What do you think of when you hear the word "blessed?" It is sort of a Christian buzzword these days. I am pretty sure this happened about the same time as Twitter and thee ole hashtag. We have all read the laundry list of good things or the perfect picture posted on Facebook followed by the typical #soblessed. I don't mean to ruffle feathers and I know I've been guilty of doing such a thing. Is it even a bad thing to do? I don't think it always is, not by any stretch. I do think it is a dangerous claim to make. Let me explain a bit more and hopefully you walk away from reading this with something to think about and not just the thought that I'm being judgmental or jealous. Remember just a bit ago I said I have done the exact thing I am referring to. I also want to be clear that I do not have all the right answers nor am I some kind of Biblical scholar. Hopefully we can all learn something here.
In preparation for today's blog topic I did quite a bit of reading. I read articles on the topic and I studied God's word. I have a regular prayer that God will help me understand Him. My mom taught that I must be wise and discerning. Heck I even read the dictionary. What a wealth of good information that dictionary has! Anyway, here we go!
When I see posts on Facebook or hear people in conversation say something like, "I am so blessed...I beat cancer" or "I am so blessed with these amazing kids" I wonder. I wonder about the people that weren't blessed by beating cancer or the families that were left behind when their loved one dies of the dreaded disease. I wonder about the parents who are not sleeping at night because they know their wayward teenager is out making horrible decisions. I wonder about situations like that. I also think of the new Believer who thinks God will #bless them if they start following Him yet their husband still has an affair and leaves them or their child still needs chemotherapy. I guess I am thinking out loud here. Remember I don't know the answers to these questions. Why are some blessed with the new, gorgeous house yet others live in trash dumps? Some people are blessed by a booming business yet another is struggling to even make it despite their faithfulness to God or their regular tithe check. The Bible says His ways are not ours and His knowledge is above ours. He allows things we do not understand to occur. Only He knows what is going on at the heart of a situation. I think maturing in faith is crucial. I think we have to dig into some deep things to really get to know God. Believe me sometimes I want to be really shallow and just think about sunshine and lollipops...and sparkly western show clothes. On the flipside there is a part of me that wants to take on some tough topics.
Since this blog is one with a bent towards faith I wanted to see what the word blessed means in the Bible. One source said the word is used about 300 times in the Bible. I can't confirm that, but it sounds interesting. From what I learned on dictionary.com the word has many different meanings. The first meaning found on dictionary.com is "consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified. After that comes "worth of adoration, reverence, or worship. Number three is "divinely or supremely favored, fortunate" and number four is "blissfully happy or content." I find this list rather interesting. It is quite possible I think number four should be number one! The Hebrew definition of bless, according to the Ancient Hebrew Research Center (online source), says the word is originally seen in a concrete manner in Genesis 24:11. That scripture says, "And He made the camels kneel down outside the city." Well that's weird because I don't see anything about being happy and blissful there. The phrase kneel down is the same Hebrew word translated as bless. If we extend this out the meaning of the word bless is to do or give something of value to another. Having said that I am quite certain the Bible also speaks of blessings as you and I think of them..good, awesome, and amazing stuff happening to a person. So let's keep reading and thinking about this.
Genesis 12:1-3) The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your land, your relatives, ad your father's home. Go to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, I will BLESS (caps are mine) you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. Through you every family on earth will be blessed.
So this verse packs a lot of information. The first thing I notice is that Abram is being asked to sacrifice something before blessings are mentioned. That's interesting to me. I also think there are a couple of forms of bless that are being used. Following Abram's obedience God is promising blessings. I think this could mean gifts such as material possessions and/or spiritual blessings knowing you obeyed God and stepped out in faith. The second type of blessing is the type that you can do for other people. Think to the original definition I gave you in regards to the camels kneeling. Abram will be a blessing to others. Oh for us all to have that priority! I heard once about a study that was done matching up America's most prosperous times to that when she fully supported Israel. When American turns her back on Israel is when times here get worse. I didn't confirm that, but according to the verse I just shared it is possible that is true.
Deuteronomy 28:1-6) Carefully obey the Lord your God, and faithfully follow all his commands that I'm giving you today. If you do, the Lord your God will place you high above all the other nations in the world. These are all the blessings that will come to you and stay close to you because you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. You will be blessed. You will have children. Your land will have crops. Your animals will have offspring. Your cattle will have calves, and your flocks will have lambs and kids. The grain you harvest and the bread you bake will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come and blessed when you go.
It goes on and on for about another 20 verses! Wow! Sign me up! A little context is important. God is talking to the generation of Israel about to enter the Promised Land, and ALL subsequent followers. I find God's generosity quite impressive considering the Israelites were quite the stinkers for the 40 years they wandered in the wilderness. Anyway, so God is also a God of material blessings. Phew, good to know! Before we shut it down on that note let's look a little at the New Testament and the Sermon on the Mount (the Beatitudes)
Matthew 5:1-12) When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them: "Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are those who mourn. They will be comforted. Blessed are those who are gentle. They will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God's approval. They will be satisfied. Blessed are those who show mercy. They will be treated mercifully. Blessed are those whose thoughts are pure. They will see God. Blessed are those who make peace. They will be called God's children. Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because you have a great reward in heaven! The prophets who lived before you were persecuted in these ways.
Well, huh. That escalated quickly. So the Apostle Paul was blessed. He was beat in the town square often and was poor and imprisoned. John was apparently blessed also when he was shipped to Patmos and doused with hot oil. My family was blessed when my mom was taken Home because we can now be empathetic to another who is losing a loved one to a terminal illness. You are blessed when you turn your mind from bitter thoughts to forgiving thoughts. You are blessed for standing up for your ethics in your workplace. You are blessed when you encourage someone with a gentle word. You are blessed when you could get even with someone, but you don't. Notice the first of the Beatitudes..."Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them." Interestingly enough Jesus recognizes definition one as the first Beatitude. Remember what it was? It is to be consecrated (declare sacred); holy. I think it also matches up with the definition we learned first in Genesis 24:11. God is giving us something of value.
There are approximately another 299 verses on the word bless that I didn't cover here. I think it is safe to say that He blesses us with things we want and scenarios we desire, but He also allows what we perceive at negative situations to occur to bless us in other ways. I have done my share of asking God to bless me and my family which is a completely fine thing to do, but I need to be sure I am blessing God by my words, thoughts, attitudes, and actions. Just like I LOVE giving my sweet boy material gifts God takes great joy in the same thing. I firmly believe that. Instead of declaring all our blessings to others so much let's try to reach the hurting and lend a hand to them. I need to be more sensitive to the hurting, to the people that are dreaming of the same blessings I am currently receiving. Let's put a priority on the first Beatitude, to recognize we are spiritually bankrupt without the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Maybe we should change our #soblessed into #sothankful? Let's turn our focus from the obvious blessings to those that have to be searched for. Let's look for the blessings that our emotions say are not blessings. And for all blessings both material and spiritual let's be thankful!
I declare this to anyone reading this now:
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
- Numbers 6:24-26
* I want to dedicate this entry to my mom, Dinah Ann Kruse, who lost her battle with cancer this day in 2011. She received the ultimate blessing, to hear the words face to face, "well done good and faithful servant."
