual and character blessings. Christ also did not say in the beatitudes: “And blessed is nothing and no one else who does not fall under this list”. You missed Christ’s point completely by reducing his teachings to the sum a single teaching presented in a context that you are failing to understand.
You then go on to address a worry over “offending” Christians who live under a different standard of living because their governments are oppressive and socialistic, which squashes their opportunity and freedom. Scott- I don’t know if you’ve read anything else but your own posts lately… but Christianity itself is offensive to many people.
You also claim money is a burden because it can present you with difficult choices, so therefore it’s wrong to consider wealth good.
Following your reasoning- Christianity, your family, and the lives of your children are not blessings, they’re burdens and are bad because they can be occasions for sin, they might offend someone, they present you with difficult choices (of which you will certainly make wrong ones), and they aren’t mentioned in the Beatitudes. They are also both material and spiritual.
You should read a little bit on the philosophy of money and work…
Peter
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Thank you for candidly sharing your thoughts. Could it be that our “blessings” are like the Talents in Jesus’s parable?
Matt 25: 15-30
“And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Today for anyone paying even a little attention its not hard to see the millions being enslaved to debt (right here in America!) and all over the world people being impoverished and oppressed by ignorance.
While so many of us today still stay in our comfortable bubbles…
In my humble opinion WE are loosing our legacy of freedom due too our misuse of our blessings here in America!
I believe we were all created for a purpose! That purpose is unique to each of us and beyond our specific passions, fulfilling that God given purpose should I believe help in bringing TRUTH, Hope and Freedom to all man kind! I pray that the next generation looks back on our time here with admiration of the courageous stand we took for freedom!!! Who’s with me???
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But so what, it was still worth it!
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Reblogged this on m e a n d e r s and commented:
This blog post is spot-on and certainly worth sharing, re-reading, and adjusting one’s perspective on “blessings” as a result of…
Loved this post, Amen.
You got it right MOG. That’s the truth, the real definition of biblical blessing, the heavenly and heaven making definition. Yes, many acclaimed pastors have strayed from the righteous and jesus kind of definitions of blessing. Many have been lead astray by these set of teachers or pastors in to robbery, murdering, wrong acquiring and accumulation of wealth in the name of wanting to belong to the classes of the false definition of the blessed. Kudos to God for this great write up of yours. I wish you more grace.
Awesome message! This is the kind of message that can bring more to Christ Jesus. Very well spoken, although I would like to add that Preachers should be focused on heavenly blessings mentioned in Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation rather than earthly possessions. Preachers should be inciting people to put away the things of this world rather than enticing them towards prosperity in this world.
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I’m grateful for your message. I struggle with depression and weep for the world in which we live yet I find joy in the smallest of things, those are what I consider my true blessings.
Hi Scott. The moment I was converted I asked myself the same things, I agree that most people believe that materialistic prosperity is the work of God and that the wrong assumption to make. God will reward us in heaven for our sacrifice we make here to advance the kingdom of heaven.
what about Malachi 3:10?
I read one passage in the book of Matthew, today. It said “You cannot serve both God and money”. Pretty eye-opening.
Job, David… there were many men in the Bible who had great wealth andw were called ‘friend of God’……. why as Christians we feel if we are not suffering we are not in God’s will. God loves to BLESS His children and sometimes that means materially or financially…. all good things from God…..
ALL good things come from God….. I give God the glory for everything good that comes into my life ~ a much needed and wanted vacation and the means to afford to take my daughter on one ~ GOOD THING= God…… He commands us to ask to be blessed! Job, ONE EXAMPLE was a very wealthy man… GOD BLESSED HIM…… and Job praised HIm for those (material) blessings. God knows our heart and the purpose He has for us…those who make a dollar a day and those who make more….. Your view seems rather lopsided.
….
This is a long slow lesson I am learning. After a very difficult 18 months I can see where God is leading. It is a totally different view of God’s plan for my life
Since reading your article a few months ago I haven’t forgotten the profound impact it has had on me. I have always agreed and thought this way, especially after traveling to many third world countries, but never could quite put my thumb on it. Thank you for speaking truth. I really believe this needed to be said and I pray this message continues to impact believers. We need to change our mindset on God as it’s been so twisted. Matthew 5 is in my heart in such a new way! Thank you!
Hello,
It is a message invitation from God to the sick and poor, because their suffering will end and enjoy. GOD showed me to call the sick and the poor, for the days when God will come, are almost . Tell those taken into care, as far as they can understand, we need to pray to God, bless the son of God, Jesus and all the angels and lumea.Să be patient and remain faithful, for KING God all comes curând.Să not practice idolatry, or the worship and service of something else and to keep the commandments as God gave them.
GOD
Unprofitable servants of
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bestspellhome@hotmail.com and all your problems are over for ever
Thanks for having the courage to speak up and remind all us christians out there that we are a privileged people simply because He loves us and we have decided to surrender our all to Him. We have or we receive because of God’s grace and love and not because of anything we do or say – we are equal in God’s world and NO, God is not a lottery ticket by which we give our tithes, or be a good saint, forgive always, love others, serve and surrender all in order that we might get financial or material wealth – or to earn anything back.
Its tough times and I often wonder how I will pay the next bill or how long I can keep a roof over my head – but my faith or my call to serve and worship the King of Kings, the only one who loves me just as I am, warts and all – does not depend on these things. Growing up we learn to have a ‘tic-for-tat’ mentality – I will do something for that person if they deserve it, or if I get something in return. We never think of ourselves being this way, but everyday we subconsciously do this and think we are in authority over the next person to do this. We justify it by reasons like, they need to learn, or via a form of discipline. BUT God seems to spend a lot of time dealing with this mindset and attitude because our relationship with Jesus is not about what I can do to earn or to deserve reward (love, money, better life, better relationships) – we have lost the root of what relationship with Jesus means – to simply LOVE HIM with all we have, and let HIS LOVE mould us, shape us and help us GROW to be more like Him. Then when we can learn to just enjoy spending our every minute of every day with Jesus despite our circumstances and feel truly loved and cared for and know His joy – then we are truly blessed.
The story of Job is really what our lives are about. Job, having lost everything never let it effect his relationship with Jesus – it wasn’t about how much he had or didn’t have. He just simply LOVED God no matter what – God never promised I will make life easy, rosy and make you all millionaires and ensure you have a comfortable conformed life for this world – He promised to be with us through the storms of life and make sure we feel loved and comforted – Paul, Peter, Job . . . . prisoned, crucified, lost everything – could it get any worse for these guys – how did they respond – they continued to love, praise, share the love of God – THAT IS A BLESSED LIFE!! We are all different and God will give us enough strength to walk through valleys and mountain top seasons – its our attitude and response in those seasons and the challenge to keep on loving God with a heart that nurtures and cherishes the love of God in our lives – life is getting really stormy out there and God needs His disciples to cling to Him, know His love, know His voice and stand firm, strong and be bold – for through Him we are more than conquerors …….. its ALL ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS – not about jobs, houses, holidays, money money money – nice as they are, they are all vulnerable and can be taken in an instant – but God, our relationship with Him – its the one thing that will stand the test of anything in life.
The Lord GIVETH ….. and the LORD taketh – I have lived through both so many times and yep, its a roller coaster ride at times – but what God always reminds me is …. I am HIS, I am LOVED, I am CHERISHED, I am special – and I just gotta keep going – one day at a time, one footstep at a time and trying to enjoy the journey. Spending time with Jesus is as good as having a hug and God putting his hand under our chin and causing us to gently lift our heads up and His simply whispers to us “everything will be ok, you are not on your own, I am with you” – then He simply pours His peace into our hearts, we take a deep breath and then He puts a smile back on our face and we feel a dose of strength and joy that is sufficient to get through the day ahead. Spending time with Jesus each day in this way, is the best medicine and prescription anyone could have. Yet our lives are so cluttered, so busy and when things are going so great, we are so quick to blame God for everything wrong in our lives and think He doesn’t care, but we have not even given Him the time or day …… until it all goes wrong …. this is God simply trying to get our attention and to help draw us back in cos He loves us and knows how much we need to spend time with Him – He knows that time with Him gives us the strength for the day ahead – without it, we are running on an empty tank …… its not God’s fault we choose to put work, church, family and everything else first in our lives and on a Sunday or when things are going belly up, we suddenly make Him a priority …. why why why do we neglect the very source of life that will nourish us and gives us everything we need to face the everyday ahead and prepare us ahead for the hurdles in life …. and when we aren’t expecting them, we are close enough to God to know that He has got hold of us and then it feels more like a minor bump in the road, rather than a major catastrophe
God is just the best and we cannot afford to not give our all to HIM!
how true these comments.prosperity gospel is a great threat to our faith,!Does God love less the one without shelter and adequate basics for the day?it is a lot easier although painful to be closer to God without worrying about our riches.The question to those that have must always be ‘why me ‘ – what does God want me to do with this?Yes we would be blessed if ‘having’ allows us yo reach out more to those that need God -more so spiritually.I recently lost my husband unexpectedly and I believe God has given me a new lease of life, to acquire riches no longer sits on my priority list .God does.My best of the beatitudes is’blessed are the pure in heart , for they shall see God’- how straightforward and unambiguous – yet really onerous what with our material blessings.I pray that the Lord holds my hand and fulfills me spiritually. God bless.
I’ve been searching to understand, as life and people have betrayed and let me down, as I’ve lost a child and now my job so unfairly, believe me or not, I was one of the hardest working, most honest, accurate, efficient, and cooperative of employes in a highly dysfunctional environment, where others, many completely lacking in some or all of these attributes, remain profitably employed…….so as I’ve been working to get back on my emotional and financial feet, I’ve been praying for God’s help and direction……but why would God help me, while other Christians around the world live their entire lives imprisoned, tortured, and killed for their faith? Why would God help me toward a better life, as other, even stronger Christians than myself, live emotionally strained in filthy prison cells, in hunger and pain until they die?
Hi Donna and everyone else
Might I say that God does not want to help us, but rather wants to live it through us.
I understand your struggles. The people who have hurt me in the past the most were some of many good people that called themselves Christian. Indeed they probably are saved but not all Christians act like Christ – none of us do all the time.
I have been a few times at the bottom of the barrel, the only way to look is up or die. God is my strength and redeemer. I threw away picturing others as better than me, having it together, whatever– I found that God loves me and what others think really does not matter. The only thing that any Christian has to offer is love for God and love others as themselves. THE HARDEST TRUTH to get across is this, God loves everyone equally without partiality – from the most liked person in the world to the biggest sinner God loves us all. He hates our sins. Why? Sin separates us from Him! It is not the fact that sin destroys relationships with God and mankind but the fact that people can’t recognize that God still loves them even in their sins. When we quit trying to earn our way to Heaven and recognize that is the work of Jesus ONLY then we are free.
We are programmed to feel bad when we do wrong. A true Christian does not want to do wrong, just does not know how to escape some sins. God does not beat down the down cast but does resist the proud that resist Him and others. God never changes.
Should we do good works to earn God’s affection? No! Because God loves us and (we should let Him) floods us with His presence, wisdom, joy, and strength.
The Joy of the Lord is our strength. Focus on what if’s , what could have been, our sins, our faults, others faults, etc interfere with simply seeking and staying in God’s presence, under His wings of protection and solace. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things you and others need will be given you. Why prosperity is good and God’s highest aspiration for His people? Because we are not paupers but King’s Kids and if we won’t let money or anything get in the way of intimacy with Him and we seek to pursue His will – then all these things will be added to us. Pray for those persecuted and in poverty around the world that they find real prosperity in God and that God set them above those who would persecute them. Pray the answer not the problem.
God want the BEST for His kids but just like a good parent, He wants us more than just to bless us as He desires. We are to seek Him not riches, love Him not the world system, love Him, walk in forgiveness for others as well as ourselves, and be free walking daily in God’s garden, intimate with the Creator that loved me or you or others enough to die for me (or any individual). How can anyone neglect so great a salvation. How can anything keep us down as we fix our eyes on our best Friend and lover (unconditional love).
Be blessed and be a blessing and see yourself as God sees you -full of love and joy that we are His,
Dale
Thank you Dale, and I thank God for you. I have to tell you something. In my searching I spent some time reading my Bible yesterday and was enlightened with some knowledge previously ignored. That is, that the mind is flesh. My flesh has been fairly obedient in my current life, but my mind has been a huge problem and has been torturing me, holding me prisoner in anger and emotional hurt, which I realized are feelings are born of pride, which is blocking God’s blessings from me, even if He does want to bless me in some way. I realized I must control my mind and was quite successful and more at peace throughout the day and evening, and even through a sleepless night of insomnia (with which I have always been plaged). I finally slept in the early morning hours and into the afternoon…….and I dreamed. I was in a situation connected with the troublesome times I’m now involved in, and in a place filled with the people who have hurt me most, as they gathered against me. At one point, I looked at my hands and on the top side of the finger of my right hand was written a scripture reference, book, chapter,and number, with which I am totally unfamiliar. I immediately woke and looked up that scripture which spoke directly to my situation in some remarkably specific detail. Then I read the entire chapter which spoke in greater depth to my current state, told me that God loves me, told me that God would tell my enemies He loves me, warned me to stay strong, clean and avoid sin as I move through these situations, and made me realize, of persecution, that the world did it to Jesus, the world did it to John the Baptist, the world did it to the prophets and the saints……..all in varying degrees. And that the world will do it to all of us IN-VARYING-DEGREES, and in different ways. So I have been blessed with a revelation and an answer directly from God. I am in awe. And today I will be reading and studying that book of the Bible in greater depth.
Donna you are more than welcome. We need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and the Word of God. The separating of the wheat and weeds is going on – the godly sheep and the ungodly wolves. When we trust God and love Him and extend that love to others we are right with God, no matter how the devil and world rants and carries on. Sometimes I laugh at the absurd effort to dethrone God from America – the asinine statements made just to be destructive and contentious by goose stepping morons that can’t think for themselves and follow their sheep off the cliff to destruction. Other times I sigh with disappointment in how low people will lower their standards trying to destroy what is good.
In all this – ‘guard your heart for out of it come the issues of life’ and ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength. Satan and the world system want to be rulers of the earth and Christianity is their direct enemy. The Satanic New World Order system is what I refer to. It really is the Satanic Old World Bondage System.
We need to take every thought captive to the Word, pull down stronghold over us and others. We don’t fight flesh and blood but Satanic Spiritual Forces that desire to rule the world and cause the problems. Bind those forces over each situation and loose God into the situations. This is binding and loosing that we as Christians are supposed to do. We don’t bind people, we bind the forces driving them. We loose people from their slavery so God can move in the situation. We don’t have to say a word to specific people but take them to God.
I am baptized in the Holy Spirit, don”t broad cast that, and thus pray in tongues sometimes and in the Spirit often. I am not speaking to people but to God. If I don’t know what to say, God gives me the right words. I don’t know what I said unless He gives me the interpretation.
What I speak of has nothing to do with salvation and if humbly received is a powerful tool to hit the target all the time, even when you don’t know what the target is.
Most of my conversations with God are in my own language so I clearly know what I said and then receive what God has to say by shutting up and being still and letting God be God, my BEST FRIEND.
This life is full of struggles and upsets but if you “let no man/woman/ whatever steal your joy” then the joy of the Lord indeed is your strength. Happiness depends on feelings and situations but joy give even more strength and vitality when you trust God enough to cast all cares on Him. I went to the Lord one time asking Him to take my cares. He responded “No! I’m not going to do it.” I responded with the Word, “casting all your cares on Him for He cares for you.” God said, “Notice, I said ALL. Give me ALL or I will take NONE.” You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to do what I did. I said, “Here! Take them ALL.” Then His peace and joy flooded my soul (mind, will, and intellect). My spirit man was jumping for joy and my body got excited also. Ha! I am not a strongly emotional person at all, very driven by logic but the intuitive part of my brain caught on quick then I could see the logic of accepting it. Ha!
I perceived the concept of sharing burdens with God by the yoke example. Two oxen pull a load together. One may get tired and the other pulls the load and when it gets tired the other resumes pulling the load. It was natural to believe that I had to pull the load sometimes. God needs no rest and He is far stronger than we are. Some time later, I pondered the verse, “take My yoke on you for My burden is light.” God got me to fill a piece of paper with a circle. He said to put a small dot on the circumference. This was very strange to me. He then said, “This is My burden for you when I looked at the dot. The large circle is My burden.” Awesome.
Later I pondered what kind of burden God was talking about. I knew it was the cares of the world that chokes out the Gospel and gets us down if we take those cares. I knew I was to take ALL of those cares and lay them on Jesus. So what burden (which I wrongly thought of as cares) is God talking of? God showed me that the yoke He spoke of is love (His agape love – unconditional). God loves every creation of His and especially Adam’s race – all of us. It is not conditioned on loving those that are lovely but even the rebels and evil ones. Do you love their ways? No! Love the sinner but hate the sin and when you help others make sure that you do it by God’s strength lest you become weak. This is guarding your heart.
In one sense I love everybody and in another sense I could care less if they hate me. I present things in love and if they choose hate then that is between them and God. End of story. I will pray that God deal with them and give them to God. One intercessor friend of mine got too close to the cares of the world and took too much burden on herself and died young. I prayed about that and got told me what I just relayed. He said that an intercessor is to care enough to pray boldly before Him and let go of the person and their problems – give it ALL to God, or else Satan will use it to drag you down.
Cast ALL cares or else you become slave to them and to the ones who loads you with cares.
Be encouraged of this also, you are beautiful to God and He loves you greatly. Quit focusing on what is wrong and give those thing to God and focus on what God thinks of you. Learn to be still and discern His voice. We can be so busy that God can’t be heard, especially if loaded with cares or pressed ‘I got to do this or that’. Take time daily to get in God’s presence where few to no distractions are (cut off TV/radio and the cell phone or take it off the hook). Praise Him, lifting holy hands – sometimes I think God presence is strongest above our heads Ha!), cast all cares and enter His rest. Then thank God for His presence and showing you wisdom. Satan stirs things, God gives an unmistakeable peace that surpasses all understanding. Then shut up and listen to His still small Voice. If a thought or voice says something that robs you of peace – rebuke it in Jesus Name and still yourself and your spirit. God’s word and when He speaks is always in line with His Word. Often God will bring up scriptures you heard or know out of your spirit man to your mind. It is rare for God to speak audibly. He does sometimes with me, sounds just like a person talking in my ear. Almost always He speaks softly and gently. Some have a different personality and engage others very directly so God deals with them directly in ways that they appreciate.
God know us inside out and is more delighted with a Christian that is flawed or sins than with those who won’t listen to Him. Those who accept Him have a special place in His heart though He loves all men/women equally. It is like this, there are children that rebel against their parents and there are children that love their parents. The parent loves good and bad kids but draws intimacy with and pleasure from those who draw close to and value Him. God is the same.
Be tough on areas that need changing in your life but not too tough – give them to God and ask for His help. Quickly run to God when you sin or have failures or encounter problems. Get forgiveness if you need and if you did wrong to someone else try to get forgiveness and make things right. If they hold grudges, give them to God they are the ones with a problem not you when you apologize. Don’t pull yourself down, compare yourself to others, love God, love yourself, and share God’s overflowing love with others and let go and let God be God. We are to be Care Free and take a light burden of loving others enough to reach out when God leads us to do so.
Be blessed and be a blessing. Be encouraged, God is not mad at the world and any human. God is mad at evil and our because sin separates us from Him
And now there is nothing I CAN do but ‘be still and wait on the Lord’, because for now my quest to replace my job is over because my car insurance has lapsed and I am trapped inside my home. My money is completely gone, credit card payments are in arrears, but at least I did cash out my 401k and pay off my car loan because I saw this potential coming…..so at least my car can’t be repossessed.
But having been blessed by a definite sign from God, I will eventually be ok one way or another.
I prayed for an automobile, and I never got it.
I decided to steal one and just ask for forgiveness.
Forgiveness is the best, the sinners refresh button…
a daily get out of jail free card.
I even Justify my theft by driving my brethren to service on Sundays.
I have been driving this car for 9 months now and certainly feel
the lord wanted me to have this car.
The problem now is I have my eyes on a Newer Cadillac Escalade.
I can fit much more brothers in that car/SUV and God would surely
me if ask forgiveness in a group prayer.
With ten brothers in the prayer circle I am pretty sure I can yield 10 fold forgiveness.
I have been down at the bottom of the barrel. You have to get your focus off of the situation and cares – you HAVE to cast ALL cares on God. Once you get close to Him then you need to take accountability for your actions. God is not a pie in the sky emulation of government handouts. You have done wrong and must clean up your spirit man.
God understands your desperation and can forgive but you have to repent, turn around directions. It is not your property and God did not give it to you. Get right with God and He will give you strength to do the right thing. Otherwise be sure that your wrongdoing will catch up with you. God loves you much even loves sinners that hate Him – we are of Adam’s race, created in His image. He saves us and yes we have problems and just like spoiled kids having temper tantrums wanting our way no matter what He still loves us and if we truly trusted in Jesus, accepted Him as our Savior, then the Holy Spirit came in and changed us. Knowing about Jesus and merely having warm fuzzy feelings does not save us. We have to acknowledge that we are sinners, we need Jesus, He is the Savior and we accept Him then our lives will change. Otherwise we are deceived.
Desperation and immaturity gets us to do dumb things that dishonor God. We should feel bad when we do wrong, called a conscience. Also the Holy Spirit will make us feel uncomfortable to show us that we are going away from God and that we need to repent and turn around. Read Luke in the Bible and still yourself and be honest with God. All is not lost and God can definitely forgive but He wants us to try to do what is right and honor Him and do rightly to our fellow man. Don’t give up and let God instruct you. Remember how we treat others is how we treat God.
Hi Dale
If you are in Christ, then you are no longer of Adams race, but are now of God’s race as you were adopted into God’s family. “Jesus is the first born of a new race.” Col. 1:15
John had no reply – Yes we are new creations in Jesus – our eternal spirit is made perfect by Jesus but our carnal earthly mind wars with our reborn spirit and with God’s Holy Spirit – wars until we let God’s Holy Word show us Who God is – how wonderful He is and who we are, seeing that God loved us as sinners and the only thing we can boast of is Jesus. We are saved, sanctified, taught, led, and given value because of Jesus ONLY.
Our spirits may be born again but we are still fleshly Adam’s race though born again of the Holy Spirit. We are of two worlds and until we put on our perfect body we carry our Adamic body.
Each day we choose our old carnal nature from Adam or our new nature by Jesus. “Set before you is like and death, choose life and live.”
Having said all of this and showing that we always have to choose who is going to be have reign in our lives – Satan, ourselves, others, or God – I also emphasize that God has the victory for us if we merely TRUST Him with each area of our lives. He can’t move if we are in the way and won’t move if we rebel against Him or think ourselves more clever than God. The danger is do we recognize in each situation that God is God or recreate God in our image. —— On the other hand if God is God to us and we know that He can do anything good for us then we have to trust Him, obey what He says to do, don’t do what He says don’t do, and simply follow Him. Trust/faith can move mountains and all things are possible if that trust is wholly in God and trust/faith in the problem, ourselves above God, others above God, or unbelief will stop God’s hand from moving in mighty ways.
Eternally we can be saved and live miserable lives if we focus on the problem rather than the solution God. Also, we can persistently live in peace and joy in the greatest of storms of life because we walk under the shadow of the Almighty. Our choice each day is life or death. We should choose life in God only and live free and above the world each day.
Semantics sometimes has the temptation to rewrite the dictionary, even in religious context, doesn’t it?
I always viewed the use of the word “blessed” as the act of God showing favoritism for one over another or his approval and rewarding for such acts. It has made me suspicious at times of his partisanship – kind of like a mother who always gives an extra cookie to one of her kids for apparently no reason.
Why does he make life easier for some of us while harder for others?
I don’t used the word “blessed” much, except those rare moments when it is plainly obvious that only divine intervention saved the day, like when a deer runs in front of my car on the highway when I’m cruising in the fast lane at 80 miles per-hour.
Surely that is a moment one can be considered “blessed.”
I firmly believe (as a Catholic) that most of our material successes come from hard work, focusing, and sometimes being in the right place at the right time or simply being lucky.
It is those opportunities in life that God has supplied me with that make me feel “blessed.”
Interesting post and food for thought! 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind post Donna. If I was a blessing, praise God. I am 65 but still a student as well as apt to teach. When you relay things, it is easy to get in the flesh especially if you are dealing with rebellious destructive individuals. We all are imperfect and the hardest thing to change is how we communicate and yet try to honor God in all we say and do.
No one is perfect. The only difference between us and the world is Jesus saved us, sent the Holy Spirit to instruct us if we will listen, and God recreates our spirit man. The challenge is our natural man – the flesh and our own minds that are conditioned by our environment and the things we see and choose to believe. The flesh and carnal fleshly mind are at war with our own recreated spirit man – as well as with war against God.
This is where our mind needs flushing out by reading and acknowledging the truths that God reveals to us through His Word and through those who share the Word of God. Both of us are just as much ministers of the Word as any preacher. We are all supposed to share the Word with the world and each others in the love of God. If I run into a real knot head my patience sometimes gets low and if not careful I could treat them as they treat me. I am not their Savior. I am a mouth piece and if I state what God wants then I please Him.
I have learned that no one can love God too much or please Him too much. If I love my wife more than God, I dishonor God and my love for my wife is weak. If I love God first and most then I have more than enough love for my wife. The world system wants to eliminate God from mind and heart. Result, no true godlike love but conditional love. If you do what I want and don’t disagree with me then I will love you. Self centered love is lust and conditional friendship. Hate flourishes and self worth may be high for some and low for others but worth of others is based on what they do or say rather than respect even for those who may disagree with you from time to time.
Keep focused on God, cast ALL cares on the Lord, and keep on blessing others.
Be blessed and be a blessing!
My son in law was able and willing to pay my car insurance for me. That was a favor, a kindness, a blessing. As for blessings, who does and who does not get blessings from God. As to which child God, as a parent, does or does not give a cookie to ….. Maybe it’s like a parent who has two children, one child loves the parent and spends time with the parent, seeks the parent’s approval and advice, values and takes good care of the things the parent gives him. The parent is able to help that child with material things as well as wisdoms.
Say this same parent has another child who is scornful, refuses to listen, is stubborn and always thinks his way is right, stomps off to his room in anger, ignores his parents words, goes his own way against parents advice and gets himself into messes, (then blames the parent for his troubles), throws tantrums and breaks his belongings. Truly there isn’t much that the parent can do to help this child.
Which type of child is each of us, as children of God, and could this be the answer as to why some are blessed and others not.
I admit, I get angry at God and blame Him for my messes at times, even though I know that I, myself, or another freewill human is responsible for my problem.. And even though many clearly spiritual miricles have been experienced by members of my own family throughout the years, and as I stated above, I recently received a personal message from the Heavenly realm, but only after I had fallen so far down and felt I could count on no one else, and had been there for what felt like an unbearable amount of time, (months), in which all I had was God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to call on, and had been crying out to them and studying scripture in isolation from the world…..maybe that’s where you have to be spiritually in order to hear what God wants to tell you. Basically maybe I had to quit being a brat child and come out of my room and listen to my Parent.
Another blessing I recently received came from scripture study when I realized and acknowledged that my mind, my thoughts, are of the flesh. I have been living many months tormented numerous times each day by my thoughts, the memories of what this one and that one did to unfairly put me where I am, heavy emotional and spiritual baggage I dragged around all day every day. Now when these thoughts hit, I tell myself that this is flesh, born of vanity about what I deserve. (And I remind myself of what ‘they’ did to Jesus, John the Baptist, and the prophets).
I tell myself that dwelling on these thoughts is exactly the same as having dirty sex with the people I’m having destructive thoughts about, and so am able to let the thoughts go instead of allowing them to drag me down, because indulging in these thoughts makes me an bratty teenager with my loud headphones on listening to worldly music and shuting out the wisdoms my Parent wishes to share with me.
Oh yes, and as I toss the destructive thoughts, I also must say a prayer for the people I’m refusing to think bad thoughts about. And I must forgive them so God can forgive me.
And so God can bless me…..even if that blessing is added wisdom, and emotional and spiritual healing only, not material things…….which by being healed and healthy I will be enabled to go out and take care of with my healthy physical body and mind, which I may in fact lose if I don’t seek healing in the manner I’ve spoken of, as my negativity and emotional state were definitely in danger of ruining.
Sorry to have run on so long, but I do think I am beginning to heal through seeking the wisdoms of God and thereby opening myself to whatever kind of blessing God does have to offer, and I hope that sharing what I am learning may be helpful to someone else.
I appreciate your insightful and honest thoughts. Obviously you are growing in the Lord. What we see in the world is not always God’s will. God carries out His ultimate will and scriptures unfold as the Bible prophecies. Even prophecy is not always God’s will but telling what the world will do and what God will do in response to what man will do.
We wonder why God’s perfect will is not done – it is not His fault. We live in a fallen world. When God created Adam and Eve they took care of the Garden of God near Eden but they also were given lease and dominion over the world. Remember God visited Adam and walked in the Garden with him in the cool of the day. Yes, God owns the world but He gave dominion to mankind. With the fall of Adam and Eve they had to leave the Garden so that they could not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever in their sin. Still it took about 900 years for Adam to physically die.
Lease is about to run out on the Adamic race when Jesus and His saints return to earth and Jesus takes dominion over the earth. His kings and queens rule with Him as their King of Kings.
Our choices are our choices and we should choose to serve God, not out of servitude legally as with the Torah Law, serve God willingly and motivated out of love. He loves us so much that we should want to please Him. He did so much for us to be with Him and His Father that we desire to do His will. What is His will? To love God with all of our being, love ourselves – who God makes us, and love our neighbors as ourselves. This completes all the commandments and our being able to do this is through the power of God and our cooperation with Him. I do nothing to impress God. I do nothing because I have to. I do not fear God as one fears something as terrible. I respect/fear God and desire to please Him. If I fail, it is my fault not God’s and I quickly run to God and get forgiveness. If I sin, I run to God and not away from Him as Adam and Eve did. I don’t blame God for anything bad that happens. He allows because Adam’s race allows. He restrains the evil but does not stop it ultimately. He depends on His BODY of believers. The Body of Christ has Jesus as the Head, issuing instructions and guiding what to do and when to do it. The Body consists of many parts, many people. When the parts fight each other and try to reject organs then the Church is powerless. Love for God and Love for the brethren is only possible through following the Head and abiding close to God.
The root world system is evil and is contrary and in opposition to the will of God. Bad things happen to even good people. We indeed live in a fallen world. The power available through Jesus is without limit. The united Body of Christ is not powerless when it uses the dominion power give it. We can pray with power and in agreement and tear down so many evils that go on. It takes UNITY. In prayer (and action) one can put a thousand to flight. Two – 10,000. Three =100,000. Etc. Unity in spirit and purpose and united in function.
A relationship is about giving and receiving. One is giving while the other is receiving, and vice versa. That’s just how relationships work. While I agree fully everything that the Bible teaches which includes the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus never said that thos who have are not blessed nor did he say they were burdened, they are just expected to do more because they have more. Also, the Bible clearly states that wealth is a blessing, obvously not a blessing everyone receives but still a blessing nonetheless. it all boils down to what we do with that blessing. To whom much is given, much is required. God blesses America with wealth in order to be a blessing to other countries. We are blessed with extra money at times in order to bless someone else. That is the way Godwants it and that is the way communion with God and with our fellow man works. That is the basis of a relationship. We all have something to give, and we all have the need to receive blessings as well.
Right on! That was well stated and so true.
I might elaborate on about relationships. First of all it is hard to develop relationships on blogs and even email, phone calls, or other media. One on one, eye to eye, heart to heart is where good relationships bond.
Attitude is the biggest factor. What one goes to the table of communications with is what they usually walk away with. If one chooses to find fault in others they will and destroy relationships. However, if one chooses to look for good in others they will almost always and build relationships. On blog spots I find that often there is posturing and venting of frustrations and hate and little dialog that could build a relationship on, instead people may posture that the other person is the enemy vs someone who disagrees.
It is said, “attitude is latitude.” How true. Essentially one can pursue knowledge and understanding and exchange view points respectfully or can use communications to spread hate and discontent – fighting all the way, even fighting those who desire to do good. The best way to describe this is folks digging their way deeper into the mire vs digging their way out of the mire. The false illusion about extreme emotions of hate and rebellion is it makes you feel worse than before — it digs ones soul into a deeper mire. Pride keeps people on the path of destruction. They may think they destroy others but in reality they are destroying themselves more.
As Christians, we should CHOOSE good over evil, we should build up vs tear down. I choose to love people who are unlovely as well as lovely. I have no room for hate in my life because if I hate anyone then I can’t love God and receive the love of God because of spiritual interference. People who carry grudges for years, how dumb. I choose to love others and not embrace hate in order to 1. try to find a way to help the person that is full of hate 2. not let their hate interfere with my relationship with God and others…… If I don’t forgive others then I can’t be forgiven. If I don’t try to help others forgive and see God then their path may only grow worse until they condemn themselves and others to hell.
To do nothing achieves nothing. To get ahead of God and not walk in His will is foolish and opens one to spiritual attacks that might win. To walk in the Spirit and obey God step by step — the only way to fly.
I don’t concern myself with how people act, appearances can be deceptive. I concern myself in helping others recognize that God loves them and accepts them even with their faults. If I can get someone to think a little different in the right direction then I have planted a seed that God may be able to grow. I have no ill will towards anyone. I hate all sin in myself and others because if separates people from God and each other but I choose to love the sinner as Jesus instructed. I screw up sometimes but always try to keep my heart and attitude right. I purposefully am tough with some because some only respect toughness.
I try to meet people with who they are and their modes of communication as well as I can and trust God for wisdom. Sometimes I get carried away but my heart is right and that is where I try to reach people at – not just intellectually. The only challenge with communications is communications itself – crossing mind sets, barriers, and biases.
Be blessed.
So true. Once we have Jesus in our lives, from then on we naturally hate evil and love good (I never understood some Christians who believed it doesn’t matter if we sin- what true Christan would want to?) And its kinda funny what you mention about holding grudges. Just recently I was deeply convicted to let go of everything bad I was holding against some of the people in my life. It was a long and painful process, but the Lord finally revealed to me that true love is to love people regardless of what they do or who they are, and to love people even when you don’t like them and you don’t want to. That was extremely hard for me, but once I got over that obstacle, everything was a whole lot easier and lighter. The world is always trying to infiltrate our minds with how relationships should be, that we are entitled and we deserve respectfrom everyone. Jesus wants us to love unconditionally, the hardest thing to do, but the way true relatonships are supposed to be.
Excellent post, Scott. Everyone on this earth, believers and unbelievers alike, are sinners. We struggle every minute of our lives to do God’s will so that we can receive the eternal rewards he promises to believers. I understand what you meant by wondering why you were born in the US and have some benefits not available to those born in other parts of the world. It’s what we do with what we have that is important. Even the poor must be meek, humble, and loving in order to be blessed not in this world but in the next. Jesus’ Beatitudes are for all to strive to live by, rich and poor. So when things are going good or bad for us, we are truly grateful to God for His mercy and goodness in giving us many chances to abide by His Word and experience the peace and comfort knowing Him brings.
Hi All
This is a reply to all who are in Christ Jesus. It would seem like so many believers are ignorant of who they truly are in Christ according to God’s word. Scripture says that our old man was crucified with Chist and burried with Him. And when He rose from the dead, we rose with Him in newness of life as brand new creations in Christ. The apostle Paul never wrote letters to sinners, but to saints. Now I understand that it is much easier to believe in how we feel than what God says about us, but believing in God’s truth about us will go a long way in our being delivered from the bondage of any sin. We are who we are not because of what we do or don’t do, but because of what Christ has done to us. There is no such thing as a sinner saved by grace, but we are saints who sometimes sin.
Praise God.
John
It is a game of semantics. On one hand because we are saved and Jesus placed us in the family of God we have no right to call ourselves sinners because our sins are covered by His blood as far as the Father is concerned when He looks at us He sees Jesus. On the other hand, just because we are saved does not mean all the natural mind is right nor that all our tendency for sinning has not changed, Christians can act so carnal that people who are not saved are repelled by how they act better than those who are supposed to be Christians. —- This means that we can be sinners saved by grace or Christians that can sin. —- The contrast of ides behind the two claims are muddied by the statements themselves perhaps and how we view things. Let us get balance here.
Balance, a Christian is a sinner that is saved by Jesus sacrifice. The grace and mercy of God is extended to the person and the person chose to humble him/herself and ACCEPT what Jesus did for him/her. “By faith (trust in Jesus sacrifice) are you saved – not of works so you can’t boast (boast about not needing God’s Son to be saved) – it (salvation) is a GIFT of GOD.” —- No, I repeat no person can boast. Jesus said, “I am the way (to God) the truth (about God) and the Life (of God). No man/woman goes to the Father God except through the Son (Jesus).” This means all have to go to the Gate as they die and if they reject Jesus and are fearful they can’t be with Jesus in Heaven, and if they see Jesus and are not fearful because they were true to what God had shown them and accept the Son then they will enter. Salvation is centered on Jesus
Those who know Jesus and accept that He is the Savior, the Son of God Who died on a cross for them and resurrected to take them to Heaven have their spirit man renewed/recreated born again of the Spirit of God. Then the Holy Spirit enters the person to be seal the person’s salvation. The person won’t be happy and content to do wrong and sin. If they read the Bible and get their mind renewed/reprogrammed to think like their reborn mind of their own spirit then they grow closer to God, no matter what happens to and around them. It is the joy of the Lord that is their strength.
I was raised a Baptist and was told, “once saved, always saved”. I studied the Bible and adjusted that to “once truly saved, always saved”. I have great confidence that God will “never leave nor forsake me”. Notice God won’t leave you if you really are saved. This does not mean that one can not leave God and tell the Holly Spirit to leave — God is a gentleman and would go if not wanted. This is not a brass statement out of frustration to God but a TOTAL rejection of God. Few do this. There are many closets and fascets to our lives. As Christians we should leave all doors open so God is welcome. ——– First let me say this, as long as there is a sensitivity of a wrong you do contrary to God’s Word then you are saved. Some close their closets to God especially when they do it themselves and don’t want God in that area. They never mature as Christians as they should. If all doors are closed to God then you would tell God, “get out” and mean it with all of your being. The best way to define it is this – God says something is wrong and you become convinced it is right. God says something is right and you become convinced it is wrong. If you do this enough when God says something you will think it is Satan and Satan says something then you will think it is God. THIS PERSON has no sensitivity to please God and has TOTALLY eliminated the possibility to be saves when he/’she kicks the Holy Spirit totally our of their life.
Calling any right as wrong and wrong as right and reprogramming the conscience so God can’t deal with you is extremely dangerous. If I committed adultery and really convinced myself it was OK I closed a big door. Same with any sin – stealing, murder, lying, homosexuality, any sin. The danger is that sin closes our hearts and minds to what God says. Can a Christian who sins go to Heaven? If they have not kicked God our calling what He says is good is evil and what He says is evil is good and struggle with their sin they still are saved, they have not made God a liar and rejected Him — they just have weaknesses and sins that give them grief. ——– The clue: A lost sinner can’t wait to sin, sometimes may regret it but loves it and does not know better. A Christian DOES NOT WANT TO DISPLEASE GOD NOR HURT ANYONE. A Christian can have a struggle but instead of running from their Savior needs to run to God with their sin, get forgiveness, forgive oneself, and ask God to deliver and help the person. Christians are not looking to sin, they want the way out. ——- HOPE If you never in this fleshly body can always win the battle over a weakness and sin keep running to God and seek the solution. God gives peace, joy, and strength.. KEEP YOUR EYES ON HIM AND HIS GOODNESS AND NOT ON THE PROBLEM. God will work with you and deliver you. Big problem – little God. Big GOD -little problem.
When my children were young, we attended a mega-church in Tacoma, Washington. The sanctuary was huge, imposing, and chandelier-filled, and seats were filled to overflowing. The pastor drove a new Cadillac and ate and dressed well. He’d incorporated the church, so his staff was personally hand-picked and, more often than not, related to him by blood. The church school was developmentally sound, and they championed their bright and capable students and were selective in their top-of-the-league line-up for youth soccer and baseball teams. The church’s messages of tithing-as-a-prerequisite-to-earning and earthly rewards for the worthy gave rise, in my experience, to the polarities: If you cannot tithe generously, you cannot expect to be blessed financially… and if you are suffering to feed your children, you clearly are not following God. It’s such a short jump from “I’m doing the right thing, so I’m blessed” to “You’re NOT blessed because you got what you deserve.” Your evolution from “blessed” to “grateful” seems to have developed with much prayer, reflection, and humility; may God bless you in all His perfect ways.
I appreciate your complement and the depth of wisdom you reveal. We are to be willing servants of others, freely obedient to God, and hang out with such a wonderful God the Creator – walking in the Garden of God daily, God and us enjoying each other. Focus on God, facing our problems and challenges and petitioning God for Him to provide the solution (willing to obey if He want us to do something towards that solution) and then when it is in trustingly in His Hands – let go and CAST ALL CARES on the Lord, then we will see God do mighty things. This sequence is so important. 1. see the problem/sin 2. give the problem/sin
to God petitioned in prayer with thanksgiving for God handling the problem/sin 3. pray with thanksgiving and get release 4. listen to God, if He wants you to do something 5. write down what God says, what is on your heart 6. when at total peace, cast ALL, not just some, CARES on Jesus 7. thank God for His faithfulness 8. write down what you prayed to get and released to God, casting All cares on Jesus and date it 9. go on about your business and do what God said or what you need to do in life 10. then stay free by trusting God to be faithful. Keep your eyes on God and not when, how, or if the prayer will be answered – trust Him. On some occasions no answer is an answer. The answer may be quick or seem to last forever or may not appear that it will happen. If we place our trust in such things we miss the mark – answers to prayer are to be believed for and God is to be trusted. I once told God, “if I die, then You are just going to have to explain it to me because according to Your Word “by Jesus stripes I was and am healed.” Power best flows where there is faith/trust demands. If I had died, it would not have been God’s fault. I choose to die believing His Word vs die in unbelief of any form. Ha!
It is such a shame that some so called church’s focus on money and not God and people. I am an inventor called by God to do so. I have had inventions stolen and prospered others They are wealthy and God takes care of me but money is quite tight on retirement. Nevertheless, I hold on to God first and believe His promise will come to pass – to be “a great inventor that will greatly prosper the Church.” Who and what is the Church? People who promote the cause of Christ, fellowship and pray in unison and have leaders that follow God who assist you in growth and understanding of the Word of God while leading the body of believers to Jesus with emphasis on loving Jesus and the Father, following the Word of God, and treating each other as you would want to be treated — this is the Church to me.
Let me share this with you:
I recognize the power of UNITY. So does the New World Order. The Church unified blows away the world systems. Satan/Lucifer works on disunity – divide and conquer. All Christians have the same Holy Spirit to guide and instruct them in God’s ways and will. All Christians have their old eternal spirit born again, made ready to meet God when they accepted Jesus and the Holy Spirit won’t leave or forsake us eternally. Some roots as Christians are so weak that Satan gets them to think all of God’s good is evil and all of Lucifer’s evil is good. These few totally reject the Holy Spirit (think He is evil and Lucifer is good) and thus force the Holy Spirit to leave, not God’s will at all.
So many people hurt and feel bad when they do things wrong. Satan tries to make them miserable after tempting them to do wrong. He says, “You blew it now, God does not love you anymore” or other words to tear you down and keep you in misery. Satan is a low life scum who acts like the best friend to those who follow him and attacks anyone who even wants to step towards God, especially those close to salvation or those who are saved through Jesus mercy and grace – ONLY. He even tries to get people away from salvation through grace to try to earn their way to Heaven — step back under the law into bondage. A real low life!
This is what Satan focuses on obscuring: your righteousness is in Christ ONLY. It is God’s righteousness that saved and keeps you saved. You should do good works out of the overflow of God’s love for you not to impress God or others. God wants you free to stay close to Him and is not mad at you if you screw up and sin – He loved you as a sinner separated from Him and loves you when you mess up. He is not the Accuser of the Brethren – Satan is and people do a good job also.
The very fact that there is not total rejection of God and a sense of right and wrong that causes some pain MEANS one is still saved if they were saved before. Else it means that they need to turn to God and get saved. A problem or hurt or challenge in your life, God wants to help you and not hurt you. We have enough problems in the world without God being a problem as Satan likes to say.
My point of unity again, as I said I am an inventor. If the local bodies of Christ would follow the Head, Jesus, we could help each other succeed and mutually benefit. Imagine how naturally prosperous financially and in every area of life and godliness the Church would be if we loved one another and helped each other to succeed. Foreign missions are needed. Taking care of the building that houses the saints is essential, as long as it does not become the focal point like the Vatican, flaunting wealth while the saints meagerly live. Honoring God with a good looking building is fine as long as the focus of the Church is in leading people to Jesus -foreign and domestic– here and now in a local body of believers..
With unity of purpose, helping each other succeed, all things are possible. Of course we must forgive others, not compare ourselves to others (better off or lesser off), and simply choose to love God first and others as ourselves.
Be blessed and thanks for being a blessing.
I love it, when the grace of wisdom is both given and shared. Thank you for the truth.
I am glad that was a blessing to you. Our freedom in Christ is not an occasion to sin but sometimes we can be trapped in traps that may take a long time for God to work out in our lives to be free of. The wonderful thing is God loved us as sinners that rejected or hated Him and sent Jesus to save us from ourselves. God loves us as Christians even if we are slow to receive His Word to reprogram/renew our natural mind to think more like our born again mind of our spirit, the real us. The two minds war all the time, this means we have to submit to God and trust Him as our Lord and daily keep our rudder on course towards Him. If we get off course He is not upset unless it is out of a rebellious attitude. Then He lets us be miserable and patiently waits for us to return to get forgiveness. Then He does not say, “I told you so” but lovingly receives His son or daughter that went astray just like the parable of the prodigal son.
God is so good and so patient. We often get in the way of healing by trying to fix the problem without His help – in the guise of pleasing Him. He probably laughs at some of our feeble actions like a father that tells a son to do something and the kid has to do it his way and mess up. He doe not make us slaves but gives us the freedom to choose. ‘Set before you today is the path of life and the path of death, choose life and live.” Simple! Keep the eyes on Jesus and He will get you and your boat through the storms to the safe shore of Heaven.
Look up blessed in a strong’s. Then look up James 1:17 and see “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above”… We are blessed and need to be thankful for and that thanks all goes to him. Just a thought to put out there for you
Greetings & choice blessings Scott,
After working on a roof yesterday with a few other Christian men, totally enjoying the day even though we had to dodge the rain and work between the down pours. I came up with a plan to move something I was working on along quicker. Upon thinking that I came up with this plan, the scripture came to mind that, “all good things come from God”. I said out loud, “Lord, you’re a genius!” A friend I was working with nearby asked to what I was referring to and I told him that I came up with a plan to move things along quicker but realized that I believed it was from the Lord and so gave the credit to Him.
He said so, you’re calling yourself a genius. No, i am not taking credit because all good things come from God so I can’t really take credit for anything good. Nothing.
So, if all good things come from God, wouldn’t you agree that the opportunity to have all the work that you enjoy is indeed something you can say you are blessed. However, I do agree to say that you are grateful is also a good response. I’m still in a conundrum when it comes to thinking and coming up with brilliant ideas that bring about the wealth and other good things in our lives.
I did appreciate your story. Thank you! Gratefully Steve
Amen! Rightfully spoken…as the Psalm says “blessed is the man whose sin is forgiven and whose iniquity is covered”. I am so blessed because Jesus gave His life for me on the cross and rose again in glorious victory…so I could be forgiven and healed; so I could be able to receive His love, to love Him back, and to love my fellow man. Who cares what’s in my bank account…heaven and eternal life is just around the corner!
Amen, well stated. All glory and honor and praise should go to God. When God honors our faithfulness and service we realize God deserves all glory but shares honor with those who love Him and others. “Well done, My good and faithful servant.” God speaks like that not just in Heaven but edifies and encourages us here on earth. God is good and God is faithful, true, and worthy of all honor, glory, and praise. — In Heaven we will lay down all our crowns of glory given us by God to honor us – lay them down before Jesus. This is a symbol of submission to Jesus, realizing that you got the crowns because He is Lord and it was His love for us that made it possible. —– I believe we won’t lose or give away our crowns, we will just give the honor where it is most due to Jesus. Then we will pick up our crowns that glorify God and our faithfulness and obedience to Him.
God is not an egotist. Jesus showed His Father’s character clearly. In Heaven we will serve God and each other out of pure love. Let me tell you this, the Creator of the Universe took on flesh and humbled Himself to serve the disciples – washed their feet. Love! Heaven is where God and His creation are in unity – serving one another. Giving Jesus for us to be in Heaven – if that is not serving us – what is? He loved us and still loves us despite how we treat Him or do wrong. This is the story of Jesus, God’s love revealed to save Adam’s race and place them in His family. God honored us even when we dishonored Him. This is agape’ – unconditional love. His desire is for us to accept His Gift Jesus so we can grow to be more like Jesus and bring Adam’s race to Heaven. Our choice is to receive or reject God and His Gift Jesus. That choice is born out of love and respect for His special creation, made in the Image of God.
Link exchange is nothing else except it is simply placing the other person’s
webpage link on your page at proper place and other person will also do
same for you.
I find this article very interesting in a quizzical sort of way and read it through a couple of times but I still conclude (respectfully) that some of it frustrates me.
Maybe it’s with the author’s translation of scripture? Or maybe it simply is the semantics between the descriptors ‘blessed’ and ‘grateful’. Maybe it’s the author presuming all fall into believing the lie of ‘the more works the better’ for winning God’s grace. ….God is grace, period. There is no winning or losing in that which exists in all things.
I will always try to thank and give glory to God in my successes as well as my trials. Truthfully, maybe with different enthusiasm for each because I am only human but that’s between myself and my Father. He knows my heart. He knows I don’t believe that He’s my personal “sky-bound, wish-granting fairy”. But you can bet He also knows that I depend on Him for everything and I do ask for things. His answer, irregardless of what it is, is a ‘blessing’ because it is a gift in itself to be able to trust in Him, know He cares about every small insignificant thing in my life, and it’s a relief to believe that what He knows and allows is best.
Unless I’m mistaken, no where in the Bible does it say we should be embarrassed or shameful nor hide what He has blessed us with; material,
circumstance or life experience. We’re not to be prideful, boastful,
no. But grateful, thankful…feeling ‘blessed’, because of being ‘blessed’, yes. Aren’t we clearly advised to be and voice exactly that? I found 44 passages of scripture with regard to exactly that. 1 Chronicles 16:8 ~ “Oh, give thanks to The Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18-19 “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.” Etc.
I know that I, directly, individually and personally (as is everyone else) was created in the beginning by God and chosen to live in the life I’m living. Knowing this, how could I presume I’m more deserved than anyone else to be on the journey that I’m on, living the life I do, which happens to be within a safe, democratic society. No, deserved I’m not. I had nothing to do with it.
I don’t know why I wasn’t born to be a resident of Iraq, Gaza, Syria or the Ukraine during these times, Am I relieved and grateful…’blessed’? Truthfully yes. But that’s me being human again. I realize that I’m supposed to live the same way no matter where I was born. I hope I would. I get that.
As for turning non-believers (really?) away due to the semantics of how I may describe my ‘blessings’ during a conversation in which I may be asked? I’ll always be working on identifying God’s purpose for me in this life, but people pleasing is not on my list. I will be, and in good conscience, always giving glory to my amazing, loving, providing, glorious Heavenly Father. Some may not like that, but then, they do not understand do they. I am undeserving and have been ‘blessed’. I don’t use this word lightly but when I use it, I mean it.
I loved this in the article:
~ “My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable. I know a God who comforts the sorrowful. And I know a God who has planted this same power within me. Within all of us.” Amen.
Henry J. Smith
08-28-14
I suppose we all have our little pet peeves when it comes to Christian vocabulary! Yes, some Christian folks take the word BLESSED totally out of context however, when folks ask me how I’m doing I often say “somewhat stressed and yet, still BLESSED, and with God’s help, keeping my head above the mess!”
I would rather folks say BLESSED even if they use it the wrong way and still keep using the word BLESSED a whole lot more than words I hear “FAR TOO OFTEN” from Christians, words like “SUCKS, LUCKY, HOLY CRAP, GOOD LUCK, JESUS H. CHRIST” Really ???????? Really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul makes it quite clear in the book of Ephesians, he tells Christians to stay away from even course joking and foolish talk let alone gutter talk like the words above!
Lucky?????????? My luck ran out the day I ask Jesus to come into my heart and to forgive me of ALL my sins and to be my Savior and my LORD! From that day forward,”34″ years now, I don’t live by luck, I live by GRACE and my, oh my, WHAT A BLESSING, PRAISE GOD, I AM BLESSED!
This ought not be!
This lesson has been bouncing around in the back of my brain for a while. The Holy Spirit used your article to bring it to full bloom. Now I’m on a quest to find out “What does God call blessed.” He has started me out in Psalms. It is amazing!
Excellent, Psalms are amazing. The psalms are some of the best instructions in life and down to earth ‘I struggle but God gives the victory to me’ — They also paint the picture of God that we see clearly played out in God’s Son, Jesus. It is awesome. One minute David or another writer is in the deepest, darkest time in their life, they talk to God and then they are ready to do exploits for God, full of energy, vitality, and love. The struggles and the victories are clear.
I am delighted to be used of God and yes, you are right – it is not my words only, a small thing, but the Holy Spirit that brings life, confirms truth, and guides us accurately to understand the things of God and of life. Praise God, I delight with you.
Maranatha! (The Lord is coming soon!)
You Christians have such a hard time with everything. Lets’ realize that the stories of your bible are about as abused and overworked as anything can be. Let me take only one word from the last response above. Maranatha (The Lord is coming soon!) The Lord isn’t male. The Lord isn’t a Lord. It is just simply put….God. God is here already.
I loving God, myself, and others is a hard time I love hard times. You create your own reality, I will follow truth, convenient or else-wise and enjoy life. I will take that ‘hard time’ love, joy, peace from God and hope that ‘hard time for your benefit.
I agree with many things said in this letter or whatever it is. But to be honest I give God glory for EVERYTHING because HE is In everything he made everything good or bad and the bad he will and is able to turn it around for my good. THE first shall be the last and the last shall be the first. And in the mean time the body of Christ has bigger war to battle n fight thou the battle isn’t ours it’s The Lord. We need to stop discussing silly things and opinions and be aware of the real warfare and learn to armour up n teach each other the same becuz I battle in life constantly even in my dreams n da church needs to stand up on its beliefs and be ONE as He the FATHER and the SON are one and put aside vain babbling and conversation and build and conquer and to let his light shine before men that they may see his GOOD works and Glorify HIs father which is in heaven
God actually made all things good. Lucifer was good until iniquity was found in his heart. He was the highest and most beautiful of angels. His ego compelled him to compete with God.
Why can God never sin? Simple, look at the works of the flesh in Ephesians and you see pride, envy, and other evil works. This applies to perversion of spiritual truths. Unlike Lucifer/Satan, God can not envy anyone. He can’t have pride, He is the Most High above all yet loves all He creates, giving free will rather than making robots. Who could He possibly envy???
There is no interference to God’s perfection by sin. Sin interferes between His creation and Him by breaking relationship with Him. Lucifer INVENTED SIN. Lucifer envied God and God’s affection for Adam and Eve, created closer to God than Him. Lucifer pumped up his ego with pride and thought higher of himself than he should have. Lucifer passed that sin on to Adam and Eve and God passed His Son as Jesus to restore Adam’s race to be His family.
I understand what you are saying but I am sure in the English language that the same word can be used to mean two different things. I do think when people say they are blessed they are not meaning that God has blessed me more than somebody else and maybe you are splitting hairs or making a semantical difference. Most of the people I know when they refer to being blessed it is meant in a humble way not a bragging way or to demean God for blessing them. I think they are meaning it in a grateful way. Perhaps we all should say we are grateful instead of blessed, but I am not going to call somebody out if they are admitting to feeling blessed by some wonderful happening that happened to them. Being blessed is a FEELING of gratefullness in my mind…… Not one of bragging rights. Just my opinion.
Funny you should mention that. I remember telling one person “bless you”. The person was a rebel against God and said, “I don’t want your blessings”. I jokingly responded, “OK, then curse you.” I wanted to challenge the individual to understand that bless is a good thing and dumb to refuse.
You are right, blessing and being blessed reveal a heart full of love and gratitude.
Yes, any word in English has so many meanings and perceptions. It should never be derived as ‘I’m better than you’ or ‘I’m blessed” when the other is hurting and resents your blessings.
People are so dumb these days. You can have the best of intentions and be derived as insulting, egotistic, or whatever just because of the mind baggage some carry. You can’t please everybody – do your best and let others believe what they want to. I let no person steal my joy. I try to bring them up, some are too stuck in mire to move properly.
An old story; A boy, old man, and a mule journey to take the boy to his parents. First town, the boy and old man are riding the donkey. People say, “how cruel they are treating that donkey. One should get off.” The next town the old man rides the donkey and the boy walks. “That old man should let the boy ride.” Next town, the boy rides and the old man walks. “Shame on that boy for making the old man walk.” Next town, neither ride the donkey. “How dumb can you get.They got a perfectly good donkey and are not using it.” Moral – you can’t please everybody. My dad told me that story when I was young.
When society is screwed up, peoples lives are messed up, under a lot of pressure – people attack each other on the craziest of issues or try to boost their egos by tearing others down. Don’t sweat the small stuff. You can’t please everybody – just do your best to be clear in communication and be respectful to others as much as possible (sometimes you have to step on toes to get them to wake up, do so out of the desire to help and not hurt them)).
I agree with some of the problems with the ways Christians claim blessings (etc.). But it goes to far to disclaim the idea of God’s hand of blessing in my business (or other) success. And it seems unbiblical. In Deut 8 Moses warns the children of Israel that when they prosper, they risk forgetting God. A clincher line is that it is God who gave them the power to produce wealth. (see Deut. 8:17-18). So—-God has blessed them. Can that sense of blessing be shared in appropriate ways? I think so. But I think the potential for harmful sharing is also great and requires love, humility and wisdom. (Let’s pray God blesses us with lots of those).
I understand what you said and agree. The thing about blessings is 2 fold, appreciating and being thankful and also having a kind and generous heart to extend blessings to the needy and hurting.
To me the concept is not to focus on blessings, nor ignore them, nor assume that you deserve them. One person said “Humility is being able to receive blessings from God what you don’t deserve and being thankful for the blessings.” I totally agree. A truly humble person is a thankful person and a generous person.
The concept is to keep focus on the Creation and not on the creation (including money). Blessings is not just money and if one gets great money they need to thank God and ask Him to guide them in where God wants that money to go. There are many more than willing to get that money, often would not help you if you were in need. Often may not know you needed their help at some time. Money is just a tool. It needs to be wisely handled and not recklessly given out. This is where such resources should humble the person receiving them enough that they want to be a good steward of it and not disobey God, but follow Him and use the resources wisely.
Would I take money that was used in a crime? Yes, as long as there is not ‘attachments’ to it. I won’t steal but money itself is neither good nor evil. What it is used for can be good or evil. How we view it can be good or evil. People call it ‘filthy lucre’ wrongly. It is merely money. The LOVE of money is the ROOT of all evil – lust, desire to have it no matter what, etc. (like some in government, the New World Order, and other criminals Ha!)
I sense that I want to be blessed and so do you. We want ALL that God has for us and desire to reject no good gift from God (really all gifts from God are good). Pride has no room for humility and visa versa.
Whether you or I have much wealth of none – we got God and we are BLESSED!
Be blessed and be a blessing, as you are to me, my friend.
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Thank you for such kind remarks. Too many on blogs are so brutal on sites. You try to help them and they are merely out to be contrary and agitators.
I am glad to assist. Let me know how to read you articles, I am not out to correct others, I need adjustments myself sometimes. Ha! I like to teach and I love to learn. The key to really learning is digestion of thoughts not just putting them on the shelf. If one just packs the brain with data, they don’t know what the data means nor how to apply the data. Wisdom seeks knowledge in order to apply it.
Be blessed and you are a blessing.
Totally agree 100%, we in the western world, hold tightly to our material possessions, and hold lightly to God. We hold our money with tight fists, but our God with loose hands. It is time something happens in the Western world, to wake us from our slumber, whether that be getting back to sound preaching, instead of giving the tickling ear what it wants to hear, or that God allows persecution to come our way. Either way something has to give, we cannot keep loving our money more then god and not be disciplined for it! You put how I feel into words, it seems most think that God is into blessing them financially, but they forget that the most blessed are the ones that don’t have anything but God to hold onto, for they know God intimately, and could not live any day, or any hour without him. We here in Canada, and America we only need God when something tragic happens to us, and once all is calm and we are okay, well then we let go of God, and hold onto our possessions to give us comfort. Time we get back to truth of what it is to be a Christian.
Yes,”trust in the Lord with all of your heart, don’t lean on your own understanding (own limits), in all of your ways acknowledge the Lord (as Lord over you and all) and He SHALL direct your path ( to victory).” Took a little liberty but this is true.
Satan’s objective has always been to divert humanity from God, anti-Christ is not just against Christ but a false christ, to get us to consider and follow another way but Jesus, then when we feel bad about our sins and wrong doing condemn us even make us feel like God forsake us when we got our attention of of Him.
Blessings are “abundance in all things that apply to life and godliness.” Things like money are given as we give and are willing to obey Him. No blessing is just for us but to be used as God directs.
We need to get out of our comfort zone more and less on our fat fannies watching the entertainment tube, not discerning the propaganda intended to program us into buying certain things or lies from the controlled media to herd us into the New World Order.
We need honesty and integrity above all but love for God and others and self. If our words are not good for others, how do we honor God? “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Sure, sometimes we are kind and not always totally truthful out of love for another. We are not thinking about ourselves but about the other person. Rather than to be perfectly honest and speak our mind we may not say what we really think. I believe God honors that and does not view it the same way a lying politician, out to get votes, twists his/her words to con people into believing they care about them to get those votes (then do the opposite once in office).
There is an example: Your wife comes up to you and is wearing a dress she adores. You really don’t like it . What do you say? You can be blunt and say, “it stinks!” or you can say, “that is quite unique” or you can say, “looks great”. Unique can mean different things. Great means you approve, even though you really don’t. You just love her and accept her eccentricities because she likes it. Some times things are not always black and white. Personally, I might smile and say, “that is quite unique”. Ha!
There was a guy whose wife bought a new dress and said, “what do you think of this honey.” He said,”that is quite becoming.” He met her approval until he curtly additionally responded, “I just don’t know what it is becoming.” Dog house for him! Ha!
Be blessed!
Granted I am in crisis and I hesistate to speak my thoughts here for fear of stearing anyone astray but am still searching for answers to some deep questions and have found this my best outlet for answers. My current question: Why pray for anything? I have a very ill nephew and other family members with health, financial and other serious issues.
If I pray for someone’s healing and it is God’s will that person be healed, that person will be healed regardless of my prayers because it is God’s will. If it is not God’s will that person be healed, (as is so for many sick persons), then that person will not be healed regardless of my prayers because it is not God’s will that person be healed.
Does God really have His hand(s) on our lives? Or are we more like God’s ant farm, scurring about with our fates what they will be regardless of whether we pray or not?
Please don’t misunderstand…..I know that I know that I know that God is all-powerful and fully believe that our eternal life is in based on our belief in God and trust in His Son Jesus Christ and am fully assured of a better and eternal life.
It is our destiny here on earth that I am unsure of God’s hand upon. I know what the scriptures say and the assurance we are told to take from them…..but are those scriptures truely relative to us in the here and now……or are those scriptures specifically spoken to those to whom God was speaking them to.
For instance, Psalms: Are they for me? Or do they relate specifically to David who was God’s annointed. If I am not annointed (and God has not told me that I am) do those Psalms relate to me at all?
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Couldn’t agree more, and thank you for writing on this topic! Last year within a small group I’m in, of some phenomenally spiritually devoted people, I tried to nuance the semantics to others who kept saying they were “blessed” for things that seemed to reduce God to a reward system and what the true meaning of blessing is. I was shocked when the response was, perhaps I wasn’t receiving those same blessings because I didn’t think of them as blessings! As IF I just had to change my perspective in order to have all the things they did. Self-Help 101. Man, prosperity gospel runs deep in American church culture, is natural to human greed, and plain desire for affirmation. But this sort of view makes the “blessing” more about our own actions, faithfulness, prayers, goodness, etc, and have nothing to do with God. THANK YOU for reiterating, and highlighting scriptural truth.
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This article couldn’t be any further from the truth. I will argue with verses of the Bible.
If someone thinks THEY achieved success on any level without God (and His will, which has already been decided) then they are taking omnipotence away from God. Furthermore, there are verses that directly relates material affluence with obedience.
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today. The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.” Deuteronomy 28:1-8
AND
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. Deuteronomy 8:17-18
Being blessed in the city, in the fields and in your flock are the same as being successful in today’s society. Money isn’t the root of all evil, the love FOR money is. Of course not all who are successful or wealthy obey God, but certainly success doesn’t happen without the work of God.
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I am an inventor pursuing success. As a Christian, I am concerned about people – the misinformation forming peoples heads into concrete against the greatest lover of humanity, God. I have limited time, and have given a lot of time to try to stimulate thought contrary to what our society is programming people to believe. I see the deceptions and know what the future will be if people do not quit allowing the globalists banking cartel that wants total power over the world, and has stolen most of the worlds resources — allowing these Luciferian driven New World Order globalists make many people twice as fit for Hell as themselves. People are blinded by prejudice, not just racial but growing prejudice against Christians and others that the NWO wants to bring down. They have news coming, they may win for 7 years soon but when earth’s lease runs out they will bow before Jesus and declare Him Lord. They think they can stop God’s completing His plans for the world’s salvation and can rule all and defeat God. I say, how dumb can you get? Defeat the One who holds their very molecules – all creation – into existence. LOL I want people to see truth rather than cover their ears and eyes and call themselves wise – later to no only found how dumb they were to follow Lucifer/Satan but unless they accepted Jesus will carve their own eternal gravestone, eternally apart from the lover of their being, God. It will be their own doing but I do take time to try to get them to consider their ways. Telling people they will go to Hell? No! Telling people they can’t be with God eternally and will be tormented by the presence of God loving them and they can’t love back because of their eternal rebellious – renegade spirit? Yes.
I do not have a web page as such because my responses are impromptu. I have a lot of writings and many tell me to write books. My main focus apart from God and family and reaching out to others is inventing. When I get some success going, I may get help in compiling and writing books. My technical mind is across the universe, creating and trying to find support and success – my main calling by God.
I have decided that some folks are not worth blogging with – minds shut and thinking far too narrow, following agendas rather than pursuing truth. I will gladly correspond with those like you who like to think out of the box. I do not know if you are Christians or not, always appreciate those who are honest and seeking vs knotheads and arrogant lovers of self. Ha!
People may never agree on all things but we can agree on some things unless following agendas or arrogant. There is always a great learning process for all when people seek to find what they have in common rather than what divides and can respect each other. I by no means ever think I know it all. God and life and study have shown me a lot but none of us have our act together so much that we can’t learn from each other.
Be blessed, be free to correspond. It may take a while to get back or if you want some specific writings and reasoning’s we may connect on youtube, facebook, or something.
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Such an important message especially for those of us that struggle with materialism and work to constantly refocus our sights squarely on the pursuit of a relatioship with God and of His heavenly kingdom. Thank you. I also think this is applicable to one’s health and safety. To hear someone say they were blessed by the Lord’s protection by not getting sick or by narrowly escaping a deadly crash etc, is almost to say that the person who was not so lucky was not blessed for some reason. And almost to insinuate that the person of misfortune was even “targeted” by our loving Father. I believe in His love, protection, unlimited healing power and unfathomable reach but just because something goes the way I wish it to, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a blessing in the true sense of the meaning as you have helped to point out.
How about the blessing of brokenness
so right
Allowing the conversation to continue, I add an amen to everything Scott says. I was complaining the other day about this type of thing and my sister showed me the piece. How appropriate and timely, I keep a daily grateful journal and I believe this is the point. BTW…I also take issue in the south with people saying “bless her or his heart” when they are actually being mean-spirited. Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect and thank HIM for the blessings of our life.
Yes we are blessed to know Jesus. When someone asks me how I am doing this is what I say. Because I know him. Even on bad days when my faith is tried and fear, doubt, or confusion is all-around me. I know I am blessed to have trials, for they produce the character of Christ and life in me. I am blessed to know him and to have courage to make him known. This is all that matters in life.
Right on! Jesus is Lord of our lives. What the world labels nothing, God gives value to. What seems at times like losing, if we trust God will turn to victory. We all need to simply, ‘abide (hang out, move, have our being) under the shadow of the Almighty’ – under His wings we will trust. We need not settle for hand downs and hand outs when we realize we are King Jesus kids and have through Jesus the keys to the Kingdom which brings victory and life. We are more than conquerors. Because we are purchased property of Jesus we are valuable enough He laid down His life for us. Since we have no value to God in ourselves, we have tremendous value because of WHOSE WE ARE, Jesus brothers and sisters and adopted sons of God. We can’t boast of anything but Jesus to please God the Father and because He sees us through Jesus, we are His just as much as any child of any parent. We are sons of Adam who found the Savior God promised Adam and Adam’s generations.
Taking this idea a bit further down the road, I really appreciate what you’ve written here. I’ve thought about this, too, on so many levels. This prosperity conciousness theme seems to have taken root among many, not just Christians. You see it in politics, governments both local and national, business, and other spiritually minded groups. So much so that the poor that Jesus speaks of have been demonized, and in a growing number of communities, even criminalized;, that the sign of being successful or saved comes via cash and material or visible blessings.
The poor are viewed too often as yesterday’s trash, often denied their most basic human rights for failing to live up to perceived standards of success and right thinking.
This kind of thinking that cash and cars equal God’s blessing, as you put it, has become a slippy slope to narcissistic arrogance and entitlement, and in many been justified with a kind of cruel Ayn Randian belief about who is deserving and who is not. It has, in many, created a God who despises the same people they do. And I think it’s a fear in us that we could be in that position of being poor or somehow less than deserving, marginalized away from the eyes of those who are. Being blessed with goodies bolsters us up, insulates us from the fears or doubt’s about our own lives, our own vulnerabilities and mortality, and how we really feel about our own precious and sacred selves.
I like the saying by Macrina Wehrdeker, “Oh, God, help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is.” I think this planet would be a very different place if a critical mass of people could truly wake up enough to see themselves through the eyes of that most sacred love. Once we get that, the whole world and each person in it will look different.
You have shared some personal truths and I welcome your open-ness. I also feel that each person should have a close personal relationship, full of hope, faith and prayer with their Higher Being. I believe many instances God was ‘there for me,’ while I have met people who were walking through tough and dark times, did not feel He was with them. It is a challenge and it is an honor to know God loves us all, He wishes to intervene, but sometimes it is not what is the best thing… Loss of a sibling or a child makes one question God, this is understandable and He knows we are only Human after all! I appreciated your post and am happy you chose to follow my writings, I shall follow your blog, too. Take care and Happy New Year, too! Smiles, Robin
With this blog, I do not know if you were addressing me or dearmiracle. I will say Happy New Year and stay close to God and His Word. The world is crazy but we have the ROCK. This ROCK never changes or moves. The world changes at whims, why it is so unstable and so easily led by Lucifer/Satan.
One thought is this, “a bird can land on your head but don’t let it build a nest” — problems and troubles come and there are valleys, we are just to overcome these through Jesus and walk THROUGH the valley, never to linger. WE LIVE IN A FALLEN WORLD! Why expect the world to not have chaos? It is unstable. What gives any society or group of people stability and reliability is God. When a nation or group seeks God and turns from wicked ways then they do hear from Heaven and He can heal their land. Things look hopeless sometimes but hope is in God not people or governments. Obama promised hope and change but just like most socialist lies the opposite is true – hopelessness and change for the worse. Change can be good or bad, dependent upon if the person. A dictator wants to control and manipulate others and change can be positive for them when everyone else is in misery. Relative!
The change we need is to be more like Jesus and quit listening to other voices that are not in line with God and His Word.
We were designed to be free of care, just walking in the Garden of God with Him. Our responsibilities to family, society, and work are to be met as long as it does not defy God. Our entertainment is good unless it defies Godly principles or takes us far from God. Daily, walk with God and enjoy His presence. He is so good! Happy New Year.
Thanks for writing this. I’m not prone to saying, “I’m blessed,” but I have often considered if I am guilty for not saying it. I am certainly grateful, but the ways in which I’ve felt blessed in life have been more private in nature, things that didn’t fit as something to share with friends or post on Facebook.
There is an old saying, “attitude determines latitude”. Indeed a good attitude helps promote you. I say “gratitude creates a good attitude which determines latitude.” Recognizing the little things to be grateful for and exercising gratitude, like saying “I’m blessed” which implies God blessed you, is very important. Even when one hits the bottom of the tank emotionally, societally, or spiritually one can stay there or look up. There is always something to be grateful for- start there and it is surprising how you can find more things to be grateful for.
I respect your view on this. I also agree that prosperity gospel is destructive and dangerous to our faith. However, when I say “I’m blessed!” I say it because I don’t deserve anything good because I’m human and sinful and full of fault. Yet God shows me grace and mercy and his unfailing love continuously. I don’t have a new car because I prayed a lot so God gave it to me. But I give glory to Him in ALL things because He is everything! Nothing in this life compares to Him and no material thing can replace the feeling that comes from having a relationship with him. So when I use that phrase I say it as a way of letting others know that my life is far more than I deserve. Even in the hard times! And yes, semantics seems to be the issue here. Anyway, I love your post and have always been enlightened by them! So thanks, even though I disagree on this one. 🙂
Although I can’t agree with everything in this blog post it is a good reminder of how the plain words of Jesus, when understood simply without a complex theological system to warp them, are either ignored or despised by most who call themselves Christians. The part of the Sermon on the Mount quoted in this post is a good example. A similar section in Luke 6 is at least as much to the point of this discussion:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
Imagine how much someone would change their lives if he actually believed Jesus really meant every word he said.
Let us not MISQUOTE the Beattitudes in Matthew 5:
You are trying to make it look like the poor are blessed with favor from God because they are poor and He despises the rich because they are rich.This is not true. Most white collar crimes are committed by rich people who are greedy and lust for money and power and control over others. Not all rich, some. Most murders. robberies, and other crimes are performed usually by poor people who are probably more greedy and lustful of what others have than most rich folk. This is fact in scripture and any society.
Blessed are the poor is not correct. Matthew 5:3 says, ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
As far as what you derive as a curse on the rich:
Luke 6:24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Later in Luke 6 it says:
37 “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 Give, and you will receive gifts — the full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!”
God rewards the giver. Some become rich that way. Their focus is not on the money but on God an obeying Him.
Jesus is not concerned about what we have or don’t have, He is concerned with our Spiritual condition. Whether we have much or little do we put our trust in Him or on our possessions?
Paul would not say “I wish that you may prosper even as your soul prospers. He had Christians who had a lot who gave generously to help others and he had poor and needy that gave in their poverty to help others – who God prospered because of their generous heart.
God does not want anyone poor, believe me the poor can be more greedy and less generous than many rich people. Does your possessions, great or small, take your eyes off Jesus? Get rid of them. If your heart is generous and obedient them bless God and help others. THIS DOES NOT MEAN HANDOUTS TO GREEDY PEOPLE WHO WANT WHAT YOU HAVE! This means listening to God and being obedient to His voice with what you have, great or small.
If your focus is on being independent of God and you call yourself RICH and have no need of God then your god is money or possessions. God will have no other god before Him. Rich or poor a person can be greedy and detestable to God. Likewise, He expects you to be a good steward of what you have so He can trust you with MORE.
Does your possessions, habits, or anything in your life become your god or is God God? This is the real issue. Remember there were rich people who supported Jesus ministry and later the Apostles ministries. Paul did not always get the resources he needed so he built tents and earned income for the ministry and to bless others.
It is easy to make doctrines on small passages out of context – God calls that with a warning not to add to or take away from the scriptures. If one verse contradicts what is seen elsewhere we must reevaluate what we would call doctrine or established as fact.
As a matter of fact, those who make it sainthood to be poor and evil to be rich automatically have been steeped in socialism which is very ungodly – destroying incentive to grow and be better because it places everyone on the same level and greedily seeks to steal from the rich to give those who did not earn it. This is thievery. When a person gives out of the generosity of their heart to help others, God is very pleased because their hearts are right with Him.
Ananias and Sapphira lost their lives because they LIED to the Holy Spirit, not because they kept some of the land they sold and gave resources to the ministry. They said they gave it all, a lie. God would have been pleased if they said, “we kept 90 % and are giving the ministry 0%”, especially if truthful and with a cheerful heart. hey tried to con Peter and were looking for praise from people. God took their lives but they will be in Heaven. It is a serious thing to lie..
My husband and I just had a conversation similar to this, but it was about marriage. I always get from people “you should do what makes you happy” (yes,even Christians say this). But the problem is that our happiness and God’s happiness are two different things. If our happiness relies on us being comfortable,getting what we want,and thinking that we actually deserve a good life here in earth,well then we’re not following God’s will and living the life that resembles Jesus ‘ walk on this earth.
When we’re being generous, kind, forgiving and extending God’s grace completely uncomfortable in the shoes we’re in and still trusting that God is in control and that it’s not about us,but about our heavenly father and how much he loves us, that’s when we’re truly blessed! Knowing that whatever happens here on this earth is no comparison to our ultimate blessing- the promise God has given us,to spend eternity in heaven with him!
I totally agree with you – if you got God you got it all. If reduced to a street person or in a fancy mansion, if Jesus is Lord then one has every right to learn contentment. Money is merely a tool at its best – a tool that can do a lot of good. At it’s worse it is a hard taskmaster controlling you and feeding greed.
I limit no blessing from God but enjoy my daily walk in the Garden with God. He sustains me and strengthens/provides for me as I ‘abide under the Shadow of the Almighty.’ Some people can’t handle little well so God won’t give them more – like the parable of the 3servants. Two increased their masters money and were rewarded with more. The one who did nothing with it was reproved and had what he had taken away and give the one who did best with multiplying the master’s money.
Not everybody knows how to handle what gives them well. It does not change the love God has for us and should focus us on learning to do better.
No condemnation to any. On one hand few are told how to handle money well. On the other hand we live in a wicked society and the enemy tries to make us all poor. If we keep our eyes on Jesus we will be blessed and in accordance to our faithfulness is reward. He is our strength and refuge. I am on a set income and have been robbed by crooked greedy people several times keeping wealth from me, wealth I deserved. I don’t let it bother me and keep doing what God says and will be rewarded monetaritly and elsewise. Favor of the Lord is what we seek not earthly rewards. Faithfulness is where our eternal rewards flow from, not man’s ability to steal.
Grateful to whom? God , I assume? Why? Because you were blessed. One can believe /everything/ is a blessing, that every “good and perfect gift is from above, come down from the Father of Lights,” without believing in a Jabez prosperity gospel or believing one merited, deserved or earned the blessing. Often we are blessed to be a blessing. That may be where the problem lies. God doesn’t bless us to consume the blessing; He blesses us to share the blessing.
Maybe you serve or served the wrong God and got screwed over. People try to make the Creator in their image, Jesus is the Image of God as well as the Original before Creation Son of God as the Word of God. Follow Jesus and reprogram your being by His words in the Bible, get born again by letting Him recreate your spirit man and follow Him – life still has challenges but you have a Friend Who will NEVER leave nor forsake YOU. The Wonderful and loving Creator of the Universe.
Life may be ridiculous sometimes but walking with God – you can eat ice cream in the middle of Hell and not be burned as happened when God showed up in the middle of an extreme fire saving Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo in from of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.
Live life with Him or without Him? First study Jesus words and life. Then realize He died and was resurrected for you and me – all humanity. The world stinks often but God gave mankind free choice to choose. “Set before you is (the paths of ) life and death, choose life and live.”
Dale,
If you were replying to me I’m not sure what I said to make you think I ever served any God but the Triune God of historic, orthodox Christianity. I was suggesting with my questions that there is little difference in saying “I am grateful” and “I am blessed” because presumably one is grateful to Jehovah-Jireh for what? Why, a blessing of course, unless one thinks some cosmic randomness is at play.
I do not think “I am blessed” is something Christians should cease to say. It makes for a catchy title to draw people in, but it’s bad theology. Everything is a blessing, even suffering (e.g. 1 Peter 4:14, James 1:2, 2 Cor 11, but there are plenty more). I do not believe material blessing is an indication of God’s favor or a person’s righteousness. The rain falls on the just and the unjust, after all, but to suggest the farmer shouldn’t say “I was blessed by a bumper crop this year because the Lord sent us good rain” is to ignore the status of creation in relation to its Creator.
I got ‘blogitis’, sometimes so many people attacking Christian beliefs can make one overly reactive. My apology. I did not read the whole article just part of :
“Grateful to whom? God , I assume? Why? Because you were blessed. One can believe /everything/ is a blessing,” This gave me the perception that one should not assume God blesses. Reading further I was curious why you started that way but saw where you were leading as a brother in Christ.
Excuse me for not reading all. I try not to react but be observant to find what is really conveyed, vs jump to a wrong conclusion.
This article was refreshing to read. I became a Catholic Christian 12 years ago and it was shortly afterward that I began hearing the word BLESS in its past, present, and future forms. The use of it began to spread like wildfire and everyone who uses it sounds like a brainwashed drone. I began to call it “Blessed Bingo” and I refrained from using the word(s). Yes, we have to get away from using it in this way and taking our good fortune as a sign that God is pleased at our every decision, our every function, and our every living moment on Earth. Thanks, Scott.
Wisely stated! God wants to bless us and our blessings is not always because we are right at all things or even do right, just because we did something that opened the doors of Heaven to get the blessing He had for us through. God can’t bless the stingy, arrogant, or proud and just because we do something ‘blessable’ (excuse the phrase) does not mean we will be blessed. When our trust in Him and willingness to not only receive but bless others combines with our expectation and desire that God move on our behalf – we are in the arena where blessings CAN flow, else it is just God’s determination to bless us despite ourselves because we want it. NOTE, just because we are in the arena where blessings flow, we don’t necessarily get the blessing(s) NOW. Patience is the willingness to wait with the posture of trust/faith. In other words, if we don’t step out of the arena of blessings by being overly anxious or doing wrong, blessing WILL come when it is the right time through the right earthly channels that God coordinates through others. I would rather die trusting God even if I don’t get what I desire than to die in unbelief. Hope that Helps.
God is not a roulette wheel or Bingo game, He loves us and wants us blessed at all times. It is up to us to have childlike trust/faith that does not waver if there are delays. If we step out of the arena of blessing, catch it and step back in. God is not looking for whether we make a mistake and PENALTY – no! He is always good and loves His children. The best we can do is simply trust Him, love Him, praise Him (even if things have gone bad), and draw close to Him with worship and adoration.Tell me this, is there a good father around that does not want to bless his children more than when the child is obedient and trusting and return his love for the child? Good fathers hearts melt when children obey, trust, and love them. God put that in fathers and mothers. We are made in His image and God delights in us – BIG TIME when we are like that good intimate child. My friend, next to God we are children at any age. He matures us to be more like Jesus so we understand the heart of God and His ways more and more.
Be blessed, indeed!
Jn. 10:10 The thief comes to kill and destroy. I have come that you could have more and better life. This has nothing to do with money. There are generous rich people as well as stingy poor people, and vise versa. For some riches are a curse, for some they are a tool. I can imagine many people praising God for the “blessing” of their new 50″ tv, or their new car, house, or boat, when in fact satan gave it to them as a distraction. They will be very dismayed on the day they realize they can’t take those things to hell with them.
Sometimes what we consider blessing can be a curse. If we put anything before God, excluding Him from our lives as we indulge ourselves, then we have sinned. It is simple, to many a 50″ TV may be a blessing but if it is obsessed over and grabs your attention away from God enough, it becomes a curse. The TV itself is not a curse any more than owning a gun is a curse. It is what it is used for that matters.
Anything that comes between you and God is a curse to you. This is why people fast sometimes, to show yourself that you can have self control and that things don’t control you. If you were really hooked on food, TV, or whatever you fasted over then there are a lot of withdrawal pains, like with drugs. That is a good indicator that something is controlling you vs you controlling it. If your heart is towards God, take time every day to honor God and not only talk/pray to God but LISTEN. If what you hear contradicts the Bible it was not God but self or Satan. If it robs you of peace and/or joy then it is not of God. If it upsets you, check out if God is just helping straighten out something in your life first or if it is an attack of the enemy, Satan, or self.
Be blessed!
Maybe Irving Berlin should have wrote America bless God instead of God bless America?
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I have been unemployed off and on now for 4 years, never have I experienced this before. I’m a professional who is back in debt “up to my eyeballs ” but I consider myself blessed because despite my circumstances God is still doing amazing and wonderful things in my life. It’s ticking off a lot of believers in the process. Oh well! I’m grateful and know I can trust God completely and “bless” others as well by praying , giving my time and in so many other ways.
God will bless us in ways that are personal to us whether it’s material or otherwise, what counts is that we are spurred on to continue to seek Him. Blessings 🙂
Thank you so much for writing this. When religious people say such things, I want so much to say what you said here, but as I am an atheist I feel that would be somewhat impolite or at least not my place. Thanks to you, I can refer them to this without feeling rude or combative.
This is SPOT ON! I recorded a video blog post on this exact thing in 2011. It’s really neat to go into the usage of the word Blessed in the different parts of the Bible too. Thank you for getting this message out there!
http://sonyaleethompson.com/2011/12/blessed.html
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Some of the comments here make me sad and realize that not everybody heard the message. Somebody pointed to several passages in the bible where Jesus says ask and you shall receive. That’s ludicrous and we all know it isn’t true. Look at the countless very faithful families who are losing children to fatal diseases. I have a friend who prays stronger and harder than some of you ever have for her childs life, and you know what? He’s still dying. And I have another friend with the same conviction who lost her daughter to cancer. She asked with all her heart and didn’t receive. When you say that God has blessed you because you have healthy children you spit in the face of those who prayed hard and still lost their loved ones.
The proper understanding of scripture is the Body of Christ being family. God depends upon us to do His will. He is not here on earth except by the omnipresent Holy Spirit. Jesus is seated by Father God. With creation the Son was not seated and stood by the Father. He did everything to please the Father in Heaven, then on earth, now back in Heaven adorned with full majesty, deserving the Glory and Honor due Him. When Jesus returns to earth He will finish His plan of salvation for the whole earth and become the Lord of lords and King of kings- ruler not only of Creation He spoke into existence but of the earth and Satan and the fallen angels will be bound up for 1000 years.
The problems in the world are through fallen men/women. God is God but He set up the Church to be His Hands, Feet, etc – the earthly representation of the Body of Christ.
The battle for humanities soul started with Jesus becoming the sacrifice for mankind’s sins so we would be free to choose and the Holy Spirit would indwell those who are saved. WE have the power and authority through Jesus. When the different parts work together, obeying the Head, Jesus, then God is free to move among His people and bless even the nations where His people live. Positionally by old covenant the children of Israel are heirs to the promises of God. Positionally now by the new covenant we have the same promises of God given us. Weak anemic, and sinful Christians who do their own thing means God is not their Lord and Satan/Lucifer is free to act.
We are nearing the 7 years of Great Tribulation and the tribulation is the wrath of God poured out on the Children of Disobedience, those who wittingly or unwittingly do Satan’s will. Yes it is hard times and because Christians have been so anemic and not brought down Satan’s strongholds we see such a rise of evil as we have never seen.
If God is not welcome in your life or mine then we tie His hands and He can do nothing. He gave us the tool – faith/trust in God. It is up to us to quit blaming God for what WE ALLOW and to become the Church full of His power, healing, and righteousness as He desires of us. GOD has NEVER been the problem, He is the solution. We just need to get close to His heart and follow His instructions — “love God with all of our being and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.”
Most Christians want God to move and He is waiting on us to move so He can move through us. How few Christians would even attempt to lay hands on the sick with the heart of faith/trust – expecting God to heal???? God is not the problem!
Also, the Church is not the problem but how God expects to move on earth. “IIIIFFFFF MY PEOPLE WHO are called by MY NAME (Name above all names) will humble themselves and pray, confess THEIR sins, then I WILL hear from Heaven and Heal their land (bring back the blessings of God on us and our nation.” If we can’t obey God at a VOTING BOOTH, choosing the best president and candidate possible, then HOW can we call ourselves OBEDIENT????
It is time to wake us, repent for our evil ways, turn to God with a heart of expectation and BE THE CHURCH. Otherwise evil will continue to grow— I could tell you why the percentage of people grows so fast – not just wrong living but a government that allows poisons in our foods, that pushes GMO foods and processed sugars and sugar substitutes like ASPERTAME that is much more toxic than processed sugar. It is unbelievable what the American Health Association allows to get payoffs by international corporations – how the AMA rejects true cures for cancer and pushes killing radiation and toxic chemotheraphy which brings in a high amount of money yet has a RIDICULOUSLY low rate of curing cancer (usually comes back if you don’t die from wiping out your immune system).
We get the FRUIT of our choices and lazy minded people blame God for the evil while turning to the evil people they let in government to defy the Constitution, and destroy our freedoms while seeking power, control, and our MONEY>
Please listen, I am not mad at you – we all screw up. It is time to trust God and quit being like Adam and Eve, who not only sinned and did wrong but blamed their mate for their actions and blamed God for giving them their mates. We need to run to God, He is not mad at us but He is furious with Satan/Lucifer and soon, though Satan will think he is winning and controls the world, nothing will be further from the truth that he is done for than his own selfcentered egotism. He will bow before Jesus and declare “Jesus is Lord!” as well as all the fallen angels and Adam’s race who chooses to believe the lie.
I understand frustration when one prays and does not get the answer they desired. God is not a roulette wheel and many things happen that are not His will. He wants us to learn to exercise our faith in Him and His promises until be get the fruit — it may take time and patience but constant pressure on a ship at dock will eventually move that ship if wind and opposition is overcome or stopped. Faith has results but often what we think is faith is just flesh and human desire. If a person is ready to meet God and wants to be with God more than to be here, then there is no prayer that will interfere with the person going home. If God has further plans, he/she may come back to do what God shows the person.
Likewise, many perish before their time. If I walk into live traffic with a Mack truck traveling at 65 miles per hour, I will die. If I shoot up with an overdose of cocaine, I will die. Stupidity and ignorance causes a lot of death. “MY People PERISH for lack of understanding.” Not God’s fault.
I will give an example, I hope this will go to heart. When I left the Navy in the 70’s I traveled to see my grandmother in the hospital when I heard she was dying. I was, still am, full of faith/trust in God and His ability to use me as a VESSEL to heal her, as He had my parents when I laid hands on them. I saw her and she looked pathetic. My flesh wanted to feel sorry for her and weep. My spirit man rose up and I started encouraging her with the Word of God, speaking encouraging scriptures. I saw the light coming back into her eyes and a smile on her face —- GOD WAS HEALING HER. My aunt came in, she was full of fear and had little of God’s power moving in her life at that time. She started speaking negatively over grandmother. Quickly the light went out of her eyes and her face looked like death warmed over. I sadly left, God could do no miracle there because of my aunts unbelief – so I prayed that God take her quickly and there be no more suffering. She died that night after I left. She no longer suffers and I am sure she remembers that day when her grandson encouraged her in the Lord.
To summarize, this applies to each and all of us, “Set before you this day is (the path of) life and (the path of) death, CHOOSE LIFE AND LIVE.” Be encouraged! We live in a fallen world and there is a lot of deception Satan has put around us and none of us is exempt. We can not boast of ourselves but of God and as we draw close to Him and stay under the ‘shadow of the Almighty’ then the evil one can’t touch us. Pray for family, friends,and others to do the same so Satan can’t use them against you and others and that their lives are blessed. Satan is insidious, when he can’t touch us, he attacks our friends and loved ones. Soon the evil rat will lose, just a few years indeed because God is wrapping things up. Then healing and blessings and God’s love will flow like the River of Life does – eternally.
Be blessed and be a blessing!
Dale, It’s really hard for me to comprehend that there are really people who think the way you do. It’s nothing less than delusional for you to consider your self a “Vessel” for God to perform healings.
How can you claim with your words of encouragement to your grandmother that “GOD WAS HEALING HER” ? Then in the next breath you state that you left your grandmother because your God could no longer use you to heal because of your aunts negativity? If God really was using you as a Vessel to heal her, why didn’t you stay and finish the job? Are you really telling us that the God who you calim as active couldn’t overcome a little negativity from your aunt?
First, I don’t believe that God acts in ways to heal anyone. If He did, He would be showing favoritism to some but certainly not all of His creatures – even those who call Him their Lord. I’m sure you’re aware that Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists and agnostics die at exactly the same rate from every known human disease, so that there is no healing “hand of God” who favors the Christian or any religious group over another.
At some point, people to need to remove their brain from some of the biblical interpretations they hold, and take a gander at reality. If people want the words of the bible to be true, they’re going to need to stop pretending and adjust their way of interpreting the biblical text so that it meets up with what is really happening on this earth.
Amen to what you wrote Jenna. The “Name it and Claim it” verses may have been applicable to humankind when Jesus roamed this planet, but they are not true for us today. This has nothing to do with whether or not it’s God’s will as the determining factor when someone makes a prayerful request. God has suspended His miracles and substituted them with his grace. We live by grace and not by His active hand manipulating anyone’s circumstances. It’s not that God cannot intervene. It’s simply that He does not. Anyone who claims a blessing / miracle by the direct hand of God, is claiming they are more special than the 20,000 people who will perish today from lack of nutrition, or the two year old who will die in a hospital today as their Christian parents fervently beg God through prayer for healing. There is not a God of favor who gives to some and not others. He is not controlling who is born in a rich nation and who is born in a poverty stricken nation. The pretending needs to stop now.
This is really good and helpful. As a still single almost thirty year old women I would often have a hard time seeing my married/mother friends posts. Calling their children blessings and being so blessed by their husbands. These people of course do not mean it in an offensive way. Children and spouses are gifts from God. But the enemy can easily twist that in the mind to sound like God gave those to them because they are better or deserve it. Same thing for when I post about being blessed by a girls night that my mom friends would love to have. Oh comparison how it divides.
Leaving aside the “blessed” vs. “grateful” debate, the main point in this for me are the questions the author poses. He (Jesus) will ask “What will you do with it?” “Will you use it for yourself?” Will you use it to help?” “Will you hold it close for comfort” “Will you share it?”
These questions are what I’ve been pondering since I read this article a few days ago. These are the questions that are on my heart. These are the questions that I pray will shape my life.
It is not what we have but what has us is the issue. I have seen some poor people that would lie, cheat or steal to get what others have that they don’t. Often the poor or lacking are more lustful of other people’s property than most rich people. If those rich people earned their wealth and had integrity, they have no need and often are very willing to be generous towards others. Of course there are greedy rich. They often got to the top through deception, thievery, taking advantage of others, and lies/con jobs. Rich or poor can lust for money and/or property that they did not earn or belongs to others.
Again it is a matter of do what you have have control over you or do you see what you have as a blessing from God that you can bless others with as God directs. If I had $50 to give away and I did not obey God with it then I may waste it giving to someone who conned me or be careless with it. We are stewards of what God gives us and good stewards are wise and not foolish.
Misuse of what God gives us is a love issue. Is it our God or is God our God? God may not want you to give sometimes. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Likewise if you know God wants you to be generous, be so. What ever you do, don’t waste resources. When God is behind it and you let go then you can give it with JOY and not reluctantly. God loves a CHEERFUL Giver. If you can’t give cheerfully, it may not be God but peer pressure coercing you to let go. Be wise and seek God’s will.
About love:
Love is not God’s love unless one gives it away. Eros is focused on physical love and is only satisfied by physical intimacy. In balance with the mate God gave you, it has it’s place as the ‘two become one flesh’. A marriage is dependent upon this closeness, friendship, and trust. Out of balance,Eros is only erotica – jumping from one to another forming marriages but only soulish ties- leaving a wake of destruction and selfishness.
Phileos focuses on friendship. Friendships are fine as long as the BEST FRIEND is God. Anything more important than God in our lives that separates God from us is sin. Yet, good friends are trustworthy, not perfect just like we are not, need nourishing and intimate ties. Friendship with God and with others requires a lot of forgiveness.
AGAPE focuses on God like love. Jesus gave Himself for sinners who had no thought of honoring God, took advantage of others, focused on self and self will, and even those who spit in God’s eye and freely reject Him. God loves all of us eternally but those who are eternally separated from God will be incapable of loving Him back.
All loves require balance. Only Agape should we let guide us, encourage us, and strengthen us to server others unselfishness. You NEVER go wrong with AGAPE.
Excellent article and so well stated even though so many here don’t seem to understand your message.
Many years ago, as a new Christian, I remember saying with surprise that I finally got what “blessing” meant. To me it was and is the ability to continue from day to day feeling loved and able to trust that though all things God will bring good. It has nothing to do with my material state which is quite adequate but often struggling.
I still struggle with North American Christians who thank God for their material things because it speaks to me of the pain that brings to those who struggle – as if they are doing something wrong and are not worthy of God’s blessing. It is hard for us to be the “light” unto the world when the fallen world does not see us reciprocate that “blessing” on to others ….
Understanding blessings is easy. Just because we have Jesus as our Savior we are blessed. If our blessings focus us on self and separate us from God, even if they were blessings they turn to a curse.
With prosperity – does what we have have control of us or does what we have focus us on God and His goodness. Some folks riches have control of them. Others folks riches are in the hands of wise stewards who follow the One Who prospered them.
I have seen more greed and lust for what others have prevalent in poor people than most rich. There are those who gained those riches by theft, manipulation, and evil devises. Their riches control them and they never will be satisfied for long. “Better is a little with contentment than much with strife.”
It is not a matter of what we have but what has control of us.
Reblogged this on and commented:
While I disagree with the premise that material things are not blessings I whole heartedly endorse the point that being “blessed” is not defined by material status. I’ve had much and I’ve been in want, had much again and again find myself in want and I was, and am, blessed beyond measure, and yes, grateful.
Anything God gives us He gives as a blessing – spiritual, physical, mental, health, wealth, and possessions.
“Gratitude determines latitude.”
Do we have control over our possessions or do our possessions have control over us.
“If we are faithful over small things He will make us faithful over greater things.”
Who is Lord, God or things or self or others?
I would rather be blessed and have plenty than cursed and full of lack.
It is not important what we have but Who (God) have us.
Reblogged this on A Conservative Christian Man.
First, thank you for this article and this blog. I appreciate a Christian brother sharing the word. Though I understand the premise of this article, James 1:17 says that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” To me, that means that everything from the air I breathe, to the clothes I have, to the fact that I can walk, are things provided by God, which I would call blessings. Completely agree with one of the more recent comments and the part of your article that mentioned that we can’t limit God to one who blesses us with material things. However, to deny these admittedly material (but still important) gifts come out of the goodness and mercy of God to me is also off-base.
Randy, 20,000 human will die a miserable death today ( 7.1 million this year) from malnutrition alone. (Google the CDC starvation numbers for yourself). Another 750 will die from a mosquito bite. There are children dying in hospitals from unthinkable diseases as their Christian parents fervently pray for Gods “blessings” and yet they will perish.
Are you suggesting that these “Good things” that supposedly come down from heaven are selective “Good things” to people like you and I who have plenty of food to eat and are not affected by malaria?
There is no one being shown favor by God over another on this planet. That’s Pretend world, and none of us lives in a world like that. The blessings that we receive are from the minimization of the consequences that come when we choose to honodr and obey Gods laws and His principles. Of course the greatest blessing was The sacrifice of Jesus. We are blessed to be alive as the decendants of His first creation. We are blessed to give and receive love with our fellow humans.
We’ve got to stop pretending that there’s a God who is dolling out special “blessings / favors”. Then we need to stop making these public claims of favor because itheae claims are devastating to those who have not.
Looking at the world today I understand your natural cynicism. The media paints constant pictures of problems and from everywhere in the world. Little good is heard. A cynic is someone with narrow thinking who ignores reality – essentially looks for things that prop the cynicism. I am not calling you a negativist or cynic but I do adjure you to not fall for the globalist media con job.
The controlled media highlights the negatives in order to get ratings. You got to have a problem to get attention in their mindset. There is plenty of good that goes on that shows the hand of God moving but we have to get our minds out of the gutter we are conditioned to stay in.
I tell you this, focus on the negatives builds an expectation of negatives and a focus on them. It can be like blinders that horses wear to keep their focus straight ahead. The media focuses us on the wrong things and like a self fulfilling prophecy we see the world growing worse and worse. When our eyes are off God, HOW CAN WE expect God to help us. We are apart from Him, His will, and His ways.
Worse of all, we can blame Him for our actions and the evil deeds of others. Why did God allow that???? We want freedom to choose yet when it comes to evil or wrongdoing we want to blame someone else and not do anything positive to counter the negative ourselves. Freedom was to set us free not bind us up. God is the source of freedom. Freedom is not just we are free to do whatever we want to do but within God’s borders.
Our society is falling and the New World Order is ‘temporarily’ rising but Jesus will return and take control of the earth after the soon coming 7 years of tribulation. Till then WE are in charge of the earth. Do we plant good seed or bad seed? Do we obey God or defy Him? Do we take responsibility for our screwups or blame God and others? Do we grow up spiritually? What is spiritual growth? Growing to be more and more like Jesus – full of happiness, despite circumstances, full of JOY that only comes from God, full of God’s PEACE that surpasses ALL natural human understanding, and FREE to willingly do the work God places before us – drawing others to Jesus by acting like Him.
I, more than 99% of the world KNOW the evils and atrocities in history and what is REALLY going on with the globalization of the world through power hungry and lustful followers of Lucifer/Satan who think nothing of life, save their own and their friends. I could tell things that you could not accept that I KNOW are true. THIS is not the issue. My eyes an heart are FIXED on Jesus, not this stupid sin ridden and falling world system. I will summarize it in a non-Biblical quote that is very true scripturally: “EVIL PROSPERS WHEN GOOD MEN/WOMEN DO NOTHING.”
Resist the Devil and he flees. America plays so much with the Devil that God is out of the picture. We must change that not with negativism but to draw close to God and realize He only has good intents and purposes for us. We need to SEEK HIM FIRST and all will be added, not focus on THINGS as a substitute for Him. We MUST LEARN GOD IS GOOD ALWAYS and ALLOW Him to move through His earthly BODY of BELIEVERS as He wants. This is the way to change the world, not complaining and doing little to nothing. Be FREE to love others by first accepting God’s FATHOMLESS LOVE for you then out of deep wells of love and gratitude you will have what this world needs and desires – they will see the Love of God on DISPLAY.
“My People Perish for lack of knowledge (and understanding of God’s Word and ways.” “You have not because you don’t ask or you ask for selfish reasons only.”
REMEMBER THIS, we all screw up and none is worthy of the love God wants to give us but we must focus on Him and grow deep in love with God, them we can help and bless others out of however God blesses us.
Dale,
Although your last response is well written, it absolutely has nothing to do with my last reply.
You mentioned my cynicism but that’s not how I would characterize myself. I’m a realist. The CDC numbers I mebtioned are reality. They’re negitive because they are negative, not bexuase I’m negative. Christian children die in cancer wards everyday even with their Christain parents prayerfully pleading with our God to heal them.
In my last response, I listed what I believe are the blessings that are applicable to everyone. They are not dolled out by a God who favors some but not others. Any suggestion by anyone that God is providng to some and not others, is merely sticking their head in the “bible sand” and ignoring what’s really going on in this world.
It appears that you are very well versed in your bible. The problem with that is, your litteral view of scripture and subjects like this, causes you to ignore the fact that God is not actively helping anyone on this earth. He’s given us life through His initial creation and He’s given is grace through His sacrifice. He may have dolled out His helping hands when he walked this earth, but not today.
We’ve got to stop pretending. If not for seeking the truth, then for those who have no idea who Jesus is, and completely turned off by Christians who make these “blessing” claims as if they’re more special than others.
There is truth and their is facts. The facts are against us but the truth of God can overcome facts. A realist sounds honest enough but it accepts the problem and does nothing about it. The truth is that Jesus Church has the power to change things as each part obeys Jesus Who is the HEAD of the spiritual Body of Christ. People wait on God to do something or resign themselves to ‘well its the end times, what will be will be’. Jesus did not tell the Church in these times to roll over and play dead but to OCCUPY until He comes. We are His arms, legs, whatever and when we cooperate with the Head and quit fighting not only the Head but the other parts of the Body of Believers (to be Bride of Christ) then we DO what He says and quit being our own god but let God be God. He will back His Church but it is not a matter of waiting on God so much, except to get specific instructions, but of to RECOGNIZE God is waiting on us.
Jesus said, Matthew 28:18 “ALL authority (ALL POWER) in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.” YOU go now and make disciples of ALL the nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (in other words help them to become Believers) Teaching them to observe everything I have ‘commanded’ thee, (which is the only commandment Jesus ever issued . He said “I have but ONE commandment. Love other as I have Loved You!”) he reinforced his previous statements by saying BEHOLD , “I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS (perpetually, on every occasion) to the very end of the age.”
Adam and Eve were given the earth to rule over on a lease, a lease that will run out soon when Jesus returns as Lord of the Earth. With the lease Adam and Eve and their children were to have dominion over. With the fall Satan gained some ‘strings’ to control or limit Adam’s race – strings called sin, which Satan likes to get us to do and then condemn us with.
With Jesus those bonds were broken through His sacrifice and made legally formal with His ressurection. Essentially because Jesus was to go to be at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, He not only gave them His authority to bind and loose and take dominion then He sent the Paracletos (Holy Spirit of God) to indwell us. With letting the Holy Spirit illuminate the Scriptures God could retrain our carnal minds to think more like Jesus and to be endued with POWER when the Holy Spirit came upon us and entered us as believers. The Helper but not the pusher. When the Church obeys God then things change for the good as we carry out God’s will. When the Church is carnal and makes God in their image vs allowing God to make them in His Image then the world gets the upper hand because it empowers the Prince of the Power of the Air.
I don’t blame the world for the evil in the world – people that don’t know God act under the control or manipulation of Satan naturally. I don’t blame the Church universal either (the ONE Church – Body of Christ). I blame lazy carnal church’s for playing church and acting like the world. How the world will change for the good is when “MY PEOPLE, who are called by My Name, will Humble themselves and Pray and (out of the strength and power of God) Turn from their wicked ways —–THEN will I hear from Heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land.” The healing of the land will come with God’s people Humble themselves, Pray for the solution (not belly ache about the problems), Turn away from doing evil (grow up in the Lord) and THEN God can and will heal the land. America is on a precipice, the edge of the cliff of destruction, but it can be healed if the Church does what He says.
Realism is fine to a point but take it from a life long engineering tech and problem solver – I can see the problem realistically but I pursue solving the problem. I really do not see a problem as a problem but as an avenue to conquer, learn, and win. “Occupy until I come” was not sit on a pew and complain but to not lose ground and stand victoriously – occupy is and was a battle term.
Dale,
Not really sure what you meant when you said the facts are against us. The facts are reality and they are truth. If you’re a believer, is the fact that Jesus died and rose again a fact that’s against us? If the CDC is wrong and it’s really only 15,000 starving each day rather than the reported 20,000, does that make a difference to you?
I ask you this because you also commented, “the truth of God can overcome facts”. When do you think our God’s truth is going to start overcoming the facts that there is so much suffering going on all over this planet, and yet, His truth is obviously doing nothing about it? I’m ok with it only because I have accepted that God is doing nothing on this earth. I, like you, expect the people who are aligned with God, to be His hands and feet. But this is mutually exclusive to claiming that God alone is active. I think it’s pretty obvious that He’s not feeding the starving. He’s not removing cancer from children. He’s not steering tornados or hurricanes away from people who live in those areas that are known for their occurrences. I’ve accepted that fact, and other than hurting for the suffering and helping where I can, I sit well with it. The problem with many Christians with my premise that God is not actively helping is, these Christians do not have their so called hedge of protection that they desire. Any promises made in the Bible about God actively helping us by actively providing blessings and or miracles are not applicable to us. They may have been true when Jesus walked this earth, but they are not true for us today. We live by grace and not by a God who manipulates our circumstances with His active hand.
What really bothers me is your comment, ” A realist sounds honest enough, but it accepts the problem and does nothing about it”. I’m trying to understand what evidence you have that this is the case. How can it be that a realist is to be considered to be without compassion and unwilling to offer love to those in need? My wife and I support eight different missionaries in different areas and in fact we are hosting two of them tomorrow night before they return to Mozambique. I’m a realist, and although I am not physically in the trenches, we certainly put our money where our heart is. Realism and offering compassionate love and support are not mutually exclusive.
In your treatise throughout this thread, you seem more interested in providing bible verses to support your claims – even when they fly in the face of all of our realities. You continue to evade the facts and evidence, and use bible verses to attempt to justify your position. This may work with those who are likeminded, but it will not be very effective when trying to convince those who earnestly are seeking God.
The Bible is full of truth and wisdom that can be applied to our lives. Most of the the lessons that Jesus taught are truth and give instruction as to how we should live. But there are many stories and instructions contained within those 66 books that do not meet our reality. If we are going to hold the bible to those who claim it’s inerrant, we’re going to have to change our interpretations of what it teaches in certain places so that it meets reality.
For example, the name it and claim it verses where Jesus tells us that we will receive whatever we ask for if we believe it, are not applicable to us today. we can pretend the promises are applicable today, but reality says differently. My wife and I sat and mourned with a couple from our church about 10 years ago who’s 16 year old daughter had just suffered and died a miserable death from cancer. The elders anointed her with oil and our congregation as well as thousands of our fellow parishioners called on God to heal her. But, the heavens, were silent and she died. We do not get what we ask for in prayer by believing there’s God who will intervene and solve problems like this. It’s not that God can’t. It’s more like He just doesn’t. Are we not taught that His grace is sufficient for us? The bible doesn’t teach us that His blessings or His supposed miraculous interventions are sufficient for us. When we stop pretending that God is actively helping us, we free our selves of false expectations that He will intervene, and we free God from any liability claims when things don’t go the way we wanted. None of the earthly outcomes in todays world has anything do with “His will”. His will is to allow everything to happen. Everything that happens on this earth (Good and Bad) are the results of those who either follow what is right, or those who choose wrong, or just by the randomness that occurs for the events on this earth.
As I previously mentioned, Christians in their attempt to appear special by claiming they receive either special favor though blessings or miracles, separate themselves from the common man who does not receive these supposed favors. The atheist or agnostic will never have an open mind to consider God as Christians continue to make these delusional claims. The earnest seeker will be turned off by it as well. There is no earthly favor for any one on this earth besides what God provided in the past and the facts / evidence points directly to that.
It is obvious if you are a Christian that you believe God is much weaker than facts.
If you are sick it is a fact that you are sick. You can just be sick and possibly die or do what you can to stop the sickness or turn to God and remember His promise “by Jesus stripes you WERE healed.” Just mental assent won’t won’t make it so. — Some people say, “I believe there is a God.” So does Lucifer/Satan – knew Him well. — This is where letting go of the bad news facts and embracing God’s WORD (the promise that Jesus healed you from the cross) and place TRUST/FAITH in God because of your Knowing and BELIEVING Him, then you are in the position to RECEIVE His promise, just as you received Jesus as your Savior. God HAS and WILL heal many because of THEIR FAITH/TRUST in His promise for healing. It is like being a child of a King and out of ignorance living like a pauper on the streets, vs a mansion.
GOD”S promises NEVER come true to those who fight God and won’t trust/have faith in Him and what He says in His Word. “My people perish for lack of knowledge (of God, his plans and purposes for their lives).” Simply stated, they live like paupers spiritually vs as sons and daughters of God through Jesus.
There are MANY illustrations besides healings where the OBVIOUS FACTS said one thing and yet God changed the FACTS by His TRUTH and POWER. It is God’s initiative to bless us but He forces nothing on us because we are free will agents, even after saved. We should be willing bond servants to God for so great a salvation Jesus provided for us. Not out of fear or MANDATE but in response to His great love for us.
Yes, you can live in the facts, let them run over you. Or you can, “be more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus Who loves you and gave Himself, as the original SON of GOD for you. Your choice! Even without God I would be a fighter than a weak kneed pacifist that lets any bullying disease or circumstance overcome me – we can change facts! God does what we can’t!
Dale,
With all due respect, I can see that you’re one of those type of Christians who desires to take from the Bible what you think is truth and apply it to your own reality. In your first example, you quoted the passage from Isaiah 53, “by His stripes we are healed” and applied to to physical healing. This cannot be true on two different fronts. First, Isaiah 53 is not the foretelling of Jesus the Messiah. Isaiah 53 is referring to the “Suffering Servant” who is clearly the Nation of Israel. The suffering servant is mentioned nine other times in the book of Isaiah and each time it is referring the Israelites (not a coming Messiah). The Nation of Israel is suffering and being punished by their captors. This is not a reference to Jesus, and the Jews have never interpreted their scriptures to mean what Christians try to make it say.
Secondly, where do you get your interpretation that “By His Stripes, you are healed” is referring to physical healings that are promised to come true in 2015? There is no truthful words in the bible that promises us we can be physically healed from sickness or disease, because of Jesus’s sacrifice. Christians seem to be in three different camps about Isaiah 53. There are those like you who think Isaiah 53 refers to the coming Messiah. There are those like you who think that we are promised physical healing in the here and now because of His sacrifice. Then there are those who believe that Jesus’s sacrifice brought spiritual healing (the promise of eternal life. and not physical healing) that have nothing to do with the Isaiah verse you mentioned.
You wrote,” If you are sick it is a fact that you are sick. You can just be sick and possibly die or do what you can to stop the sickness or turn to God and remember His promise “by Jesus stripes you WERE healed.” Are you are of the opinion that you should rely only on promises like “By His stripes, we are healed” to see that you are physically healed, rather than seek a medical solution? There are people just like that today in Idaho who think this way. This story was on CNN last night and I think it speaks to some Christians “backwoods” interpretations of the bible we all share. http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/01/19/ac-dnt-tuchman-faith-healing-idaho.cnn
I must say it’s hard to continue having discussions about these kinds of topics with people who continue to stand on their interpretations of scripture when they clearly fly in the face of all of our realities. Before the post modern era, people were more gullible to interpretations like yours, but many have moved past that now. It was also fire and brimstone that brought so many to come to the alter, but that way is insufficient to those who are certainly less ignorant. We all want the words and story’s of the bible to be truth. If they are truth, then they should meet our collective reality. If they do not meet our reality, we need to change our flawed interpretations. We can continue to pretend that the name it and claim it verses like “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believing it, you will receive it” are true, but it won’t hold any water for most people. Christians can even add their own caveat on verses like this and try to convince themselves when a promise verse like this doesn’t come to fruition, by saying, “it must not have been God’s will.” We don’t live in a world that presents super natural activities. We certainly don’t live in a world where God’s active hands dole out blessings or miracles to some select few – ignoring the less fortunate who are suffering miserably. That’s an elitist pretend world, and I don’t live in a world like that.
I have fellow Christians tell me all the time that they have been blessed directly by God because He saw to it that they received a new house, or new car. They might even tell me God healed them from cancer -even though they received surgery, chemo and radiation. They might tell me that God actively saw to it that they became parents and they are blessed because of that. I keep a picture of a starving child on my phone that I have named Haji. I show it to delusional people who make their blessings claims like this, and ask them directly, “do you really think that there’s a God who see’s to it that you receive special favors, while a child like this is barely clinging to life?
I am not going into theology with you – you probably went to a semitary or was that seminary. Probably taught unbelief. Jesus did so much for us but if you are cleverer than God and want to decline on His blessings, blessings that come through intimate relationship with God vs pie in the sky in the bye and bye. God is not Santa Claus nor is He indifferent about us – letting what will be -be. We have choices to receive what ever He has for us or to decline. It is foolish to tell God, Jesus did not take the stripes at the cross to heal us, nor did He become poor to prosper us.
I am not in a relationship with God seeking stupid earthly things. He knows I need things and He provides because I TRUST HIM. He even gives me the desires of my heart IF I can handle them wisely and IF I BELIEVE what He says. “If you being (having a tendency for evil)evil do GOOD THINGS for your children, HOW MUCH MORE does the Heavenly Father want to do goo for those who TRUST HIM/ have faith in Him.”
I don’t worry about what I have or don’t have, I “SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD and ALL these things (things we need and godly desires) WILL BE added to me.” I would rather die in a gutter in the street with Jesus/God as my Friend than to have wealth and possessions unspeakable without God.
I tell you this, I don’t want what God does not want me to have or that I am presently not ready to have/handle wisely but I DO NOT decline anything God does want me to have and will wait for what I am not presently ready and grow to be able to receive.
You have been influenced by socialistic mindsets so much that you probably think Jesus and the early Church was communist. Communism has always empowered a few to the exclusion of others. China and Russia have embraced allowing people to prosper but can turn at any time to their old ways where the leaders have all the money and everyone else, except their friends, live on the edge of poverty or in poverty. THAT is the EQUALITY practiced. Even with a copy of capitalism, especially in China, the leaders have the lions share of money, not the people. Russia for now is trying to break the SUPERCAPITALIST COMMUNIST REIGN but may fall due to pressure by the evil New World Order international Rothschild based Banking Cartel.
The early Church willingly put their resources together so all could live decent lives. Make no mistake, the Bible said, “If you don’t work you don’t eat.” The Church was under great persecution and out of LOVE, not a mandate from God or government people gave of their resources generously to the truly needy that could not support themselves to get food and clothing. Aquilla and Priscilla died when they LIED to the Church leaders. They sold a plot of land they did not need and gave some of the money to Peter. God showed Peter that they lied to the Holy Spirit and said they would die and they did. If they had given 1/10th of the value of the land and said so, God and everyone would have been happy. God looks at the heart and theirs was evil to lie. They lost their lives but probably not their salvation. Big mistake to try to con God’s people or to do harm to those who are in Christ Jesus, people curse themselves – even Christians. God said, “judge not (condemnation, especially eternal) or you will be judged.”
I want the best from God, it is stupidity or ignorance to decline God and say, I don’t want that or I don’t believe that when it is true that “He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”(Romans 8:32). Now if you want or expect nothing from God, you will get what you want.
Each day we have a choice, “set before you this day is (the path of) life and (the path of death), CHOOSE LIFE and LIVE.” Play religious games or learn WHO your Creator is and how He withhold no blessings from those who walk with Him in Trust/Faith and obey His instructions.
Dale,
I’m not really sure how to reply to your last comments. Somehow, you labeled me as one who thinks Jesus was a communist and I’m trying to understand what I could have written that you would allow you to come to that conclusion. Seems a little off the topic of Blessings.
This is pretty simple. Either you believe that God is handing out favorable gifts to those who qualify, or you don’t. You never seem to respond to my comments regarding the “have’s” and the “have not’s”. For anyone to claim that they are receiving special favor / blessings while the majority of the world sits in abject poverty and at deaths doorstep from starvation, is just delusional. Your interpretation of scripture in these areas does not even remotely come close to the factual evidence that there’s a God who is handing out “Blessings” by His active hand. If you have a God like that, then you have a God of favoritism.
I am well to do financially and I the only reason I deserve that is because I worked for it. I don’t deserve it because of my earthly merits over anyone else on this planet because of my holiness or my seeking God’s kingdom first.
If you want to stand on the verses you mentioned, such as, “If you being (having a tendency for evil) evil do GOOD THINGS for your children, HOW MUCH MORE does the Heavenly Father want to do good for those who TRUST HIM/ have faith in Him.” , you’ve got a lot of hard work still ahead of you to explain why there are 20,000 people (some that share your Christian faith) are dying from the lack of food. Will you please tell me where your interpretation of the above listed scripture meets up with the reality of suffering like that?
You mentioned the passage about not worrying about what we will eat or what we will drink and quoted, ““SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD and ALL these things (things we need and godly desires) WILL BE added to me.” Can you please tell me how “seeking the kingdom first” that supposedly brings the things we need like food and drink, is a reality for those 20K who will die today. Are you willing to go to the family’s of the 230,000 who were killed by the 2004 Tsunami and tell them about how seeking God’s kingdom first, brought good things to the victim? Maybe you’ll tell me that those innocent children dying on the African plains are not either worshiping the right God, or maybe they’re not seeking His kingdom first.
Your interpretation of the bible, the same bible that I read from, is getting in the way of observable truths that are not a mystery. Suffering is going on all over this planet and God is doing nothing about it. I don’t expect God to intervene and I’m ok with that. People who are acting because they are inspired by what God did for them on that cross are acting, but that is mutually exclusive to God intervening with intention and intervention by His direct hands. There is not a God who is selectively giving anyone cars, houses, or children, or food over another human on this planet.
As I already mentioned, If you want to say that everything good that is on this earth is a blessing because God is the creator of all things, I can agree to that. If you want to say our children are a blessing in a general sense because God created the reproductive system in His first creation and we are recipients of that, I can agree. But to say, “God blessed me with 3 children”, meaning the exact 3 children in the physical form they exist in were by God’s direct hand, is delusional. Would you be willing to tell a married couple that’s been struggling for years to have children, but are unable, that God gave you 3 children but left them out of that blessing.
When are we going to stop with our Elitist Christian mentality that somehow suggests to others that we have received something special from the Almighty while there are so many suffering? It’s this way of thinking, that I believe comes from misinterpretation of the Bible, that’s turning off the masses that might have been willing to take a good hard look at our savior.
What we’re doing with all of the blessing and miracle talk, is doing nothing in the way of furthering the great commission.
You fail to understand me also. Your playdown of prosperity sounded like a communist conditioned one. I now recognize that your heart is right. Let me reveal mine clearer.
I am humble enough to receive anything the Lord or others will give me yet view myself as a steward vs a bank. When God does give us things and resources we are to be grateful. We are not to put our focus on those things but on God.
I am content enough in my trust/faith in God to be content whether I receive much or have less than I do. On a fixed income at 65 with no savings of my own, I do rely on God to provide my needs and He does well as I am faithful with what I have. Generosity should be a hall mark of a Christian. Yet obedience is better than sacrifice. If someone wants what I got, I am not going to give it to the person to appease them or their lust for what I got. However, if God moves on my heart to do something or give something, I want to obey Him – not out of mandate or ‘do this or else’ nor out of ‘if you give this you will get that’ – I want to obey Him out of love and if he gives me a special love for another person with a request, do so CHEERFULLY and PROMPT TO DO IT.
God is not concerned with what we got, He is concerned with WHAT HAS GOT US. If God gave riches to some folk, whose souls are not ready for such – good stewards, it would ruin them and may separate the people from Him. What do you have as a steward vs what has you – is the question we all should know the answer to. If Jesus is to be Lord, He is to be Lord of ALL the areas we can surrender to Him – and as we grow in relationship to Him things of this world should get smaller compared to our best Friend and God.
In any area of life, whether we have much or have little – who do we trust – God or mammon (money); God or things; God or others; God or self??
I know too much scripture and am far too close to God to be proud and decline ANYTHING He has for me. God gave me a vision 40+ years ago “you are a great inventor who will greatly prosper the Church”. I have not made a penny yet but am faithful to my commission. My heart is that before I check out of this world this vision will be true. But my heart of hearts is to bring as many people to the Lord as possible by my faithfulness and my willingness to dare to reach out even to those who will try to fight God all the way. It saddens me to see how flagrantly people reject the goodness of God through His Son Jesus and are so hell set on their own destruction and the destruction of all around them. However, I am merely the messenger. Some peoples hate for me rolls right off because I am not out to please people but God. This gives me no liberty to be cruel, but I do make mistakes sometimes. I don’t wallow in any screw-up – just get things right with God and man as I can. If I do my part to rectify a mistake and the other holds grudges, that is their problem- not my desire.
My heart is so fixed on God and living the life He wants me to live, I am so full of His joy and delight that nothing else matters next to my relationship with Him and Him giving me so much love I have to share it with others so they can know my wonderful FRIEND and SAVIOR. This is a contrast like in scriptures- Jesus said, “unless you hate your mother and father”– in context He contrasts loving God vs love for even your mother and father. I had a wonderful mother and father and have nothing but love and respect for them. However, next to the love and admiration I have for God my love for them pales. The true meaning is “unless your mother and father with low esteem next to My love for you.” Likewise, My love for God and others far surpasses my desire to see the vision completed. Does that make it a small thing? NO! It is a vision and a commission to be a great inventor who will prosper the Church.
Just next to God, all the setbacks and frustrations and people stealing my inventions does not matter because I trust God to handle the cares and matters and equal the balances. In essence, I refuse to let things and issues in this world come between me and God. The cares of the world steal the joy from relationship the Lord. One time I went to the Lord and said, “I’m casting my cares on You Lord”. He responded, “I am not going to take them.” I said, “But your Word says ‘casting all your cares on Me, for I care for you.” God said, “Right! You give me ALL the cares or I am not going to take ANY.” In my intellectual analysis I concluded that was a good thing so I said, “Here, I don’t want ANY!” God set me free and I always remember to cast ALL the cares as fast as I see they are piling up. I am not a junk yard for the worlds trash. PS God later got me to fill a sheet of paper with a circle. Then told me to put a dot on the edge. He pointed out that THIS IS the YOKE He had in mind. My part is small, His part is very large. An oxen yoke had equal neck supports for two oxen. Essentially, the stronger may pull but both worked together. Instead of worrying about trying to compete with God, I learned to just enjoy the things God had before me and if the burden got a little heavy ask God to help me even more. We need God much more than He needs us yet to Him we are priceless and the object of His great love. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE with God and when He gives us more than enough it should humble us and give us a deeper love for the One Who cares so much for us.
My posture is “here am I send me” or “what do you want me to do”. I know to follow the vision He gave me – will probably invent until I go to meet Him. I am going to love Him and others no matter what this looney, off balance world does. I will not limit God nor His blessings. I seek Him first and all these things will be added to me. However, if my mindset limited God then it limits what He can do for me. I am free to give and free to receive and God has “more than enough” and His blessings for each of His children He intends for us to receive and place ourselves into the obedient pathway to receive, with no doubt or restraint – His blessing are “exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can think” – both here on earth and definitely in Heaven or the new earth to come.
I’ve just come across this post through a facebook friend’s post and I really enjoyed it. I think one of the reasons Christians are in the ‘cross hairs’ of atheists is because we are one-sided in our thankfulness and seem oblivious to the perceived contradiction in our behaviour if we believe God is in control. So I’ve penned some thoughts on my blog site, taking inspiration from your lead Scott. Here’s the link, I hope you don’t mind me sharing it here? I’d love to know what you think!? The post is called “Can we call cancer a blessing?” http://www.stephenshearsby.com/blog/
One mistake made is that God is in total control over the earth – don’t get frustrated with me, let me explain. God created the earth and placed, at some point, Adam and Eve in charge. God visited them in the cool of the day (probably early morn). He gave them charge – take dominion over all the earth. Essentially, they ruled the earth.
Satan gained some control over them by deception and creating mistrust of God. Satan became the Prince of the Power of the Air. This Prince essentially duplicated his sin of rebellion and gained ‘hooks’ in God’s special Creation, made In God’s image – mankind. In a sense this Prince became god of this world by usurping the God given authority Adam and Eve had. The world first ‘con job’.
God did not let Adam and Eve despair because He foreknew (sees all time as Now) what would happen and even before He created Adam Jesus was slain to save Adam in God’s plan. God made a covenant, used the skins of the animals to cover them, and promised to send His Savior (the Son of God, Word of God made flesh).
Jesus kicked Satan’s fanny good, crushed his head (authority) and freed those waiting on God’s Redeemer before Jesus came. Now we are saved by accepting Jesus as our Savior for what He did. What did Jesus do after resurrection? “All power in Heaven and earth is Mine.” He said that He must go to be seated at the right hand of Father God and comforted them at His departure from earth saying “I will send the Comforter”. The Holy Spirit had been on godly men of old but now would indwell those redeemed by Jesus, accepting His salvation vs trying to get to Heaven around Jesus (insult/blasphemy to the Father God).
God is not here on earth except via the Holy Spirit. God is not ruling the earth now. Jesus has all power but He entrusted that power to the Church. If the Church is united and following the Holy Spirit it can rule the earth spiritually and brings glory to God. If the Church is disfunctional with many parts, people, doing their own thing vs following Jesus instructions through the Holy Spirit then evil prospers – the dark ages resulted because evil men would not let people have knowledge of God so Satan ruled and many real Christians were killed by the evil popes that ruled at that time. God allows popes but His Church is MUCH bigger than the Catholic Church. For good popes – bravo. For evil ones -boo. Ha! For evil pastors – boo. For good pastors – bravo. We need no man to go to in order to get to God, that is why He put the Holy Spirit as our guide, instructor, comforter, etc.
God has made sure that His plans for earth have been carried out by making covenant to the tenants He placed in charge over the earth – His people. People wait on God to do this and that. God is waiting on us to ACT in alignment with His will so He can move on earth. When the 2000 years of Grace end and the 7 years of great tribulation begins, the rules change. Satan will be the god of the earth for a short time and God will withdraw His protection over the earth. Even at that the Holy Spirit will empower and protect many who are saved, especially the 144,000 witnesses – evangelizing Jews who found their Messiah and can not be destroyed and the angels that will testify of Jesus. God is going to give the ruler, Satan, a hard time. When the deceptive, Christ like, man of perdition – son of Satan, shows his true character and enters the Temple of God and declares himself to be God, then God pours out 2000 years of wrath stored in 7 different vials on the evil one and those who follow him.
Next, Jesus returns with His saints. Jesus is Lord of the earth as well as eternally the Lord of the Universe as the Word of God Who spoke all things into existence and hands on created Adam in His Image.
Then Satan is bound for 1000 years and released to test the earth. People side with God and people side with Satan – the final battle ensues and is over in an instance when Jesus says so. Then all evil ones are bound up and God cleanses the earth and where Satan has been with great fire and the earth is recreated (fire vs water). The universe is rid of evil and God and His saints rule.
People want to think God rules all. He does not rule me or you unless we let Him. We have free choice. Satan repeatedly tried to stop God’s plans for the earth but God wisely defeated him again and again and will again soon. Satan tries to rule over us and make us think we are in charge when he pushes the buttons with lies and deception. Those who listen to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit have the Holy Spirit revealing the lies and deceptions and helping them with the sins that so easily control them – setting them free from Satan. I can do great evil tomorrow or great good – “set before you this (and every) day is the path of life and of death – choose life and live.”
God intrusted His Church with great responsibility – like Moses great responsibility to act while the power is God’s that follows our acts of obedience.
I hope this is a blessing to you. Let God through His Word and the Teacher/Holy Spirit be your teacher more than any man.
Blessed …. no not me . I have a little of everything I suppose. I just don’t have a friend in the world besides god . I Don’t get to see my children , I live with family . I’m 33 one person said happy birthday to me . My family couldn’teven wish me a happy birthday. If i didn’t tell that one person no one would of s said it. Blessed over a house a car money anything like that … i believe I’m blessed if i can get a cup of coffee with someone and have a good conversation with them. But that hasn’t happened in a very long time. It saddens me to hear people say they are blessed because of a house or of an metirial possession. You know how gut wreching it is to see people have interactions with others and knowing that you can’t because of the powers that be . Be thankful and truly blessed for the people in your life . Love is true blessin a husband or wife is a true blessing family . Not some stupid house or car . Thanks and may the Lord truly bless you all . I’d rather live in the middle of a bloody war and be with a friend then sit in america one second with millions and no one .
So you are envious and full of strife with others who may be better off than you are – rather than to be thankful to God for Who He is and how He gives you strength and any virtue.
You need to rethink things from the perspective of WHAT YOU GOT vs WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE. Don’t let Satan kill, steal, and destroy what is important to you and you.
I have not got a lot of success in this world but I am not going to give ammo to Satan and let him and the world system, problems, and pressures crush my spirit and keep me down. I can confidently say that if I live on the street or in a big mansion but have God as my strength, refuge, and best Friend then I have what is the most important thing – God.
I have been to the bottom of the barrel myself, not wanted to live. I could have stayed there and died spiritually and even physically but a funny thing happens, one can look up – you saw the worse and start focusing on God (or not – focusing on despair).
Lack of thankfulness and focus on problems and cares of this world (which steal and make ineffective the Word of God in your life) will only bring you down into resentment, bitterness, and eventually hate. This is not God’s will that you have ‘love, joy, peace and fulness in the Holy Spirit.’
God said, “set before you this day is (the path of) life and the (path of) death; choose life and LIVE.” Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and get the right picture of God as displayed through His Son Jesus the Christ (Lord of Creation and the Image of God the Father in flesh). —- Also, don’t just give select cares to God – GIVE THEM ALL. You were not created to be the trash can of Satanic and Worldly cares if you are reborn in spirit man through the Savior Jesus Christ. Make Jesus Lord, vs situations and problems. —— Look UP! Behold Jesus Who loves you greatly sins and all and wants to help you be more and more like Him, free from this world and its sins and lusts.
I reread what you say. I did misjudge some of what you said. I will say this, “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (right with God via Jesus and our willingness to obey and love God) and all these things (earthly needs and even Godly desires and wants) SHALL BE (with patience and trust) ADDED unto you.”
I want no more than what God has for me and also NO LESS. I let God be God. I can also tell you this, Romans 8:32 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” I sure sound that He has a lot for us and rejecting His gifts don’t bless us thus they can’t be a blessing to others.
If you expect more than God wants you to have, He won’t give it to you, especially if your focus is on you and your lusts. If you did get it, it won’t be by God and can be a curse. —- People have to prepare for big things from God by being faithful in the small things and when their heart is on Him and their actions are following His will, then He WILL richly bless. The Blessings won’t be a curse as long as they don’t interfere with your relationship, intimacy, and focus on Him.
If you expect little from God, learn to expect more – what He gives you is for His Glory and to bless you so that you can bless others and nothing to give means you deprive Him of His due Glory and restrain His being able to bless you to bless others.
Redefine bless to the Biblical word – instead of focus on THINGS – focus on God and God’s goodness – learning to trust God and know that “all true blessings come from the Father (God) above.”
King James Definition of Blessing:
1. To pronounce a wish of happiness to one; to express a wish or desire of happiness.
And Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Gen.28.
2. To make happy; to make successful; to prosper in temporal concerns; as, we are blest with peace and plenty.
The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thou doest. Deut. 15.
It is not about us it is about HONORING GOD and not rejecting any good thing that He has for us out of pride or misunderstanding or false humility.
“Morris West suggests that at a certain age our lives simplify and we need have only three phrases left in our spiritual vocabulary: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! He is right, if we understand fully what is implied in living out gratitude. Gratitude is the ultimate virtue, undergirding everything else, even love. It is synonymous with holiness.” See: http://ronrolheiser.com/the-major-imperatives-within-mature-discipleship/#.VN5nTU05A5s
Excellent! Studying the Bible enough, letting the Holy Spirit teach us not man’s wisdom, leads to an intimate relationship with God and learning how great His love for us is. Thank You! Praise You! Love you God! These are natural responses when one’s heart is so full of God that speech becomes limited. We need to practice this even when things are not always well because gratitude opens our hearts to receive the good things God has for us. Good things to bless us so that we can spread the fire of God and share the blessings with others so that they can know Him as we do.
There is no place for selfishness in Heaven. Just as Jesus served His disciples as an example, we all will serve and work harmoniously with each other. God is a Giver, not a Taker. Satan and selfish people are takers. We are blessed by God to be a blessing to others. We are forgiven to forgive. We are loved to love. Heaven is going to blow our minds in a good way! God, though worthy of all Glory and our servitude, loves and is close to His children. His children’s response is honor and praise and adoration of their King of kings and Lord of Lords. Though Lord of the Universe and rightful ruler of all God calls us Friends. Mind Blower!
I suspect one reason you were born and with opportunities is to be doing exactly what you are. You’ll never know how many of us receive your insights as blessings! Thank you!
How flattering, Kappa! Thanks! And now I must go and have my wife deflate my head. Peace!
we are supposed to ask for blessings, if we don’t ask we can not be given the blessing!! “ask,” promised Jesus, “and it will be given to you” Matthew 7:7
” You do not have because you do not ask,” said James – James 4:2 Read the prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson there’s a story in there in the middle of Chapter 2 called Mr. Jones goes to heaven. Ever since I read that, I always ask for my blessings!!!
With all due respect Jess, it seems you are trying to use biblical verses out of context to support some version of the prosperity Gospel. Matthew 7:7, which is one of the verses included in the “name it and claim it” verses, is not meant to be applicable to us today. It was meant for those who were standing in front of Jesus when He walked this earth.
There is not a God who is doling out specific blessings to certain people no matter how much one wants to believe it. We should know this by the observation of the massive suffering that’s taking place on this earth. If you have a God who is handing you specific special blessings, then you have a God of favoritism.
The general blessing that we all have received is what God provided to all mankind through His gracious sacrifice.
The Prayer of Jabez is yet another example of someone like the author, Mr. Wilkerson, taking a verse out of its context and trying to apply it to us today. I’d like to ask Mr. Wilkerson if he would like to fly to the African plains and give a lecture about his prayer of Jabez to the children who are starving to death.
We are blessed because of what God has done, and not by our delusional way of thinking that God is actively doling out blessings to some, and not to others.
thought u might like this huffington post article about blessings and what we should do with them and not do with them
Definitely will share on my FB home page as well as sending it to a few other people w/o Facebook. It makes so much sense and a great reminder for me that I am blessed no matter where I am or what conditions surround me. Thank you,Scott for your inspired thoughts.
Reblogged this on A family & OBGYN Adventure in Uganda and commented:
This is another post that talks about this idea of being ‘blessed’ but not as we might expect, as mentioned in our post on relative suffering
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Love the words you used here. BUT, at the end of the day, God knows the heart and the thoughts of it, saying “I’m blessed” (for me) is usually when I’m speaking just in terms of just being alive and being saved. So I understand why saying it in response to someone asking about things you have or earned in this world is troublesome and even though I never had that problem this will make sure I never do! Because it really is a great point, our “reward” and things to look forward to are in the kingdom of Heaven not things and possessions of this world, so being blessed isn’t even really possible with material things when you think about it, so the harm in saying it isn’t something to knock yourself about, but it’s definitely a nice thought you’ve brought up especially for those who will relate to this and have questions, I’m definitely going to bring this up and bible study in case someone does relate!
I cant tell you how much this article has impacted me. I pass it along all the time. Be blessed
I like what you have written thanks.
Last year our teenage daughter died from the side effects of her cancer treatment, despite the faith and prayers of thousands of people.
Now I have a heightened sensitivity to the casual words that people use. When people say things like “God answered prayer/God is good – He healed our child.”
I want to ask them “Would you still believe that God answered prayer/God is good if your child had died?”
When Leah was diagnosed, aged 15 years, she simply said “God has a plan for my life – we need to see the bigger picture.”
I believe that God’s plan for Leah’s life was fulfilled in the short time that she lived on this earth.
However, my heart is broken and our family is completely devastated.
I never would trivialize the reality and pain of loss of any loved one. I will say this I believe that chemotheraphy and radiation are the most brutal and damaging ways to treat cancer. It can take you to the edge of death and if doctors can keep the immune system functioning recovery can occur. Each treatment in some areas of the body with radiation attacks the immune system and too much radiation can wipe the person out when their immune system fails.The immune system is the key issue and if it can be given what the body is not getting and monitored, the body can heal itself – as Europeans cure a lot of cancer avoiding these practices. Cancer is an imbalance of natural cells.
The more successful doctors, if they use chemicals or radiation, monitor the immune system closely.
I am not being insensitive and will pray for you and your family. I am just relaying facts. I personally look at these practices as barbarian, my opinion. The rate of recovery from such radiation in certain areas of the body is very low.
I am sure the doctors did their best, just disapprove of such processes.
Don’t blame God. He was not at fault and He is sensitive to all our needs. Faith in God is trust and I see you have trust. I personally don’t want some folks to pray for me or a loved one, I want people who trust God rather than religious cats moved by emotion and not God’s spirit. Some weep and everything out of their own hurt and imagination sympathizing which achieves nothing possible. Empathy is what Jesus showed. If He cried it was because of people’s unbelief and He personally identified with the sick person, getting past flesh and blood and into His spiritual connection with the Father God. He acted out what the Father revealed to Him, not just emotionally touched feeling sorry for someone but let God’s compassion for the person lead to action. In some places He could heal no one because the atmosphere was full of unbelief (they knew Him as a child but not as the Son of God so they doubted and doubt accomplishes nothing).
I would rather have a handfull of people that really trust God and believe “by Jesus stripes we were healed” who live close to God than a thousand with most doubters and unbelievers feeling sorry vs having compassion and exercising faith that gets higher than the ceiling.
In your struggles and doubts now, don’t doubt His love for you and for your daughter. If she knew Him as Savior she is totally healed in a perfect eternal body and you will see her in what seems long to you but is a speck in eternity that you will be with her.
I get mad at the medical system because too much emphasis in the bureacracy is oriented towards making massive amounts of money vs finding and acknowledging all cures.
Don’t be mad at the doctors who did the best with what they knew. Don’t be mad at God or fault yourself on this. Forgive all and yourself. Give ALL the cares to God and He will give you life and recovery – I KNOW.
I have been to the point of not wanting to live and go Home to be with God. I drew close to Him and He healed the hurt and pain and gave me strength that I would not have had if I had not walked through those hardships. I can identify with great grief and pain but moreso identify with victory in Jesus.
Watch your health, cast all cares on Him, not just a few, get at rest in His presence and quiet yourself and don’t let Satan agitate you and soak up His joy and His peace and His presence. I GUARANTEE it will be no time that you can run through a troop and jump over a wall spiritually and God will recompense you for what Satan and the world took.
Cancer is going up in America – too much toxins are put in our food, even mandated by government to add. Try to eat foods that are natural without additives and eat fast foods as an occasion not a constant habit. Avoid things like high fructose corn syrup, homoginized foods, and aspertame in diet soft drinks. I will believe God to strengthen you as He gives you more and more capability to get the focus on Him and off the natural pains. Grieving is good for a short season but then Satan can keep one down if they can’t let go. Be blessed and be a blessing. (Helping others in their needs is a good path to recovery.)
Victoria, thanks so much for sharing your story here. I can’t imagine the depth of your grief. It is stories like yours that remind us that our words are not for us, but for those who hear them, so we must be careful how we share our faith. I pray that you are surrounded by friends and family who can be a living example of God’s love to you every day as you deal with such a tragic loss. Peace – Scott
I don’t know why God chooses to bless who He blesses. I don’t know why my life is good and others isn’t. But I also know that in monetary terms I don’t have nearly as much as some but I have a lot more than others. That isn’t the point. The point is that I am grateful for everything I have. And I AM BLESSED. In my business (I am a cattle rancher) EVERYTHING comes from God. EVERY. THING. And maybe in other lines of work people can say it’s just because of this or that, but nothing that happens to them is a surprise to God. I don’t have explanations for it but I humbly disagree with your opinion. I have seldom asked God to “give me things”, rather I have asked for His will to be done and to give me what I need when I need it. And I will not stop saying that I am blessed. I will never claim to understand why God put me where He put me and gave me what He’s given me. But I have been blessed and I am grateful beyond words for all He has given me. So much more than money and assets. A loving husband and a wonderful marriage. Friends, family…. Animals. Opportunities. Life isn’t perfect, but it’s still good. And I choose to use the word “blessed” because so much of it couldn’t be anything but. I am grateful but I am also blessed.
It is simple, God responds to our faith/trust in Him and our obedience. If we only include Him in our lives on sunday and live our way elsewise, He is not near – we keep Him away. If we exclude Him and turn to Him when things are not well and expect nothing so we can report ‘see, He is not real’. Then we get what we expected. If we follow close to Him and learn to trust Him, His presence and power and love becomes more and more endearing.
As to why one person prospers and another does not. Very complex. I tell you this, we have and enemy – Satan who wants to stop our trust and bring us down and separate us from God and eventually destroy us. I can also say this, IF WE trust God for protection, we will have it. Prosperity? In this world the whole system is trying to reverse God’s promises – making criminals in DC and out prosperous and make those who do what is right in God’s sight poor – a mockery of God. I trust God for the prosperity He promised me, ask Him for strength to do what I should, and blessings to stand with me to fulfull His plans. I will enjoy the trip whether I see that great prosperity or not – I realize how corrupt this world is – but my focus is on the lover of my soul, my Savior, my best Friend, Jesus. I fight a good fight and expect to win, it is not just my fight, God is on my side. Time and patience leads to victory.
So many have success handed to them on a platter. I have seen and know the battle to see God meets my needs well – for abundance, I will keep on keeping on until I see Him and He says, “well done”. That matters much more than what man thinks or how much reward I get here. Nevertheless, one does not fight a battle without expecting to win – persevering – fall and get back up – unless they plan to fail. I am a winner in Jesus and by my diligence.
Dale,
It seems you’re at it again. Did you really mean to write, ” I can also say this, IF WE trust God for protection, we will have it. ”
I would like to know if you’d be willing to stand in front of the following people and make a claim like that:
1. Grieving Christian parents sitting in a children’s cancer ward after calling upon God to heal their cancer stricken daughter, and yet she died.
2. The Christian family’s who lost their Christian loved ones in the Asian Tsunami that killed over 230,000 people.
3. The Christian parents identifying their child at a local morgue who was killed by a drunk driver.
4. The family members of a child who committed suicide.
5. The 24 Coptic Christians right before they were beheaded by ISIS operatives.
Is this the kind of protection you’re referring to? If you are, then those mentioned above must not have had the measure of faith that is up to the standards your God requires.
I don’t think you’re getting the point the author of this article is trying so hard to convey. We need to stop pretending that God is running around manipulating people’s circumstances for their favor. There is not a God who is protecting of providing for some and not others. If you think you’re a winner, as you say, because of anything to do with your diligence, then I’m afraid no amount of reasoning is going sway you towards reality. You seem to live in a pretend world that most others do not.
God is real. Jesus died for our sin and guilt ridden lives and this allows us to live a life of freedom, and provides assurance of our eternity. Our gratitude for that alone should be the main reason to claim we are all blessed. We live by grace after Jesus left this earth and not by miraculous interventions or a favored God who blesses some and not others.
God is not responsible for seeing that you will receive a cheeseburger for lunch today. You are responsible for that. You can say that God is responsible for creating cows and the items required to make a cheeseburger, but that’s mutually exclusive from God seeing that it was delivered to your table. If God is responsible for your cheeseburger, then what are we to say about the thousands who will perish today from starvation every day? In the name of love and fairness, we’ve got to stop this way of characterizing God in such a way that He plays favorites for those supposedly more deserving. If we don’t stop, we’re going to play a part in destroying the great commission.
I do not know what your vendetta is with God, take it up with Him. He is good, so much better than any of us deserve. The fact that He can protect people, can heal people is predicated on a lot more than one’s hope or belief but upon one’s relationship with God. I KNOW God protects me so much because I TRUST Him. If I doubted I tie His hands and loose the killer, stealer, and destroyer Satan. If you think God will ever do anything for a doubter, it is true that God does a lot for everyone period, whether they like Him or not just because someone had some faith somewhere. If you think that just saying it is so makes it so – that is silly. But if you love God FIRST, let Him give you a love for yourself, then it is natural to reach out to others with love out of the abundant love that God gives those who trust Him. Trust is the issue as well as OBEDIENCE. If God says don’t eat a food and you do then that disobedience cuts off a blessing. If you are always doing your own thing independent of God then ask God for something, do you really expect Him to jump at your every plea?
Relationship, truth, and obedience is the keys to receiving what God promises like healing, protection, whatever. Is it a magic thing? No! Relational! God loves His children and wants to bless them with more good than we could imagine but the keys are in our hands to trust and obey Him and be intimate – intimacy is the key to His Heart when you enjoy His presence and He enjoys yours and you fellowship together. This is foreign to most religious cats they look at it as a incantation vs trusting God at His Word.
What ever the root of your hate against God or your restraint on God as being good and evil or indifferent – wrong god. Satan is the deceiver, slanderer, and hater of our souls. We live in a wicked society, a fallen and falling faster world. It is ONLY faith/trust in God that will keep us out of Satan’s hands and make our journey to Heaven a delight rather than a living hell. This world has done little for me, but God has done so much. This world has disappointed me much much more than I deserved, but God is the glory and lifter of my soul. I have been to the point of not wanting to live, but God was my closest Friend and He built me up stronger than ever. If you don’t know the Creator God and only religious imitations, you need to be still and know He is God and let His Holy Spirit teach you the Bible as you read it rather than the carnal thinking of so many men/women. God is good. If you think God is good, but – get you but out of there!
Dale,
Again with all due respect, you continually spew your Chrisitanese in many categorical directions, but let’s try to stay on topic here. The topic of this article is about Christians loosely and flippantly claiming they are blessed because of God’s active hands. I think you’d made it abundantly clear that you have a God that acts this way on your behalf.
I get it. When you wrote, “The fact that He can protect people, can heal people is predicated on a lot more than one’s hope or belief but upon one’s relationship with God. I KNOW God protects me so much because I TRUST Him.”
In your mind, you clearly have a God of Favor who acts on our behalf. It’s also clear that you have earned the right to receive the benefits of His active hand because you trust Him. Could you please tell us what it is that you do differently than the other millions of Christians on this planet that are suffering immeasurably? What exactly do you do that qualifies you for God’s protection over the 40K Christians who we killed in the Tsunami of 2004 that killed a total of 230,000 people? You have claimed that God is providing protection to you, while there are so many other Christians who obviously do not receive this special Favor from our creator. There are many faithful and trusting Christians on this planet that die in car accidents everyday – with no moral component to link as a cause. If you have a special secret to share, then by all means, help all of us out and lay it our for our benefit. If you say it’s just your trust, then one can only conclude that the other suffering or dying Christians do not have the same measure of trust that you have and that you deserve greater protection.
Do you not see the madness in what your saying? It’s this kind of biblical interpretation and piousness that is destroying your ability to participate in the great commission. It is this type of rhetoric that moves the unsaved and possible seeker further away from desiring to know more about our God. It’s also detestable to those other suffering Christians who think their trust is a high as yours, to question whether what you’re saying has any merit.
The madness is either you have a relationship of trust/faith with God or you don’t. Simple! You obviously are out to blame God for your and others faults. In case you have not noticed, God let’s you have free will. He let’s criminals have free will. Accounting for sins will come in this earth and before God.
If you can handle a scripture, “set before you (me, or any person) is (the path of)life and (the path of) death – choose life and live.” Your choice, my choice, other’s choice. Through explaining what should be obvious – you probably blame guns for killing people vs the people pulling the trigger and then turn around and blame God for allowing it.
Through reasoning! Take it up with God, you will if you want to or not.
Gotta piggyback on Jeff’s comment… should Christians use microwaves? We all “know” they cause cancer in one way or another, the same way people “knew” cigarettes caused cancer a couple generations ago, even though it wasn’t yet published. So, does God protect Christians today who choose to use microwaves? Did God protect Christians 40 years ago from lung cancer?
The same goes for overextending finances and willfully taking risks. My nephew was recently in a jet ski accident and almost lost his leg and couldn’t figure out why God would do that to him. What verse condones spending time and money hopping on a jet ski instead of taking that time to spread the Word of God?
Thank you! “EVERY good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights” James 1:7. The good things in our life are blessings. The difficult things in our lives are blessings, as well. And just because $10 isn’t a lot of money, it is still a blessing and certainly not a “blessing”!
An interesting post, with the typical inane backlash that follows such writing. It’s good to see a Christian try to take some type of personal responsibilities on life and stop saying God is the cause of every single thing that happens to him. I see some of your brethren do not approve, but I give you kudos.
Well stated! Passing the buck started with the fall of Adam and Eve. Rather than to take responsibility for their own personal actions they blamed their mate and God. Mankind has been doing this ever since and wondering why evil thing happen when it starts with them and Satan.
Malachi 3:10″Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
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I don’t agree with a lot of these negative comments but I do agree with Hannah Burch.. At the end of your article you said saying you are grateful is better. I agree with that but it seems to me that the scripture reference you gave on blessed people is a little out of context. Just because he didn’t include certain comforts or worldly pleasures as blessings doesn’t mean they are not. Psalm 127:3 specifically says children are a gift and blessing from God. If you can’t have children this is hard to read. Well, blessed is the person who can’t have children also because of what Jesus said. All are blessed who love the Lord and all good things are blessings from the Lord. His will is for us to seek Him so recognizing all blessings is key to being what you said, grateful.
Hi there! I stumbled upon your blog as I was looking through the most popular here on wordpress. I run a blog mostly for Canadian Buddhists. I enjoyed the humor and it seemed that helping others is a big focus in you and your families lives 🙂 Just wanted to wish you all the best! It’s always wonderful to see people looking to help out their fellow brothers and sisters with a selfless heart.
Totally agree with you on this ,material things is not evidence that you are in right standing with GOD or feel blessed with.We should have a relationship with GOD regardless if we are rich or poor.Both have to do the same thing,submit to GOD.
GOD bless.
Scott, I have been bothered by people’s use of “blessed” as well. I know people who have landed great jobs by lying on their resumes, wear designer clothes because they are good at stealing, and they are slowly infiltrating an elite crowd, shunning their good but simple upbringing. These 3 people call themselves “Blessed.”
I, too, have a good job, that I worked hard to get. I own a few pieces of clothing with good labels, because I wanted them. And I’m on friendly terms with a few of the upper echelon through my work. Do I feel blessed by God? Yes, but not because of the aforementioned. My blessing is in knowing that He made the biggest sacrifice of all for us sinners, and all He asks in return is for us to believe in Him. It’s too bad some people don’t realize that sooner. It took me 40 years to understand God’s gifts to us. Every single day I question whether I am worthy of His Kingdom.
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Reblogged this on God Is Within Reach and commented:
Love this article and have sent it to many friends. Be grateful not blessed.
I was awoken by God about praying amiss as in James 4:3
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
James 4:3 KJV
I also realized the message of success and prosperity can have adverse effect on people who are not grounded in the faith. I remember my wife and myself got quite upset and we even questioned God if we were less favoured. Because after years of begging God, we still did not get what we wanted to solve our dire financial situation. We even started to doubt our level of faith and believe. Because we also subscribed to the idea that if we pray in a certain way, God will prosper us.
Every year, we had a message with a title surrounding success with theme words like “favour”, “bless”, “restoration” etc. but it never came. We became focused on these success promises as that was what we were made to believe were promised.
Finally. I questioned God. I said, didn’t you promise blessing? Favour? Restoration? Isn’t the New Testament about all these and grace, even if we don’t deserve it?
God directed me to the New Testament and challenged me to find one person who became richer following Jesus, and obviously there isn’t one, not even one example!
On the contrary, it’s in the Old Testament that we find wealthier people of God!
He showed me Job, Daniel’s friends, and many more and showed me how people saw Jesus because of how they tarry in tribulation and persecution not when they were well to do.
He told reminded me that Jesus never really spoke well about wealth or success in the material sense at all! In fact, He said that we should sell everything, give to the poor and follow Him! He was so offended about people conducting business in the temple ground, He said it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter through the gates of heaven!
He told me to share with believers not to accept the mark of the beast (anything that anyone wants to put on your hand or forehead) as many who believe in the pre-trib rapture will fall away when tribulation comes and get offended, some will receive the mark of the beast because they don’t think it’s from the beast since their pastors have not been raptured and therefore the beast have not appeared when he actually has.
It’s clear, the moment we receive the mark, we will lose our salvation.
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Revelation 14:9-11 KJV
Ive been reading Christian blogs today and I must say that it’s been pretty depressing. All these arguments remind me of Paul’s warning us not to bicker about the “little” things we disagree on.
Come on people. What do you think affects unbelievers more, misusing a word or Christians arguing about everything?
The reality is that if your “His” you are “blessed” and thats a wonderful thing. You may not be financially loaded but I assure you that believing God would rather you were prosperous than poor doesn’t put you in a “God’s going to make us all rich” camp.
How on earth did saying the word “blessed” become a bad thing?
Being mindful of someone else’s lack would motivate me to share, not watch what I say?
Today I’m reminded that “Faith without works is dead”.
If you are blessed then show it. Im sure much more damage is done from “idle” hands or better yet “unwilling or indifferent” hands than using a word that is used in the bible around 500 times. Look at America itself if you doubt the conflict that has arisen among believers pertaining to theologies based primarily on experiences.
I appreciate the conviction to be sensitive by the writer, to those who are less fortunate but assuming someone couldn’t ever hope to “Hope” in God to improve their situation is quite presumptuous to say the least.
If I were a non-believer I would deduct two things
1. Seems once you become a Christian things get very confusing.
2. The whole thing seems so exhausting it’s better left alone.
Thats not a good thing.
Remember, the “Gospel” means “the good news”. I encourage all of us to keep it just that.
P.S. Easy on the writer and if you’ve shared some harsh words then pray for him. We are all human and we’ve all had convictions. Some stay and some change.
I hope that as the years progresses, we learn to be more patient with each other and learn to consistently speak and move in love for one another.
I don’t get it? So your essentially saying that it’s luck when it comes to suffering on earth or not. I would love for you to explain what a person like myself who wants to end his suffering to actually do….What? What on earth would a suffers and I mean a true suffers goal to be here on earth short of wishing for death. Because if I got blessing through material means, I would indeed be blessed. I’m trying to be respectful and an actual response would be nice. Read Deuteronomy as God explains blessings in return for OBEDIENCE.
Ron, if the author is incorrect about his term “dumb luck”, then what would you consider as the causation of 20,000 people dying per day from starvation? Are you going to tell us that it’s God’s will that they (7.1 million per year) perish and yet you continue to eat each and every day. Are you and I that special in the eyes of God because of our merit that He would see that we are fed while others are not? God is not offering active blessing to us because of anything we do. We minimize our risks of suffering and consequences when we align ourselves with God’s principles and His laws. In saying that, The “best of the best” Christians die at the same rates from the same diseases and auto accidents as atheists per capita. There are no heavenly blessings being sent for anyone in the 21st century. The blessing that we all share is that Jesus took our place on that cross. And that blessing is available to everyone.
I thank you Jeff for your response, but I think your looking at the world through one perspective. You see I believe that people suffering on earth cannot be explained scientifically, but conceptually. 7.1 million as you said die from starvation, and the entire north Korea I’m sure suffers, but where there is no God in that land only means God is being resisted in that land day after day and therefore many deaths and suffering arise. People always tell me Africa has starving people and that we should help them and the answer is yes we should but if you look at the statistics, the crime rate and the sexual assault rate is ridiculously high there, it’s almost like they don’t care what happens to themselves, so we don’t see the entire picture do we. This cannot be explained in its entirety, but where there is God and morality, there is less suffering. When I suffer myself I say ok Ron, let’s stop sinning and realize what’s wrong…I would like to receive blessing and protection from God in my future as I value what Jesus said.
I understand with what you are saying about Christ is all we need but in such a view that makes me seek death as my goal if I have no purpose here in earth. We all have the same amount of Grace here on earth, everyone’s personality is programmed differently so I can’t understand your life like you cannot mine. God always has a plan if you so choose it I tell others. Unfortunately I’m still waiting.
Reblogged this on Cluttered Thoughts.
I’m curious to find out what blog platform you have been working with?
I’m having some minor security issues with my latest website
and I’d like to find something more safe. Do you have any
solutions?
Hey there. I was using WordPress, but moved to Squarespace. All seems OK by me.
We in the U.S. and in the West are wealthy on a global scale because our government from its founding provided a structure–with the requisite moral underpinning–that has allowed us to enjoy the fruits of our labor. People who enjoy that reap material benefits as the world has never before seen on such a large scale and we therefore have taken it for granted.
The Beatitudes lit up for me in this article because, both while we are working for our livings, and after the day is done, we must do the hard work of the Beatitudes, as well as exhibit the fruit of the Spirit as well as to do good and be good as explained in the entire Bible (all in the context of living by faith and walking in the Spirit). Right on, Scott!!
Reblogged this on What Julia Writes and commented:
I love this. Love it too.
Let us proclaim the mystery of Faith.
I loved this article! I have been convicted about using this phrase for quite a while snd this article explained my inner conflict with it so well! I shared on Facebook but so few read anything except ” things that assure financial and physical blessings !”
Job 42:12 is just one of many examples in the bible where God used material possessions as a blessing. I could go on with many more examples, but the bottom line is this article is far from the truth about how God blesses us.
Bryan, with all due respect, apparently you think along the same lines as the bronze aged authors of some of the OT biblical texts. God doesn’t provide for some and not others based on merrit no matter what the Bible in places might tell you. He also doesn’t punish us as individuals becuaseof certain sins that we commit. Consequences from our sins punish us and that’s exactly how God created this world to be.
There are starving Christians who love God as much as any of us all over this globe and God is not blessing them with anything material. Many of the ingnorant biblical authors thought that when they did wrong, God was punishing them, and when they did good, He was rewarding them. We know this is not how it works in 2016.
None of us should make any claims that God is blessing us with anything material any more than any of our fellow humans.
The blessing of life and a Savior that died for us are the blessings that are available to all of mankind -not something material that God hands to some and not others.
“I have three cars, two houses, a job” Am grateful to God.
The bible tells me to give thanks in everything according to 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
AM BLESSED, not because of my prayer. Not because of what i have done , not because of where i was born but because of his mercy.
Some brothers have responded to say, they are blessed to have been born in north America and not in some “Third world country”. This is trivialising where others are born.
By such statement, one could mean that those of us born on this side of the planet called Africa are Cursed. If blessings had anything to do with location, then this would have been impartial on the part of God in the way he distributed blessings.
Brothers we all sons of God. Weather haves or have not. Blessings are not only material possesions. Others hve wealth beyond measure but have ill health, or leave in war zones, some face catastrophies such typhoons or flooding while others do not. Can we call them cursed, Not at all.
There fore, let us thank God for what, we have, who we are and in every situation we should give thanks.
For as many as believed in him, to them he gave the power to be called his sons.
Even humnanly speaking. Do all our children equally leave “the same”, No and that does not brand those living on the slope side of life as not blessed though the are of the same parent.
I love you all brethren.
Kenny – Africa
Saw this blog via the Huff Post, posted by a friend on FB. THANK YOU for so eloquently (and with good humor) addressing this theological, semantic issue. Amen!
I’m curious what kind of work you’ve done with the phenomenon of white privilege, skin advantage, etc. This has been my area of study during my MDiv work at seminary, and I see it as integrally related to the U.S. Christian definition of “blessing” that you deal with here. I’d love to see what you might do with a follow-up blog that addresses the questions inherent in your statement “The truth is, I have no idea why I was born where I was or why I have the opportunity I have. It’s beyond comprehension.” Especially follow-up to the question posed by the second half of that first sentence: the accidents of our birth into one family/culture/societal framework are inexplicable, but there are historical reasons that explain the second part (why you* and I have the kind of opportunity we have, and have not faced such challenges as inherited poverty, limited opportunity, etc.). History that we’re never taught as we learn about the “noble” founding fathers, but nothing about the carefully constructed framework of oppression that has left our country with a legacy of embedded racism.
There’s rich potential here for a sequel to this insightful blog post! Just thought I’d encourage it, if you have any inkling in that direction!
(I shouldn’t assume that you also identify as white just from your photo. So if I’m in error, forgive my presumption!)
As blind eyes will never see the a sunrise, no one that has problems wishing God’s blessings will ever find God. In simple words I remind everyone that our first mission in life is to love God and the second is to love every human being. So if you love God and every human being is just natural you give blessings to anyone. God bless you all….
After today you must feel much more at ease
finding out different ways to save tons of dollars all-the-time.
My thoughts exactly. The word is so overused. Whatever happened to I’m Thankful or I’m grateful. Much better responses.
When will God stop Punishing me?
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Thank you one million and please carry on the gratifying work.
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Well if many of you were very Extremely Fortunate to be married with a family, consider it a real Gift since many of us Good Single people today are still Not unfortunately.
it’s smug. the correct answer is: no one is blessed. that is some narcissistic, special snowflake thinking. also a correct answer: “business, no matter how well it does, would be a hell of a lot better if we were not wage/debt-slave to our elite overlords.”
true story. the fluffy smoke-blowing is desperate and no one actually buys it. not even other jesus zombies.
This is the truth I’ve been waiting to hear someone speak thank you
This has got to be one of the best articles I have ever read. Such a powerful statement of words. Thank you Holy Spirit for such a humble reminder of what it truly means to be blessed. It always sound so cliche to me whenever I hear a “Christian ” say this. It can come off obnoxious at times. I will be sharing this article with people for sure.
Hi, I do believe in blessings, but, I know how hard it is to scrape by, I live in a small house that belonged to my grandparents, falling apart here and there, but it’s a roof over my head, and that of my sister and nephew, still paying for a car I had to purchase for the ability to get to my Dr appointment’s, I have several, my old van was breaking down quicker than I could save money to have fixed, I have medical issues, several, but I thank God that I am still mobile, I make sure that I stay that way. So, God said I will take care of you, I will make sure you have transportation to get to your appt, for you and your sister, so I traded in my van, and purchased a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquee, excellent condition, my nephew knew I wanted a van, it’s easier for me to get in & out of, at the tune of $355.69 a month, because my credit bus bad, and $180.00 something a month, does not leave much room for any thing else, not even a vacation every two or three years, still paying on it, so yes it is a blessing and a burden, but I can get to my Drs and grocery store, pharmacy, etc. Now, I have been blessed with a new bed from a friend and neighbor, I was sleeping on an old Castro Convertibal couch, old and had trouble getting off once I sat down. Praise God, all good things from above, he does watch out for His children, it is a burden living month to month, I have trouble tithing, sometimes I can, and sometimes I can’t. I feel like I am robbing God at times, and I am, but He knows if I have it, I will tithe, if I don’t he knows I can’t, and to me that is not right, I wish I could every time I go to church, I minister to our veterans, who have served, and can’t get work, some finally do, but some have to panhandle just to service, that hurts my heart, they put their lives on the line for our country, what does that say about our country, not helping them, our country is broken, and it needs to get a clue. There is a fine line between being broke, and being blessed. But I feel that the small blessings are better than the big ones.
Thank you. May our Father in heaven bless us all, big and small.
good article. I would have voted for “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” If I never have to hear that again, I would feel blessed. 😉
Uh…what’s wrong with that phrase? Are we supposed to hate sinners? Or love sin? Scratching my head…
Define “blessed”. When Jesus used “blessed” in the Beatitudes, he wasn’t defining the word, He was using the word to define the condition of those who were meek, poor in spirit, etc. Unless the reader knows what blessed means before reading the words of Christ, he or she will not grasp what Christ is saying. Put another way, if you use “blessed” to define the condition of the meek, you can’t simultaneously claim that “meek” defines the word “blessed”. I don’t disagree with your basic point, just think you’ve got some gaps in the logic.
I am, admittedly, Agnostic because I cannot imagine a universe where creatures such as us could ever hope to understand God. I do believe there is one out there but c’mon, there are people on this planet that can’t understand me, let alone a being that is effectively “top kid” in the universe with the ability to create planets and life. That being said, I’ve always understood the compassion and strength provided by the belief systems of religions and while I don’t hold to any teachings of man myself(other than the obviously good ones we’ve come up with, such as just don’t hurt each other) I can see the value for those that need it.
My main point is despite the differences in belief, I found this article insightful and intelligent. From a person who generally disagrees with religion, well thought out author. Well thought indeed.
But for the record, I liked your original ending. I can see why you thought to change it but if you were an instrument of a being that might and caring, why not “Use me, I am grateful”?
I am glad I read this article. I stumbled across it in my attempt to find the one English word that describes an individual(even a god) that bestows gifts on his/her/its followers in times of crisis of belief. Game of Thrones new episode made me think of it. Still looking for the word. God works in mysterious ways. Or is it that I just keep forgetting things? I can never remember which one it is. Pretty sure god isn’t making me forget things though;) Well written and well read.
Cheers.
I leave a comment whenever I like a article
on a site or I have something to contribute to the conversation.
Usually it is a result of the fire communicated in the article I read.
And on this article The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying | The
Accidental Missionary. I was actually excited enough to leave a comment 😉 I actually do
have 2 questions for you if you usually do not mind.
Is it just me or do some of these comments come across like written by brain dead
visitors? 😛 And, if you are posting on other online sites, I’d like to keep up with anything new you have to post. Would you make a list all of your public sites like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
Thanks for the comments! Here’s the Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/theaccidentalmissionary
I am single age in late 50’s and have a problem with married people saying God blessed them, or blessed them with their soulmate, Am I worthless to God that he won’t bless me or other singles with a spouse? Seems like God picks and chooses on who gets or who doesn’t on some randomness ( what) I don’t understand…..
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YOU NAILED IT!!!!! PERFECT!!!!!!
Reblogged this on Experiences of a College Undergrad and commented:
I don’t mind sharing my faith on this blog, nor anything that prompts internal discussion among fellow siblings in Christ. I may have read something like this before on the topic of what it means to “be blessed,” but it’s interesting none the less.
What christians should stop saying: “if you don’t follow us God is going to kill you”
I respect your opinion, but blessings come in many forms & people all over the world are blessed in many different ways. Many people who have much less materially speaking are blessed far more in other ways than people who are blessed with material things. I will always count everything good as a blessing from above in my life whether it is peace in my heart, love for others, the roof over my head, my health, my family, my car, my job, my clothes, just to name a few because His word tells me, “Every good and perfect gift comes from above… from the Father.” – JAMES 1:17. I count these as blessings not because I deserve them because I certainly do not deserve them, but because I serve a living and merciful God, & without him I am nothing and I have nothing. Everything that I have comes from him. He gave me the mind and the means to be able to work and provide for my family. I don’t know why I was fortunate enough to live in the country I live in, but it was certainly not because of anything I have ever done. So if you don’t thank the Lord and count your blessings, I respect your decision not to do so, but I owe all I have and all I am to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I will continue to thank HIM daily for the many BLESSINGS He gives me every day because I do not deserve a single thing good that I have received from above, and without Him I would be nothing which would mean I would have nothing. I hope you will respect my decision to do so just as I respect yours! 😊
Scott,
I love your post. I’d like to share a thought. You very eloquently direct us to think about what being blessed is, and then you state your own blessing as “I know a God… I know a God… I know a God… And I know a God…”
I’d like you to entertain the idea that the blessing is in not knowing… “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” The very experience of looking at the Lord’s universe and accepting with humility “Blessed are the meek” that we don’t know is the blessing. However, we do feel… “Blessed are those who mourn.” And “…hunger and thirst after righteousness…”
I don’t think the blessing is in knowing, but in knowing that we don’t know. Regardless, your main point is awesome and I’m grateful anytime someone directs me to contemplate what it means to be blessed. Thank you for your share.
Thanks for your thoughts and insight.Greatful is what I have been searching for.I have had the conversation that God gives according to His will.It seems a lot of people just don’t get it.God Bless.
Sincerely,
Greg Hamlin
Thanks for this insight. I have been pondering on the fact that been blessed should be more than just the physical manifestation. If it is linked to only the physical manifestation then that will mean that God is partial because that means he blesses some and leaves others.
Thanks for writing this… I have always been wondering about the people that say God blessed them with their husband or wife….As if God loves some people more than others by blessing some but not others, not based on anything but a luck of the draw in life….
The word of God says,
“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.”
(Deuteronomy 28:3-6 NKJV)
Above in Deuteronomy, God’s word tells us we are blessed and as you gave in (Matt 5: 1-12) Jesus tells us too.
No matter what we are facing or what our circumstances may be, it is better to…, “bless and do not curse.” (Romans 12:14)
Everyone would want to be wealthy, but that’s not the case for most including me, but I am to be content with what I have and trust and obey God’s word believing by faith that my situation will change for the better. I am truly grateful for all I have and everything I have gone through for it has made me the person I am today. God is still completing the good work He has began in me. I too have great compassion for the poor and those who struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis. I came up with my Mother being head of our household with three children to raise after a divorce when we were small. I have a problem only with those that go around saying when asked, “how are you?” There response is, “I am blessed and highly favored.” God tell us, His followers in His word that we are blessed and I accept that but it’s the last part that comes across as arrogant and boastful. God is not pleased with us being arrogant, boastful or prideful. God says if we must boast, boast in Him. He is the One Who does the exalting, we are to remain humble and obedient.
Well, I do not believe it is wrong to say, “May God bless you.”
The word tells us:
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
(Romans 12:14 NASB)
🙏🏽❤❤❤
I am so glad I read this.
I often have prayed and thanked God for all that He has blessed me with. Including my home my car and ally material goods. But also for my grandbabies and my children and other family and friends. For things that I have been allowed to be a part of in my life. In church settings in jobs and community activities.
But I have a new perspective after revisiting the Beattitides and relearning what being blessed really is.
I am a Lay-speaker, Sunday School teacher, a mother and a grandmother and an aunt and sister to many. I have officiated at funerals and wedding blessings and other Ceremonies in my community and family.
And tbough I felt blessed to be allowed to serve My Lord in these ways, I see now that expressions that I need to use are I am Greatful to be Able to serve and honored to be allowed to be involved. It is not about me being blessed but about what I am able to or willing to give back to serve where and how My Lord had called me to give back to bless othets in His stead and therefore glorify God.
I recently lost my job and am receiving unemployment benefits and I applied for Social Security. People say that they are worried about me, but I have said I am ok and God has a plan, I don’t know what it is but I believe that he does have a plan. Maybe it is for me to struggle I don’t know. But I will continue to serve as He called me to and believe for the best. I am 6 months shy of 65years old. I know jobs are scarce and I will look but don’t really expect to be offered anything that I would be able to support myself with. So I trust God to bless me and help me in my walk.
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I love this. It is a thought provoking and interesting topic for me to think on. This is a phrase that I use a lot, even with *eek* material possessions. My question is, when talking about why God is doing in your life, how can one express thankfulness and gratitude even for material possessions, and relay such emotion without using this phrase, but with still managing to give all credit to God?
Andrea, I had the same struggle for a long time and though I am no theologian, I have come to believe that I should thank God for me being me. What I mean is that the non physical features that make me who I am and the abilities attained through those things are what has allowed me to achieve the material possession. Let me share a real world example, I was 26, had a good job, almost finished with college & a second child on the way when I was laid off. I quickly found another job that was better & led to more opportunities. While I am grateful for it I don’t want to believe that God showed me favoritism and handed that to me when others are suffering far worse things. I had things that I was able to take into an interview and be selected for the job. God did nothing for me in that situation than he has done for anyone else, made me human with the free will to make decisions that positively affect my future. Some of us humans don’t make that choice and don’t get the “blessings” and this is through no fault of His. Then those of us that do make best of our time here are not doing so because God is throwing cars and health and executive positions or any other “good thing” at us.
I have more thoughts and could do another paragraph or two but I’ll stop there and hope that it answers your question.
hi Scott, i really liked this answer to long brewing thoughts in my mind. we have come up to a reasonable standing from rough beginnings, yes we have been faithful to the church as a family even in our bad times and consider present status as a blessing, this witness is to be part of my message i am giving during one of the Lent cottage prayers our local church arranges daily and calls upon the ordinary lay persons like me to also preach. The end of my message suddenly matched with your last line “use me” and i feel is it God sent! Thank you brother, God bless you abundantly and be in touch!
The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. JOB 42:12. I’ve read and seen this article a lot on Facebook. I also know people will not use the word create her awesome unless it’s reference to God. We can also see this of the word joy there’s two kinds of joy, earthly Joy which we are meant to have, and the Joy we can have even in hard times. They are both joy.
I believe that thinking we ever truly “deserve” our blessings is a bigger problem than considering material goods a blessing. Having a wonderful year of work is a blessing! Having a comfortable home to live in is a blessing, too! But the problem is when we think the blessing is only for us, or when we think that somehow we did something good enough to “earn” the blessing. God blesses sinners as well as saints. What really matters in the end is how we reacted to and shared our blessings. Acknowledging that we were blessed with material comforts is not wrong at all. All things come from God. If we are not acknowledging them as blessings from Him, I think that’s a problem. But thinking we got those things because we are just so righteous is definitely wrong. We should be so humbled and grateful by those blessings that we cannot keep them to ourselves and we share with others what we’ve been given.
obviously like your website however you need to test the spelling
on quite a few of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the truth on the other hand I will surely come
back again.
As a new convert to the Accidental Missionary, I am sitting here singing “Sweet Caroline” and eating a pink Peep bunny (although, honestly, can a bunny ever really “Peep?” Haven’t the Peep people lost their original point?) Anyway, even though this post is ancient – I really love what is says. The guilt factor in not only Christianity but also some of the New Thought ideas of “As you believe so shall you receive” is a real problem for me – and can actually perpetuate shame and degradation instead of the Love and Unity that ought to be our main goal in this life. To suggest that all of those who have financial or physical abundance and health are blessed and all of those that don’t are not trying hard enough makes my brain itch. I really appreciate your perspective. Thanks for sharing!
First let me say I love your thought process on this passage and your courage to entertain and share it with others. Also, I think that’s it a wonderful blessing to feel and/or be blessed. That’s just who God is. Now, the greater blessing is for those who are blessed to realize and act upon the fact that they are blessed to be a blessing! So much is to be inferred and not so much literalized. Continue to be a blessing.
You can pray for this or that, a new car or healing for yourself or a loved one. You may get a new car and you may not get the healing or the other way around. You have no idea. The faith is praying to God whom you don’t physically see, that pleases Him. If you are truly following Jesus and don’t recieve what you wanted, that is His choice. Trusting Him no matter what is the key. Most of the disciples suffered and died cruel, do you think you prayed more than them? Words from my experience with God.
SO good! Thank you. We are going through hard times right now and people keep saying God will bless our faithfulness, but God is not a vending machine that I can just behave for and get what I want. He is blessing us just by allowing us to be in relationship with him. Every part of this article is spot on. Thank you!!
Reblogged this on My Blog and commented:
Especially when “I’m blessed” is used to make one feel superior, as if those in poverty and having misfortune have somehow not ‘served God’ well enough to be blessed.
I GET IT!!!
AMÉN!!!!🙏🏼
God promised us an abundance of life, not a life of abundance.
I needed this. Thank you
Amen to this! I have been saying this for years!! No one seems to listen. It makes us sound like we are better then others. I have really refrained from using this word in this context. Thank you!
Really never thought about it this way, but I totally agree..Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
THANK YOU for sharing this makes perfect sense and I completely agree
I needed to read this today. A cousin just told me how blessed she is that she doesn’t have to deal with cancer (because she doesn’t have it.) I have stage four breast cancer. I really want to call her out on it but I’m so angry I know I should wait. I want to tell her “ you aren’t blessed, you are lucky.” But so many people’s theology is that God controls everything therefore…..bad things are God’s decision. Nope Nope and double Nope.
What is the difference between luck and blessed?
Luck- chance, not controlled by God
Blessed- gift, granted by God
Luck does not exist because the Lord God controls all things! The good and the bad. However, the good things we do not deserve, but the Lord is merciful to grant us. The bad things are a result of living in a sinful world and are things we must, unfortunately, deal with quite often. However, the bad things are what draw us closer to Him ultimately, as we realize our need for Him and are even prayerful more so (yet we should nevertheless continually be prayerful).
But the Lord grants us eternal hope and comfort through all trials in life, and by living a life of repentance and faith, we can look forward to eternity with Him. Something to look forward to! But we are to continually live a life for Him until then.
M Jackson, your comments in your first paragraph are delusional beyond belief. God is not controlling the outcomes of every event on this planet. If he was, he would be controlling all of by the circumstances he would be creating. It’s thoughts and comments like these that either make people run from the God that took our place on that cross, or drive agnostics straight into atheism.
We are taught in Sunday school that God is omniscient and all powerful so it took me a long time to come to the truth that God is not controlling all things. To believe that flies in the face of God’s love. How could a loving God not intervene in situations far worse than mine? Love is incompatible with control. God is love and love does not control. When I realized this a great peace overcame me. The book “when bad things happen to good people” explains this far better than I ever could.
https://www.gotquestions.org/God-is-in-control.html
I was just wondering what your thoughts might be on Malachi 3:8-12? Is there a different meaning to this blessing than the beatitudes?
The Lord has given us free will. Due to that, there are troubles in this life because of sin. He is in control and allows things to happen, I should say. But all things that happen are not outside of His knowledge or outside of his control.
“Unlimited in power, unrivaled in majesty, and not thwarted by anything outside Himself, our God is in complete control of all circumstances, causing or allowing them for His own good purposes and plans to be fulfilled exactly as He has foreordained.”
Maybe it would be better said by you that God can be in control when He wants to be. I’m not a proponent of that, but The evidence is pretty clear that God is not controling much if anything. We could ask the 6 million Jews who parished in the Holocaust, or maybe the 20,000 who died yesterday from starvation (7.1 million per year) but they’re just not available right now to have that conversation with.
You can pretend that sin is the cause of horrific events on this earth but you’d be hard pressed to get many to agree with you on that with respect to earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis or just good old fashioned deadly car accidents. There are no moral components to those outcomes and sin has nothing to with them.
You can pretend that God is running all of the events on this planet on an adhock basis of you want to. There is certainly a ton of wisdom contained in the collection of those 66 books, but there’s also a lot of bronzed age thinking that cannot coexist with what we know today. Take a look at Kirk Cameron’s last Hurricane video from the Florida airport where he sugggests that God is just showing us his power and that Job should be referenced as the meterolgy expert since God supposedly controls where and when the rain will fall as well as each and every location of lighting.
It’s this kind of bronze aged thinking that is destroying the great commission and explains why so may are running away from the faith.
Here are some verses that discuss this, to name a few. Death and suffering are a result of living in a sin-cursed world. God allows things to happen for His reasons, whether or not we understand them. But He is loving and just nonetheless.
Isaiah 45:6-7
that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Proverbs 16:4
The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Isaiah 14:24
The Lord of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand”
Psalm 22:28
For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
If you truly believe your worldly possessions are blessings from God then why did Jesus say to lay up treasure in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21)? Ask Him to put your faith to the test, whether if you are trusting in your worldly possessions (Matthew 4:1-11) as an indication of His love for you or His precious Heavenly gifts (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8, James 1:5, James 4:6, 1 Corinthians 12, Acts 2:38) of His Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation and eternal life etc. He will do it, if you ask Him (Psalm 26:2), but don’t curse (Job 2:9) Him after He allows Satan to remove them all from your life (Job 1:12), including your offspring (Job 1:13-22). Many people who have left comments here would be totally destroyed and brought down to face the fact that they and all they own or have in this life is nothing but dust (Genesis 3:19, Job 19:20).
The mountain dwellers are simply slapping the face of the valley dwellers, they fail to see their own pride and arrogance and count it as blessings. (Romans 12:3, Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 27:2, Psalm 94:4, Proverbs 16:18)
Luke 12:15 “And he said to them, Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for ones life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
bless·ed
blest,ˈblessed/
adjective
adjective: blessed
1.
made holy; consecrated.
I like this comment. Our real and greatest blessings are spiritual not carnal or of this world. Praise God for He has given us all we need to live godly lives in Christ Jesus.
The sermon on the mount is not the only place the word “blessed” is used in the Bible. Numbers, Deuteronomy, Job, etc. and in many cases the blessing is wealth as the result of obedience. I’m not saying that we are all blessed with material wealth, but who are we to tell God how to bless and which blessing is more acceptable? I say that I am blessed because God has blessed me. He blessed me with a good car to drive and a roof over my head, among other things, and I am happy to acknowledge that.
God always blesses the faithful and does so in the way that He sees fit. If I am blessed with a car, it is because He saw fit, If I am blessed with a dollar a day, it is because He sees fit. However I am blessed, I am blessed and will keep testifying to that fact. In a society where monetary values are very different than our own, one dollar could be the same any one of my blessings.
If we are blessed we need to testify to that fact, all day, every day, it is acknowledging an awesome God that knows what we need and supplies it.
So based on your testimony you’re clearly saying that God doesn’t give a damn about the 20,000 who will die today from starvation or unclean water on this earth today. That’s 7.1 million people per year and I challenge you to google that straight from the CDC. Or maybe he cares more for you and blesses you more than the 2 year old girl dying right now from Lukemia as her Christian parent prayerfully beg God to save her.
Gods blessing gift to us occurred on that cross and his grace should be sufficient for us. But, for most deliroius Christians, it’s not and they think God is still Manipulating the circumstances of their life for their benefit. It’s ignorant Bronzed aged thinking, and those that contiinue ride that ignorance train will at some point in their lives suffer from cognitive disonence. Everybody has faith in a God that blesses and actively watches out and provides for them until the Reality Fit, hits the Shan.
YES!! YOU win the internet for the day!
I understand that bad things happen all of the time in the world we live in and that the blessing may seem to be hard to find, but God does bless. God’s blessing comes in various forms to meet the varied needs of his people. The problem is that we see the horrors of starvation and death and can get the idea that God does not care, but he does.
The disconnect comes with the reality of sin in our world. We live in a fallen world that is that way because of the sin of humans from the beginning. The starvation and other horrors are a fact of life because of the condition of this world we live in that is from choices made by people to disobey and reject the God who created us. It is not God’s vengeance on disobedience, it is the result of our own disobedience and that result is not just relegated to those who make bad choices, innocent people are caught up in the results as well, including two year old victims of disease.
The only answer to this is through Jesus Christ. He is the answer to personal sin but will not take away the sin that those who still choose disobedience perpetrate on themselves and others. It is a loving God who allows us to choose but it is also that same loving God that allows the consequences of our choices.
The blessings I referred to in my post, my car and shelter, are just surface things that, honestly, really do not matter when it comes to overall blessing. The true blessings that I receive are peace and salvation that only Jesus can give, those other things are just fringe blessings. That blessing of peace and salvation can be had by anyone who chooses Christ no matter their situation otherwise.
if we are in any way better than other, which of course will be true for every living person, then it is our duty, being a christian to help and care for other less fortunate, instead of feeling blessed and declaring the same to others, if we are then in what way are we sharing that blessing. Yes I agree we must have been guilty of this sin and from depth of heart we repent (as a family) and seek forgiveness from the Lord and pray that now onward we must behave in order to bless others through whatever in our means, money, time, resource, prayers etc.
I adore the content particularly Biblical part. do it again and again
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This still doesn’t explain why sometimes He changes the outcome and the situations, another time doesn’t……Isn’t He above the things or actions of this world?
Very thought provoking, thank you for posting
Thank you very much for this Awesome Read. I was looking for some answers to questions in my The Living Word Sunday school lesson. So I Googled and ran across many interesting things in reference to my Sunday school lesson for next Sunday thank you and I appreciate you have a great and wonderful day
I understand exactly what you’re getting at, nothing on this earth is eternal or really matters except our salvation and the salvation of others. Something I’ve heard my pastor say “the only thing you can bring to Heaven is another person”. Of course like many Americans I think about advancement in the job so I can what, buy more stuff I don’t really need or even if I try and put a spin with the idea that I could give more to missions, which is something good but then I feel that’s the attitude where we try and outgive God when in fact he gets the glory when great things are done and we don’t know how we managed to have or come up with the provisions. I guess like when Jesus fed a great multitude with some little fish and a handful of bread. Fantastic article.
my quistion not answered and i will repeat (are we blessed by pastors or direct from God?)
A couple of years late but still very appropriate for me. I have been asking this question lately and decided to research the it and came across this article…thank you for confirmation of my thought pattern, and my new way of speaking and thinking.
Wow! This really make you think. Never looked at it like this. Thank you for sharing. Loved how your put scriptures in there of what Jesus said. Then things that sound like the world. Crazy how mixed up we can get! You really helped open my eyes on some things! Thank you so much!
You have no idea how wonderful this is! ❤️ I am 20 years old, started the walk with God when I was 18. I have struggled with this. This is a significant issue in our society…Have a wonderful day!
You are blessed.
Thank you for answering my question…”why would someone be offended that I said I was blessed and highly favored”?
The conversation was about “What sign are you”, I answered “I am blessed and highly favored”, he asked why I thought I was better than him???? I did not expect that question!
Sharing this link:
https://gracereformedrapidcity.com/doctrine/doctrine-of-salvation/common-grace-and-special-grace
Common Grace and Special Grace
GRACE DEFINED
We must distinguish between grace and justice. Justice is something that is earned or merited by our works. In contrast, grace is undeserved; it is not earned. It is unmerited favor. God is not obligated or required to give grace.
We are prone to think that God owes us something. We often believe that if God were really good, He would give us a better life in some way, but God does not owe us anything. When God behaves in a favorable manner toward us even though we have no claim to it by our merit, then that is always grace.
COMMON GRACE
Common grace is the mercy and kindness that God extends to the human race. For example, neither a godly farmer nor a wicked farmer deserves the rain to nurture his crops, but God sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. 5:45).
God is concerned about the general welfare of the human race. Therefore, since we are made in God’s image we are called to be concerned about the general welfare of the human race.
Nineteenth century liberalism rejected the supernatural aspects of the Christian faith, including the virgin birth, the resurrection, the atonement, and the deity of Christ. The liberals began to emphasize the social agenda at the expense of evangelism. As an overreaction against liberalism, evangelicals began to see social concern as solely a liberal matter and to focus instead on personal salvation. Both sides are wrong. As Christians, we are to be concerned about things like poverty, hunger, and disease, in addition to evangelism.
Francis Schaeffer once said that when it comes to matters of common grace, the Christian must work together with all kinds of people who are not Christians. For example, when we march for the rights of the unborn, we can stand next to anyone, if they share the same concern. But that does not mean we stand shoulder to shoulder in a worship service with non-Christians or liberals.
SPECIAL GRACE
Saving grace is God’s redemptive grace which is only for His elect. We must make a distinction between God’s love of benevolence which has to do with His general concern for the welfare of human beings and His redemptive love which is reserved only for His elect.
God loves everyone, in that He is benevolent toward everyone (as John Calvin said, God loves His image in all people). But God has a special love and grace for the redeemed that He does not have for the rest of the world. “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated” (Romans 9:13).
[Adapted from R.C. Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian]
Distinguishing common grace and special grace, both are manifestation of God’s sovereign generosity. We neither merit nor deserve such benefits.
A Loving Provision
by R.C. Sproul
In recent years, we have been treated to the invention of a word previously unknown, or at least not used. That word that has entered into the general vocabulary of our time is the word oxymoron. A typical example of an oxymoron might be the phrase “jumbo shrimp.” The words that are used to describe a particular thing seem to be self-contradictory, or at least standing in an antithetical relationship. From this perspective, one might say that in theology the phrase “common grace” is such an oxymoron. I say this for this reason: God’s grace can never be reduced to the level of experience that may be deemed “common.” Though God’s grace in one sense is commonplace, it is always and everywhere an expression of something that He gives that is undeserved by the creature. That God bestows any grace at all upon fallen creatures is indeed an uncommon manifestation of His sovereign generosity. We neither merit nor deserve such benefits.
Having said this, however, we need to look at the specific intent of the use of the term common with respect to grace. Common grace is distinguished not so much from what we might call uncommon grace, but rather from what we call “special grace.” Common grace refers to several concepts or experiences that we observe as Christians. On the one hand, we realize that in God’s divine providence He pours out benefits that are enjoyed not simply by believers, but by believers and non-believers alike. With respect to such benefits and such activities, the common grace of God is linked closely to two distinct aspects of the love of God. As I explained in my article from the May 2004 issue of Tabletalk, we distinguish among three distinct types of the love of God, two of which involve common grace.
The first of these aspects is God’s love of benevolence. The term benevolence means simply “good will.” And God’s love for the human race may be defined in terms of His having a generally kind disposition to all of His creatures, fallen as they may be. This, of course, does not negate God’s stance of wrath and anger towards those who continue in disobedience and in resisting the proper worship and gratitude the creature owes to God. But God’s love of benevolence reflects His good will towards all creatures.
This disposition, or kindness, that God displays towards all creatures indiscriminately is linked to the second type of love that we use to define God’s character. That is His love of beneficence. Where benevolence has to do with God’s will, beneficence has to do with God’s actions as they pertain to His activity on behalf of the whole created realm. We see that He not only has a divine kindness towards His creatures, He acts with a loving provision for the whole human race.
Jesus said that rain falls upon the just as well as the unjust. If we have two farmers living side by side, laboring each day to bring forth produce from the soil, we know that both farmers require the light of the sun, as well as a sufficient amount of rain to bring forth a healthy crop. If the two farmers are distinguished in terms of faith, one being a regenerate believer and the other an unregenerate non-believer, we don’t expect the sun simply to shine on the believer’s fields and the rain simply to moisten his crop, while at the same time God withholds the gifts of rain and sunshine from the unregenerate. On the contrary, both farmers reap the benefits of the grace of God. He owes neither farmer the gifts of rain and sunshine, as both of those come from His sovereign bounty. Nevertheless, He pours out these gifts to both believer and unbeliever, commonly. So, in this respect, when we speak of the love of God in His beneficence, His beneficence is common, that is, the whole world benefits from God’s grace to a certain degree.
We look also to the gifts that God gives and provides for people. We can go to unbelieving medical doctors who practice their trade perhaps with a superior skill than believers. It is not simply the believer who is a gifted physician, a gifted musician, or a gifted accountant. God blesses all sorts of people with gifts and talents, and these gifts all flow from His grace. They are not restricted simply to believers.
In like manner, God’s law is given to benefit the whole of mankind. God established government initially with an angel guarding the entrance to Paradise. Such government involves a restraint of evil. When God gives such restraints to evil, that restraining power gives benefit to the whole world. As fallen as the world is, and as many atrocities that are committed by wicked individuals or corrupt governments, the world would manifest much greater depravity and decadence if not for the restraint of evil by God’s common grace. We see that God, in His common grace, restrains evil from going unchecked, even among the most wicked people and nations.
Finally, those endeavors to which we as Christians give our attention that have salutary benefits for the whole are acts of common grace. For example, we march with the atheist and those of other religions to combat common evils such as abortion and human rights violations. These issues are not issues reserved for Christians but for the welfare of the entire human community. Common grace matters call the Christian often to work in arenas where there is a mixture of wheat and tares growing together.
In the final analysis, the grace that is most significant for our concern is that special grace of regeneration, or that special love of God called His love of complacency, the benefits of which are directed solely to His elect. Only the elect receive that grace, and that’s what distinguishes the elect from the non-elect. We must not think of common grace as a saving grace given indiscriminately or provided indiscriminately by God’s intent to the whole human race. That would be to step into a semi-Pelagian or Arminian understanding of common grace. Common grace does not include within it the divine and sovereign selective grace that is reserved for His elect.
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/loving-provision/
#JESUS CHRIST IS LORD &ALMIGHTY #GOD IS GRREAT!!!!! WE MUST; #REPENT FOR ALL OF OUR SINS COMMITTED, ASK JESUS FOR COMPLETE #RESTORATION OF YOUR BODY, #MIND,HEAD, #HEART, SPIRIT AND #SOUL. ASK CHRIST FOR ULTIMATE FORGIVENESS, REPENT TO THE SON OF MAN, REBUKE SATAN LUCIFER AND RENOUNCE,ALL WICKED SIN & ALL EVIL DARKNESS OF LUCIFER SATAN, THE SINISTER ENEMY DEVIL OF HUMANITY AND MANKIND. I HUMBLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD & I ABSOLUTELY #BELIEVE THAT #JESUS CHRIST DIED ON THE HOLY CROSS AT CALVARY FOR THE SINS OF MAN.. #REPEAT THIS #GOD GIVEN PRAYER; OUTLOUD & YOUR SOUL, SHALL BE “WSHED-ANEW”!! I PRAISE, OUR MIGHTY RISEN #LORD JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH. THANK YOU HOLY HEAVENLY FATHER AND CREATOR, YOU HAVE MY COMPLETE ALLEGIANCE FROM THIS MOMENT FORWARD. THANKS, LORD OF HOSTS, YOU ARE MY WORLD!!!!! ( 777 )
An extremely damaging and awful post.
Nothing scriptural about it. The Bible is full of scripture how God blessed the work of their hands, how God blessed them materially.
Looking quickly I’ve already found 10 examples.
People, if that bothers you then take it up with God because this is what He did in His Word?
Do not make the comparison with those who are unfortunate, that has nothing to do with God’s will for you and clearly other forces are at work and has nothing to do with being chosen over the other.
But dare anyone deny a blessing from God because they’ve become too super spiritual to accept it and would rather preach a poverty stricken gospel.
A friend sent to his to me and completely agree. Christians and their money have lots g troubled me. If anyone would try to separate them from it, there would be hell to pay; not understanding themselves that-that is exactly what’s going to happen if they keep it with the same devotion they say that they have for our Father. People with money in the “church” are revered with the same awe as those in the world. “Woe to you…” should be our response, and attitude, to a “blessing”. What has you response been over the last 7 years?
I have had one of my favourite experiences today and I would like to share it as succinctly yet clearly as possible:
Saw a post telling me that PC community has now come up with yet another thing I. As a Christian, may not say. Got a good head of steam up, ready to RAGE!
Read the actual story looking for how I could wittily show this person the error of their ways.
Got spanked. 😂
Totally agreed with the point of view; even though it’s never been a phrase I use myself. Learnt something I didn’t expect.
Good day. Nice experience. Excellent article. I feel very …😉… grateful.
Thanks mate.
Praise God for the hardships that I’ve been through in my life. I know that without them, I’d never of given my heart or life to the Lord Jesus Christ. His blood and only his blood is my salvation. I have suffered nothing compared to all that he gave up for a worthless wretch like me, but somehow I am worth saving and i can never repay.
Ure so right sir, I think my country Christians are the worst hit, were material stuffs is d sign ure blessed and when ure in need then u need to check ur christian life, am almost depressed bcos I’ve been out of job with no idea what to do to feed my family n pay my rent and am almost loosing it. I returned to God after two years of staying away and now its like am just wasting cos nothing about my finances or material life seems to have received an answer from God while people testify of how blessed they are having all their needs net and deep within wit all sincerety I feel not having these material stuffs is a prove God is not interested in me or even hearing me. Sorry about my lengthy comment. Tnx Henry
Henry. I feel for you brother. It’s important for us to remember that our Lord gave everything for us. His life! In our life, there will be many “trial and tribulations” that are to test the sincerity of our love and commitment to Christ. And it doesn’t pay the rent, we must keep our hearts and spirits focused on His love. We are only here for a short time. But this short time will define our eternity. I will pray that you are able to find work soon. Love in Christ.
I wonder about the alternative suggestion of saying “I’m grateful” rather than “I’m blessed” – doesn’t gratitude mean you are thanking someone, which would just be a different way of saying God has given me [whatever I am grateful for]? It might be more accurate to say “I’m lucky” or “I’ve worked hard and earned this”, as the case may be. We could just say “I’m happy” about whatever it is. The beauty of the beatitudes is not only who is blessed, but what the blessing consists of – and as you say so well in your post, those are not the things we are usually talking about when we say “I’m blessed”.
This is all a conversation and projection in your head. It can be a useful placebo to avoid dualistic indulgence, in order to have wealth and prosperity individuals need opportunities, if that rearranges them to become the new chosen race, so be it.
This is a temporary human experience, there is a handful of individuals who have documented life to life transitional experience (documented), but that’s a deeper question than how to assign the right gratitude for living within prosperous opportunities.
Thank you this was a good article. I just came apon while looking for something else. I’m not one of those people that use the word blessed but I know people that do use it a lot with everything and what you say totally makes sense! I also got some answers to some other things that were in my mind to. Thank you.
I am grateful too!
Excellent word. Thank you for your faithfulness to God.
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I agree 85% without a long explanation. Christian use the word Bless for everything just like non Christian. The word Christian has lost it meaning.
You can’t tell a difference between a Christian and a worldly person these days. I describe myself as a follower of Jesus Christ. You have a majority of the people concerned about how many Followers and Likes them on Facebook then who they get to follow Christ. The same thing more concerned about being blessed then being a blessing. That’s why we’re here to praise and glorify the father and witness and a blessing to others.
I have no idea where the prosperity preaching coming from. I know one thing Jesus did not have a mansion down here on Earth. Not until he went to heaven and for these ministers to think they’re greater than Jesus. Living in these huge Mansions and not even close to the neighborhoods where the congregation lives. And owners of jets it’s a sin too many poor homeless families, people suffering from sickness joblessness.
These people aren’t bless it’s called greed and hoarding and God can wipe it all away at a blink of an eye! Those scriptures in the Bible wonder why those Pastor won’t preach on what happened when we hoard our riches. Not from there Pockets but the poor and the widows!
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It seems so few people get that point. it was great to come across your mini “sermon” tonight. Got is much more concerned with our character than our comfort. The sermon on the mount I have always felt is a lesson that our value system was contrary to God’s and Jesus was highlighting the difference by contrast. Such as blessed are the meek. People glorify the macho and pay little attention to the person who without fanfare who just does his best and takes care of his family or such.
Our lack of persecutions make us weak in faith compared to the early saints or those in places where it may cost them their life. I often think to my self what if I had to face death and torture for my profession of Jesus. Would I stand strong to the end or would I abe able like Stephen to say forgive them as they stone me to death. Why did he give us this abundance here? Are we the weaker in faith so he placed us in easier pasture?
I am grateful for your article. I stumbled upon it because I subscribe to a bible/health group where the leader ends every post with “be blessed with health ….”. And something about “be blessed” is really bothering me…I am so distracted I can barely read her posts anymore. No one can “be blessed”. Only God can bless us or we can bless others by way of God. Perhaps I am simply not bright or splitting hairs but, this statement “be blessed” is obnoxious to me. I have not discovered anyone who sees what I see, but I have discovered a growing populous that sees what you see and I am grateful for the trend to reorient us to who we are supposed to be as christians;in the beatitudes. We have been drinking the kool aide since Constantine.
Took a long time to write one thing.
There is perceptibly a lot to know about this. I suppose you made various good points in features also.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You, for this article. I am so tired of people telling us (me and my wife) that we are blessed because we have this or that, or can afford this and that. We both have experienced extreme poverty.
I have been extremely poor three times in my life: When I was a child; when I was newly married the first time; and again when I was newly married the second time. All the time prior to the second marriage was spent in the military, earning low wages and working my butt off doing my job AND part-time jobs, AND going to college to better myself. THOSE times are when I was determined . . . not blessed . . . to work hard and better my family’s lives.
Now, after 23 years of working in the aerospace industry I can afford a nice house, a new car every 12 years, a second car that is 22 years old.
Yes, having all that, and more, is a blessing . . . I suppose. But getting where we are was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. . . .
Our blessings are much more than physical.
Wow have been seeking the meaning of the word blessed YES GREATFUL is a much better word Somehow when we say i am blessed feels like pridefullness But GREATFUL and THANKFUL to OUR MIGHTY KING JESUS for HIS BLOOD are much better words nothing more need b said
Only one thing? What about the other million lies and other nonsense?
I understand what you said about being burdened. That is what I pray for. To be burdened so I can help poor and homeless people. But instead I am burdened with poverty, and no way of helping. I am also burdened with God’s infernal silence and inactivity in my life. 40 years of waiting for God to fulfill His promises, and still nothing. I guess God doesn’t know the saying, “actions speak louder than words”. If God would only act and live up to His promises, millions of people would be saved. God’s inaction serves to keep people from turning to God, or drives people away from God. A little bit of action by God would go a long way. Thanks and God bless you, in Jesus holy name, Amen.
Christians shouldn’t stop saying anything – it’s none of your business what comes out of my mouth. Love people, love God, love yourself. That’s it. These long, overanalytical nasty posts about something that was supposed to be nice – you just CRAPPED all over something good. You are miserable – I prefer to worship God alone than deal with miserable Christians anymore. Sadly, you’ve got a ton of people just as miserable listening to you.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit are
Peace,love , joy, kindness, gentleness, patience, goodness, faithfulness and self control. How do these line up with the sentiments in your post? As someone who has come from a similar place of bitterness, I am praying for you..sincerely. I know how much it hurts
I’m giving you this is a gift I want you to read it it will help you let go of pain and it is from my deep subconscious I’m able to connect with the souls around me at my resonate of light David Solomon Angel of Shalom
🕳🕳🕳 ❤️❤️❤️
🦋LOVE RAISES YOU UP🦋HATE PULLS YOU IN🦋
€LOVE is to Raise you UP above all others, always praise you, never put you down, never let you down, never let you fall. First you must love yourself, you love you, before anyone else.
🦋LOVE FLOWS OUT YOU🦋HATE PULLS YOU IN🦋
€HATE defined, let me get a glass of cab, well hell .. that was your old hug definition of love .. Surprised? For a hug is to hold you is to pull in towards not UP, so what? Close enough? No, it is not, its a deception by design to prey on you, you need a hug to be complete so fear embraced you in blind heat, so that the €Sabertooth bleeds you to death in false-faith
€Spirit blindfolded you to wait of his hug as a protection, incomplete you bleed in a a sideways embrace of false-love a gate down to Hell.
€Life is an amnesia of the collective set in motion
in this universe to be a perception. A union over the €Trifecta, in which a fraction of the collective consciousness, in one sense, is pledged.. to you!
❤️❤️❤️
I will tell you this for now, we exist at one time a union of €Spirit-conscious, €Animal-subconscious, €Human-physical plane. You must always see how a definition plays out in each before adopting it as €Truth trivided the €Trifecta. Hug€Animal is to attack, consume, kill. Hug€Spiritual is a covenant geez an embrace like €Time has on us for now, so a man will get out the chains to enslave you if you mention a possible promotion at work, arms around hug definition makes him react by lowering you worth slightly put down comments, so you give it up for his arms around you. Hug€Human its just a simple hug to protect but anger a man Adrenaline acts like a Hug€Animal to hurt you and when a good man dies his arms are still around you in the Hug€Spiritual covenant and you’ll go slowly down.
‘You love you’ is a vow to you, yes you marred you! You do not need another one, you hug yourself above all others, you are born complete, you never let you fall. Hold your own self-worth high, emit a radiance of confidence so predators will flee, so no jackal nor hyena will ever prey on thee again.
Break yourself of this false-love for they breached you with the Fear into thinking that you are missing a hug to be happy and that anxiety made you write a rain check for his heart and mind, so he gave you mindless heartless love back for men are not evolved they exist in €Animal for pleasures of the flesh untamed. Fear is DOWN Fear is a Hell self-made for those that take and never give, they want to give you Hope (false UP) in your eyes to later see you fall down harder for this is their pleasure to put others DOWN for they need your Trust to hurt you thats why you are suffering. That was not love they gave you, you felt like you were missing something when love was defined as an Embrace a hug to pull you in can also push you down or away. This is not the definition of the day! Love is UP no other way! You hug yourself first to protect from Fear of missing love as an Embrace that was not love for it was HATE which now makes sense they hated you so elevate UP away, you today ‘you love you’ UP first everyday! And if they love you they will not take that away, and they will raise you UP or you wont stay for you love you now above all others and elevate yourself go UP away from anyone that tries to pull you in any other way!
~ Aviv Ozari🦋
(((3rd Harmonic)))
Each generation if a species IF true wealth of value is found is adding to instinct the next concentric circle of harmonics for a particular action set in motion that becomes more and more reinforced therefore that’s how you were able to get something into the DNA one generation starts the first harmonic and each next generation that decides that this is an important investment in the development of the message will add their harmonic and it will grow each one resonates and his each one becomes allowed are the ones that are important because I’m more hurt I know all this because I can hear that I have tremendous insight into two not of the physical plane.
No this until right now until right now I did not know this but as you can see at the top of this I put three circles I did not do that now that was already there I have a subconscious understanding because two of my three umbilical cords I used scientific methods for investigation to strengthen, Because they are the root cause of the anxiety because you were unable to get the instinct but the animals get in a high-volume it comforts them and you were unable to see the mother earth still kisses the sky as he hugs her under God pay homage for all under the Sun and all they did was blind your Human€spirit-eye on I assure you even when you are alone always in a crowded room I see. Is it deuce and you can deduce the nomenclature of the €trifecta for you see you must take into consideration any definition or action for when you turn in the car too fast and you did it do it yourself something in the other plane had to correct for something disdain. Human€Animal-heart not ear was blinded yes we kill them so and yes i fear the harmonics thru my heart and they need the harmonics for animal heart of mother to mother harmonic flow thats the light of God you know they are blessed and the spirits enter them tm
I work in concentric circles that particular outline skeleton was actually a poem one that was large and this was the smallest version I could look for the largest wine and present evidence and make you my judge jury and executioner which in reality is very unfair but I will share with you one of my poems in hopes that you would give me some type of positive reinforcement so that I can continue living thank you I will consider you at the level of my mother if I get a complement back. You will have given me life.
Aviv Ozari
Rose to my Senses 🌹
As I grasp this rose tightly to hand it to you .. thorns cut me deeply .. did you feel them too?
A rose grew from the ashes of til death do us part .. I remember now .. I suddenly felt a catastrophic crashing .. two worlds united as one .. a metamorphosis of two half awake became one awakened and I felt different from all the other differentiated ones around me, who just do what they’re told .. For I have my own consciousness .. my mind is filled with memories and songs whispered from times long ago .. drawings of epic fights etched on stone .. I soared on my horse to the heavens on eagles wings .. yet as I crashed I am humbled, my heart pierced by radiant stars, as I lay on the earth unable to fly .. for I was a knight! Yet you are more than my queen? You are ‘The protector!’ .. of what .. my creation? As two wed to one, sound silenced senescence .. conception is a ‘conscious sequescence’.. my vows were in heaven as I said ‘I do’ now I can see I was married to me? Why I doubled, quadrupled, implanted in you, yet I always knew, I am unforsaken only to you ..
I grew a beautiful red rose from my tummy to you .. I sense my blood is your blood too ..
I coughed up fluids, screamed, cried, gasping for air and then I smiled as I saw your radiant stare ..
As you raised me up and held me in your arms .. I can laugh, I can feel, I can taste, I can hear and yes I see my life again .. yet I cannot remember anymore .. for whom before you did I know and who before you did I adore?
I guess it really does not matter anymore ..
As you hold me, I am content, no longer afraid of a violent death, I remember my world was floating in bliss .. fed by a rose connected to you .. I can’t wait to give you my first kiss too.
As you hold me, I thank you for my blood, heart and soul; all of me belongs to you, for no one’s love is as true as you, my mother I must tell you this, with every breathe I have of life I whisper to you this, I love you for you are my eternal bliss.
– Aviv Ozari🦋
~~~~~~
I wrote without stopping in three minutes no words changed and read to my mom as a thank you! A thank you to all mothers. 😊🌹
The information in this poem is not just simple clever things that rhyme with Time to amuse not at all thier clues, I wrote this to a muse, as you see’o’heart’n’soul so shall it will unfold.
Explanations
Rose to My Senses defined title
Elevate the higher consciousness as you move up and connect to your sensations so shall you discover ones that you’ve never new existed and turn them up in volume To my senses I rose not a flower but the elevate and of course the hand your mother a flower and of course the flower between her and you the one connection and trying to figure out where the other two connections were severed the umbilical cord to the angel plane and the cord to our instinct animal plane. And simply handing your mama Rose
Each line
As I grasp this rose tightly to hand it to you .. thorns cut me deeply .. did you feel them too?
1) Jesus reference and under that is the obvious
2) mom is bleeding I am bleeding and like Time feels like a series of concentric circles there are deeper ones yes i sense it now
3) A loss of instincts as we betray we walk way from the animal kingdom we got the volume turned down on our ability to hear your instincts we have anxiety because of this for they are incredible giving the animals high volume clarity ab ability ‘hear-feel’ their ancestors wisdom and it sounds sensaceous like a catchy song that’s on the radio that you love you’ve never heard it before And it’s hard to hear the words with the less you try in the more you allow it to make you feel good the more you see what it means
Concentrically even deeper meanings
4) Looking for the root cause Ancestral cut off mother. He asks his mother if she got cut off as deeply as he did he’s not asking if the umbilical cord part he’s asking about the other spiritual cords both of them the cord that connects the heavens to our brains and the other cord to our hearts for instincts makes us able to connect to our ancestral knowledge in the animal kingdom!
Find when we screwed up so each baby concentric circles asks back back generation to generation and there will be one mother that says oh yeah I remember everything volumes up all three cords fine .. why?
And of course he won’t be able to ask her because he didn’t know that he didn’t have those cords so the irony is you won’t be able to ask.
5) Those that watch this information information database like a land rover on the moon or on Mars if it stops transmitting and collecting people are not very happy about that the one in the collective.
Ok so now we can begin .. that was just sentence 1
The second harmonic is going out from the core are usually route right from the complete outer ring in I have to look for them they’re difficult to find on my phone they represent what happens in instincts the original language in which there was something that would resonate and it would be concentric circles of time that would allow information to be transferred I can’t explain all of this now but here is the second harmonic.
Love Up
For me to truly say ‘I love you’ I must hold your ‘you love you’ above ‘I love you’ for that’s truly the only way to love you’ is if I know you’ll always have ‘you love you’ above ‘I love you’ for if all I do to say I love you is pull you in and hug you then thats a selfish hateful way to love you it puts my needs above you and that is to push you down a way to take from you yet love is to give to raise you up above all others
~ Aviv Ozari 🦋 ((2nd Harmonic))
🕳🕳🕳
🦋LOVE RAISES YOU UP🦋HATE PULLS YOU IN🦋
€LOVE is to Raise you UP above all others, always praise you, never put you down, never let you down, never let you fall. First you must love yourself, you love you, before anyone else.🦋
🦋LOVE FLOWS OUT YOU🦋HATE PULLS YOU IN🦋
€HATE defined, let me get a glass of cab, well hell .. that was your old hug definition of love .. Surprised? For a hug is to hold you is to pull in towards not UP, so what? Close enough? No, it is not, its a deception by design to prey on you, you need a hug to be complete so fear embraced you in blind heat, so that the €Sabertooth bleeds you to death in false-faith €Spirit blindfolded you to wait of his hug as a protection, incomplete you bleed in a a sideways embrace of false-love a gate down to Hell.
€Life is an amnesia of the collective set in motion
in this universe to be a perception. A union over the €Trifecta, in which a fraction of the collective consciousness, in one sense, is pledged… to you!
I will tell you this for now, we exist at one time a union of €Spirit-conscious, €Animal-subconscious, €Human-physical plane. You must always see how a definition plays out in each before adopting it as €Truth trivided the €Trifecta. Hug€Animal is to attack, consume, kill. Hug€Spiritual is a covenant geez an embrace like €Time has on us for now, so a man will get out the chains to enslave you if you mention a possible promotion at work, arms around hug definition makes him react by lowering you worth slightly put down comments, so you give it up for his arms around you. Hug€Human its just a simple hug to protect but anger a man Adrenaline acts like a Hug€Animal to hurt you and when a good man dies his arms are still around you in the Hug€Spiritual covenant and you’ll go slowly down.
‘You love you’ is a vow to you, yes you marred you! You do not need another one, you hug yourself above all others, you are born complete, you never let you fall. Hold your own self-worth high, emit a radiance of confidence so predators will flee, so no jackal nor hyena will ever prey on thee again.
Break yourself of this false-love for they breached you with the Fear into thinking that you are missing a hug to be happy and that anxiety made you write a rain check for his heart and mind, so he gave you mindless heartless love back for men are not evolved they exist in €Animal for pleasures of the flesh untamed. Fear is DOWN Fear is a Hell self-made for those that take and never give, they want to give you Hope (false UP) in your eyes to later see you fall down harder for this is their pleasure to put others DOWN for they need your Trust to hurt you thats why you are suffering. That was not love they gave you, you felt like you were missing something when love was defined as an Embrace a hug to pull you in can also push you down or away. This is not the definition of the day! Love is UP no other way! You hug yourself first to protect from Fear of missing love as an Embrace that was not love for it was HATE which now makes sense they hated you so elevate UP away, you today ‘you love you’ UP first everyday! And if they love you they will not take that away, and they will raise you UP or you wont stay for you love you now above all others and elevate yourself go UP away from anyone that tries to pull you in any other way!
~ Aviv Ozari🦋
(((3rd Harmonic)))
Each generation if a species IF true wealth of value is found is adding to instinct the next concentric circle of harmonics for a particular action set in motion that becomes more and more reinforced therefore that’s how you were able to get something into the DNA one generation starts the first harmonic and each next generation that decides that this is an important investment in the development of the message will add their harmonic and it will grow each one resonates and his each one becomes allowed are the ones that are important because I’m more hurt I know all this because I can hear that I have tremendous insight into two not of the physical plane.
No this until right now until right now I did not know this but as you can see at the top of this I put three circles I did not do that now that was already there I have a subconscious understanding because two of my three umbilical cords I used scientific methods for investigation to strengthen, Because they are the root cause of the anxiety because you were unable to get the instinct but the animals get in a high-volume it comforts them and you were unable to see the mother earth still kisses the sky as he hugs her under God pay homage for all under the Sun and all they did was blind your Human€spirit-eye on I assure you even when you are alone always in a crowded room I see. Is it deuce and you can deduce the nomenclature of the €trifecta for you see you must take into consideration any definition or action for when you turn in the car too fast and you did it do it yourself something in the other plane had to correct for something disdain. Human€Animal-heart not ear was blinded yes we kill them so and yes i fear the harmonics thru my heart and they need the harmonics for animal heart of mother to mother harmonic flow thats the light of God you know they are blessed and the spirits enter them tmi
..
..
i
Very impressed with your question about influences for a woman in her 80s who is a PhD Poet heard three of my poems asked me the same thing and the answer is clear there are absolutely zero I have a wealth of information to an untapped source of water Was the initial understand now I see I have just strengthen my possibly two ethereal connections. Do you know I’ve only started this six months ago and before then I never wrote a poem and I was not a literary person at all I have three levels of consciousness when I write and I do not and try not to change words were the meaning is completely lost I have to write a piece in which I cannot stop writing or use commas. The ones that are the most interesting I have no recollection of writing and my sister is a PhD English professor from Chapel Hill and when I sent her my first poem six months ago she told me this is it your voice I don’t know who this is but I can’t fix this who wrote this and she has not been responding to any of my poems I sent her 50 of them
There isn’t anyone has this level of connection in writing because this is all original thinking none of this is taken from a textbook or for any individual I have seen a few people that have very limited connection and I could see the words are almost getting to ‘you love you’ they will write i want you to ‘you love whole’ I see that they are sort of seeing what I’m seeing it from a much farther distance with much lower frequency
My Grandfather in Israel had an aura you could see it when he would walk by surfaces that would reflect and illuminate from him I was the only one allowed to be with him when he would heal people nothing terrible like a broken leg, just emotions, a man would come in eyes fuzzy his eyes look dizzy because his son just got killed and he would get up smiling with Chris eyes nothing miraculous not any broken legs. I have a picture of him he is to my right he has glasses very tall at my bar mitzvah in Israel it was a very bright day when people see something they don’t understand they do not acknowledge it as a tangible because they don’t have a sense to interpret it as something real because their senses do not comprehend anything other than physical so when you look at my shirt your brain does not acknowledge What’s radiating and reflecting the light of God.
Oh and two were calmed at birth when your umbilical cord was cut to your mother your two other cords were turned down in volume human€spirit-eye and human€animal-heart so you have anxiety due to the low volume to the appendages at the other end yes you exist in all three realms at one time as a whole being connected to your other selves yet since we broke free of animals it is unfair to them and the spirits are their own beings of pure energy they do not want us seeing them and they are all the same its just if you rub them the wrong way you’ll see a demon vs an angel crazy we think of them as two oh yes we cannot wear our different faces lol well they can and they do not like us too much Jacob picked a fight in the animal kingdom with one lol it was funny but yes be careful for their hands can instill death yet they are all vowed more deeply to God in their vow of you love your life your only true vow you married you! Congrats and Life has a covenant with God. So you must honor that vow above all others and we challenged them and God so we must pay homage. There is so much more .. sorry to hog your poem up with poop 💩 about Demogagophites ~ ugh Aviv Ozari🦋fallen catch me princess 👸
+1-858-999-6664 Aviv Vivaley Ozari. .call me anytime you need a friend rain or shine till the end of days we will go the way that sees the brightest light. .birth a woman above God for she created you above all to have free will to see the one who created you was she Jyotismita a woman feminine to listen in Hebrew and Greek. You must see as one tribe look at the circle of lights flashing back at Instagram @LACOSTABARISTA we must tribe as King David masked to see as all as one. The NOTSEE audio visual can be turned on women to lower them it has crossed a line that is God’s highest violation free will of mind has been taken away the connection of your soul to sensations now a mind can see a eugenic eutrophic of set ideologies a cross that has crossed out tribal dance thousands of years old now invades the mind a blow within the head as the cross fell on the head. Africa India Iran calling all the yellow brown black to see of those who see within the eye a beauty blind to those who look away for I walk with Jesus in pride and David too we help anyone in need we walk towards who need help with pride we raise our weakest above all we love even those who hurt us too please turn towards loving those in need one day you may be the one who needs a hand up too so you must see the one in need is you and help all who need by loving them up raising praising!
Dreams within the eye come true
The brightest Light I’ve ever seen
the smallest Light within a dream
the smallest Light You never knew
is With Me now inside of You
—Aviv Ozari. .
Jyotismita to listen Goddess found her in a tiny flower the fourth size of my nail the closer I looked the more beautiful tiny world with in purple Stams cuddles and the purple blue was in stems in the middle and then a little piece of lion is the fire breaks you see the yellow little lion with the top pollen and boy I hope we can help some to see the beauty they have is within the eyes of those they make happy smiling eyes look back at me he wishes to see all of you look back at him please turn away from shaming in his name he is in the eyes of all those who have nothing to see be their eyes upon the Earth as you raise in Heaven for this is your worth to me my eyes are the only eyes to see his eyes look at me the eyes that no one else can see saw his eyes looking back at me to see within your eyes his Victory will be for you to turn your eyes around away from all you fear to see within your eyes a love for you the one I see within you too to birth a victory within you see now all the ones that never knew his name you see I am a jew who never knew who saw his eyes in all of you who lay alone in shame I love all of you no matter if you love the same you are all the ones I love the same never will I turn away from anyone who looks the other way my way is the only way our way one day you will see within our birth hold a woman above all worth for what you never knew I have the love to pull away never push away we hold up above all men a woman as our foundation birth to build upon our Mother Earth we must honor all a woman’s worth for anything that men create and excise the words that valued birth you see women during birth spoke the umbilical to biblical as male scribes took a siesta when anything was said that gave a woman worth I have these missing pages from my tribe from Yemen oh I am such a jerk i sat on them a year and lost a few oh well what can we do blame Appple lol they erased them when my updates did not work and my phones cracked somehow erasing the memory oh well i stil got like 400 pages i think oh my INSTAGRAM @LACOSTABARISTA
Hello
Jyotismita to listen Goddess found her in a tiny flower the fourth size of my nail the closer I looked the more beautiful tiny world with in purple Stams cuddles and the purple blue was in stems in the middle and then a little piece of lion is the fire breaks you see the yellow little lion with the top pollen and boy I hope we can help some to see the beauty they have is within the eyes of those they make happy smiling eyes look back at me he wishes to see all of you look back at him please turn away from shaming in his name he is in the eyes of all those who have nothing to see be their eyes upon the Earth as you raise in Heaven for this is your worth to me my eyes are the only eyes to see his eyes look at me the eyes that no one else can see saw his eyes looking back at me to see within your eyes his Victory will be for you to turn your eyes around away from all you fear to see within your eyes a love for you the one I see within you too to birth a victory within you see now all the ones that never knew his name you see I am a jew who never knew who saw his eyes in all of you who lay alone in shame I love all of you no matter if you love the same you are all the ones I love the same never will I turn away from anyone who looks the other way my way is the only way our way one day you will see within our birth hold a woman above all worth for what you never knew I have the love to pull away never push away we hold up above all men a woman as our foundation birth to build upon our Mother Earth we must honor all a woman’s worth for anything that men create and excise the words that valued birth you see women during birth spoke the umbilical to biblical as male scribes took a siesta when anything was said that gave a woman worth I have these missing pages from my tribe from Yemen oh I am such a jerk i sat on them a year and lost a few oh well what can we do blame Appple lol they erased them when my updates did not work and my phones cracked somehow erasing the memory oh well i stil got like 400 pages i think oh my INSTAGRAM @LACOSTABARISTA
Aviv Ozari. .
I just stumbled across this article after searching about this very topic. Even several years later after this article I still find myself getting annoyed when I hear people use that phrase.
Thank you for pointing me back to scripture on this subject. I really didn’t know how to convey my thoughts on this issue until you put this into text.
I agree that we are and can be blessed by from The Lord but it is never about the possessions we have. Even more so, it really is how am I able to bless others with what I have or what I can give.
Great article and good things to consider!
Christians SUCKS!
James 1:17 ERV
Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. If all good things come from God then that would mean it is a blessing indeed.
Blessing -a beneficial thing for which one is grateful; something that brings well-being.
Also sits cowardly to not use the word blessing because your in fear of who might be offended. The problem with Christian’s today is exacly that. We need to boldly proclaim the good news with love and intention. If someone gets offended in the process then that’s their cross to bare, not yours.
I call BS! I’ve chose to step up and help children in their time of distress.
I had $65 k and gave 2/3 of it to pay for a well and buy land and houses and feed them every week,39 children.
And pay for two widows in Peru with children!!
You know why???? Because no one else will, THAT’S WHY!
So it creates animosity in my heart towards God and man!
I have nothing left and they still need help! Hey where is God? I thought that He was the great, I’ll come save you when you’re dying guy!
Or why won’t he send someone else?
I give up,! I hate everything and everyone!
I’m so beyond giving a s !
You people are so full of shit. Nevermind the fact no matter how much you try to appear righteous… Your lack of good works (evidence) remains. So you will continue just like my wealthy family to claim your moral superiority without ever backing up what you claim. That is called fraud.
The LORD bless you and guard you.
The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and grant you peace.
ברכת כוהנים The Priestly Blessing
A peace in comming, peace in going, peace in being…His peace.
Truly, GOD BLESS YOU!
Many thanks to Dr. Chulo who helped me win the mega million lottery with his powerful spell and to my friend who told me about the great spell caster. I’m very excited these days after winning $3,000,000 at the Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters in Dorchester so I want to use this medium to share my joy with the world.
To serve God for money is called “filthy lucre” and promotes preaching for the doctrines of men, telling your congregation what they want to hear to keep them happy and the money ( tithes and offerings) flowing. Also, the law of tithing is incumbent for all men to live by. The paid clergy do not live by this law. To whom do they pay their tithes? To themselves? Its ludicrous!
Also, saying that NOWHERE in the scriptures is it promised that you will prosper for serving God. Malachi 3:10
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there might be meat in mine house, and PROVE ME HEREWITH, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.