Blessings

Recently I read an article on-line where a man stated that Christians should quit saying they’re blessed.  One of the reasons given was that it reduces God to a “sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spend his days randomly bestowing cars and cash on his followers.”  The article continued by saying that it’s wrong to call yourself blessed because of material good fortune and that it can be offensive to hundreds of millions of Christians in the world who have less.  He even went as far as saying that being blessed for material goods is an American mind set.  He ended the article by saying that we need to say we’re grateful not blessed. 

I find a few things in this article that I disagree with. 

•     Saying I’m blessed isn’t an American mindset, It is a Biblical concept. 

                           i.      Gen. 24:1 says, “God blessed Abraham in every way.”  Verses 35-36 says, “The Lord blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy….he has given him everything he owns.”

                          ii.      Isaac was also said to be blessed by God. Gen 26:12-14, “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy”

                        iii.      David mentions being blessed by God for material goods many times in his writings in Psalms. They are too numerous to list them all here, but one is Psalm 67: 6, “The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.

                        iv.      In the New Testament we see this concept in Luke 12, after Jesus talks about us not worrying about the things we don’t need to worry about, (food, clothing, shelter) he tells the listeners in verse 30, “…the Father knows that you need them”, verse 31, “Seek his kingdom, and these things will be given (provided) to you as well.”  The word   blessed isn’t in this verse, but is it not implied in the giving of the things we need?

                          v.      I Timothy 6: 17, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth...but to put their hope in God, who richly provides (blesses) us with everything for our enjoyment.”

                        vi.      In Romans 15, Paul talks about the Gentiles’ material blessings and that they should be shared with the Jews.

• Just because I may have been given more or less then someone else, doesn’t mean that I should not feel blessed with what I have.  The apostle Paul taught that he was content in whatever state he found himself in (I Tim 6:8, Phil 4:11-13). If a Christian is offended because someone has more than he/she does, then they have a heart problem, not a blessing problem. When we say we're blessed, we are acknowledging it comes from God, less we fall into the trap of the rich fool in Luke 12, who forgot who provided him with all that he has.  “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph. 5:20.

Where much blessings have been given, more is expected.  But that's a lesson for another day,

Praise God from whom all Blessings flow!