Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14)
I
know I’ve said before that I like Romans 12. I’ll say it again because Paul
continues to tell it like it is, pulling no punches. It can be painful. Wait…
aren’t supposed to talking about blessing? Yep. Blessing those who persecute,
oppress, ridicule, reject, disagree, and otherwise make life difficult. He’s
talking about …
Time to make it more difficult by getting down to the basics. What does it mean to bless? The Greek term translated bless is the same word from which we get eulogy. Breaking the Greek down, it means good word. To bless someone involves saying good to and about a person, or saying something that benefits him/her. I will take it a step further, and say “as in word, so also in deed.”
For some people, blessings are statements of well-wishing. I try to give a birthday blessing to people that usually begins, “May your day and your year…” with some idea added that I try to make appropriate to the person. Others, based on the definition I’ve provided or something they’ve heard elsewhere might say that to give a blessing means to make someone happy. For many, I think blessings involve saying something nice, kind, compassionate, friendly, approving or pleasant.
If you listen to what I say, or read what I write, you’ll find there’s not a lot of sweetness and light in my tone or in my meaning. I admit that. When I was introduced to people who knew my mother, they usually said, “Your mother was so nice.”
And I replied, “Yes, she was, but I’m not like her.”
That same nice mother told me more than once that I have no tact. She noted that I was lacking in manners, too. (Not her fault - I suspect my parents despaired over me often.) She was right. I’m more like Brother Jerome or Dr. House (minus the drugs and amorality) than Miss Congeniality or Ms. Manners. It’s an area in which I need to work, and an area in which I’ve made a little progress. I don’t think I glare at people when they complement my make up any more, and God has made it clear to me that what I bring to give people I like I must also give to people I don’t like. If I tell you about some treat, you can try to guess which group you’re in.
But I think there is another side to blessing, one that isn’t quite so pleasant. Without it, blessings are little more than flattery and fluff. To bless someone means to want something good for that person. While you might say something nice, if it’s not true and you don’t think it’s even potentially true, it’s a lie. Lies aren’t blessings. If you tell someone “the direction you’re headed is fine,” when you know the direction that person is headed is into trouble, aren’t you lying? How is that a blessing? For some people, the greatest blessing you may be able to give is to tell them, “You’re headed into trouble, and here’s how to escape the misery that’s waiting for you.”
Maybe that’s self-justification but I can tell you that the times I’ve gotten the biggest blessings from others have been times when I ground my teeth. The other big lesson I’ve learned about blessings began with a book I read in which the author described blessing each person he met. I adapted that and began to ask God to bless each unit I walk by in the park, various politicians, people in certain fields, friends, relatives, etc. with a fruit of the Spirit. One day as I asked God to bless a household with goodness, God said, “Why are you asking Me to bless them with goodness when it’s in your power to do something good for them?” There happened to be a newspaper next to the road. I picked it up and put it next to their door, and I have been putting every newspaper I find next to the subscriber’s door since. I even feel guilty if I get there too late or don’t get to that area of the park that day.
I’m not suggesting that I bless others enough but I have learned a little. If I can learn how to bless, at least a little, anyone can.
Liberals blessing Conservatives, and Conservatives
blessing Liberals
Blacks blessing Whites
Whites blessing Blacks
Victims blessing criminals
Blessing Nazis, Antifas, Muslim extremists, mass
murderers, rapists, terrorists, illegal aliens, rioters, protestors, big
game/trophy hunters,
Rich folks, poor folks, politicians, activists,
bullies…
All those people you wish would go away.
Bless, and do not curse. See what I
mean? Painful. Difficult. Pulling no punches. Some people who call themselves
Conservatives have attacked me for this Cum
by ya “twisting of Scripture.” Liberals have attacked me as being crae-crae and have expressed the hope
that I don’t procreate. Blacks have told me that they’ll start once Whites take
the lead. Every group called upon to bless someone else has found an excuse –
and I can’t say I’m any different. This is tough stuff.Time to make it more difficult by getting down to the basics. What does it mean to bless? The Greek term translated bless is the same word from which we get eulogy. Breaking the Greek down, it means good word. To bless someone involves saying good to and about a person, or saying something that benefits him/her. I will take it a step further, and say “as in word, so also in deed.”
For some people, blessings are statements of well-wishing. I try to give a birthday blessing to people that usually begins, “May your day and your year…” with some idea added that I try to make appropriate to the person. Others, based on the definition I’ve provided or something they’ve heard elsewhere might say that to give a blessing means to make someone happy. For many, I think blessings involve saying something nice, kind, compassionate, friendly, approving or pleasant.
If you listen to what I say, or read what I write, you’ll find there’s not a lot of sweetness and light in my tone or in my meaning. I admit that. When I was introduced to people who knew my mother, they usually said, “Your mother was so nice.”
And I replied, “Yes, she was, but I’m not like her.”
That same nice mother told me more than once that I have no tact. She noted that I was lacking in manners, too. (Not her fault - I suspect my parents despaired over me often.) She was right. I’m more like Brother Jerome or Dr. House (minus the drugs and amorality) than Miss Congeniality or Ms. Manners. It’s an area in which I need to work, and an area in which I’ve made a little progress. I don’t think I glare at people when they complement my make up any more, and God has made it clear to me that what I bring to give people I like I must also give to people I don’t like. If I tell you about some treat, you can try to guess which group you’re in.
But I think there is another side to blessing, one that isn’t quite so pleasant. Without it, blessings are little more than flattery and fluff. To bless someone means to want something good for that person. While you might say something nice, if it’s not true and you don’t think it’s even potentially true, it’s a lie. Lies aren’t blessings. If you tell someone “the direction you’re headed is fine,” when you know the direction that person is headed is into trouble, aren’t you lying? How is that a blessing? For some people, the greatest blessing you may be able to give is to tell them, “You’re headed into trouble, and here’s how to escape the misery that’s waiting for you.”
Maybe that’s self-justification but I can tell you that the times I’ve gotten the biggest blessings from others have been times when I ground my teeth. The other big lesson I’ve learned about blessings began with a book I read in which the author described blessing each person he met. I adapted that and began to ask God to bless each unit I walk by in the park, various politicians, people in certain fields, friends, relatives, etc. with a fruit of the Spirit. One day as I asked God to bless a household with goodness, God said, “Why are you asking Me to bless them with goodness when it’s in your power to do something good for them?” There happened to be a newspaper next to the road. I picked it up and put it next to their door, and I have been putting every newspaper I find next to the subscriber’s door since. I even feel guilty if I get there too late or don’t get to that area of the park that day.
I’m not suggesting that I bless others enough but I have learned a little. If I can learn how to bless, at least a little, anyone can.
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