Faith Article #blessed

[UMaineTeach]

It looks like there are some Christians who want this nonsense to end, maybe the word will get out to the NuggetSisters ( nuggetbrain ) of the world.

Posted on FB by a Christian friend.


www.faithit.com/one-thing-christians-stop-saying/

The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying
By Scott Dannemiller

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.

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 $1 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 (Matthew 5: 1-12).

1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him,

2 And 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.

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.”

Since I had this conversation, my new response is simply, “I’m grateful.” Would love to hear your thoughts.

[lg28]

I really like the premise of what he's saying. im not religious, but occasionally I will use the term "blessed" - most often when I describe my kids "I am so blessed with these kids." I don't know if I've used it to describe material things but I will certainly be mindful of it.

[omgzombies]

Meh, I don't have a problem with it being used in a non-religious or material way. My problem is that it's being used incredibly often, for ridiculous things, and usually on the internet as a way of bragging. I used to occasionally use the word blessed when describing aspects of our life, for me it was interchangeable with saying I'm lucky, or I'm grateful for how things are going overall (house, kids, work, pets, whatever). It was a way of acknowledging that I realize that my life is pretty damn cushy and nice. But now it's getting to the point where someone's trip to Starbucks warrants a facebook post, and #blessed. No.

And because it's become obnoxious, and it's a word I now associate with people who are either very religious or very obnoxious facebook posters (or both), I no longer use it. Blessed was co-opted by a culture that does not include me. It's ok, I have a thesaurus, I can find another word to use.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I don't really mind. Now, when people tell me to have a blessed day, I get mildly annoyed. I know its coming from a nice place, but really... What does it even mean? (Yes, I know they really just mean have a good day. I just don't get the idea if a "blessed day.").

[Vespasia]

Feb 5, 2015 7:50:59 GMT -5 incogneato said:

I'm glad he wrote this. I've always thought blessed had the (often unintentional I'm sure) implication that the person was chosen to receive good things which perpetuates the belief that people with less are less deserving. Kind of like our adherence to "the American dream." If you work hard, you'll succeed, which means that those who are poor must not work, hard, right?

But I'm also not religious so take that FWIW.

#blessedwithbootstraps

[CrazyLucky]

Feb 5, 2015 8:01:53 GMT -5 omgzombies said:

Meh, I don't have a problem with it being used in a non-religious or material way. My problem is that it's being used incredibly often, for ridiculous things, and usually on the internet as a way of bragging. I used to occasionally use the word blessed when describing aspects of our life, for me it was interchangeable with saying I'm lucky, or I'm grateful for how things are going overall (house, kids, work, pets, whatever). It was a way of acknowledging that I realize that my life is pretty damn cushy and nice. But now it's getting to the point where someone's trip to Starbucks warrants a facebook post, and #blessed. No.

And because it's become obnoxious, and it's a word I now associate with people who are either very religious or very obnoxious facebook posters (or both), I no longer use it. Blessed was co-opted by a culture that does not include me. It's ok, I have a thesaurus, I can find another word to use.

I agree with this completely, especially the bolded.

[Deleted]

But Jesus loves me more! #soblessed

[mbcdefg]

I have a coworker who says this ... if I see him in the kitchen and say, "Hey, Steve, how are you today?" he'll always reply, "I'm blessed, thank you." I once said "That's nice" and he replied that he's grateful to be healthy and that his family is healthy, etc. I don't recall whether or not he mentioned God, but if he did then he didn't make a big enough deal out of it for me to remember it. It's never bothered me in that particular context because I know he means that he's lucky/fortunate, and not just, "Oh, I just got a new car/I'm going on vacation/I have [insert material goods here]."

I don't know if I believe in God or not at this point in my life, but it really rubs me the wrong way when humans take it upon themselves to speak for God. Especially when it's something hurtful or stupid ... "God doesn't condone gay marriage," "God wants me to be fruitful and multiply," "God told me to do XYZ," etc.

[memenee]

A good friend struggled with infertility and said she always felt like crap when people around her said they were "blessed" to have their kids. I do feel fortunate to have my kids, by never say blessed anymore because of her.

[lys]

Often people use "blessed" instead of "I am grateful for" which would be a more accurate in most situations.

IMO we are blessed with the gift of life.

I also agree with your last part:
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.”