Chances are the last time you got blessed was after a sneeze… Aaaa-Chooo! “Bless you!” Truth is, we are actually pretty flippant with our use of “bless” and “blessing” – often it’s not really a big deal.
But in the Bible it was a big deal. Blessing another person was not something you did lightly. The verb “bless” literally means “to speak well of.” It can take a variety of forms: we can bless others by speaking well of them, we can bless God by speaking well of him too, others can bless us and so on…
The concept was so sacred because the Jewish understanding of speech was very different to ours. Today, talk is pretty cheap. Just tune into some reality TV if you don’t believe me! But back then, people understood how powerful the spoken word could be. They understood that our words have the capacity to transform people and transform situations, for better or for worse.
What is the most powerful muscle in the body? You should have a clue already, but James tells us in Chapter Three of his New Testament letter that it is the tongue. He compares it to a small rudder which is able to determine the destiny of a large ship. And it’s the same for us. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “the tongue has the power of life and death” – that’s a lot of power! Whoever said, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” were either in denial or didn’t understand the power of positive and negative words.
The great news is that blessing doesn’t just stop at words. Sometimes our actions speak loudest. The noun “blessing” could stand for a huge range of material, practical and spiritual benefits in the Bible. I don’t know about you, but I am really glad that God doesn’t just bless me with words. He blesses me with health, with friends, with family, and with amazing opportunities to live in a country like New Zealand and experience all the good things that life has to offer. And much better than all of that, he has blessed me with his own Spirit. Now, not only am I constantly reassured of my salvation, I am assisted in developing spiritual fruit like love and patience and generosity.
If following God’s example with words can bless others, imagine what could be possible if I followed his example with my whole life?! Let’s take up the challenge to be a blessing in both verbal and non-verbal ways. With our words, our actions, our attitudes, our possessions and our time. The results will be amazing!
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