Recently, a popular Huffington Post article resurfaced on Facebook entitled “The One Thing Christians Should Stop Saying.” I clicked on the article, grabbed immediately by the click bait-y headline.
What’s the one thing Christians should stop saying, HuffPo? The answer is a simple one: “Blessed.”
Why should Christians stop saying “blessed”? A blessing, by it's very name, is given to us by God. The article says that material blessings like a good year for business, a home in the suburbs, things like that, are not blessings. He says:
“’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 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.
Whoa. Excuse me? That’s exactly the right thing to do. A blessing is anything that you can say, “Thank God for this.” Your breath, your ability to walk, your family and friends, your talents and strengths, your virtue and faithfulness: these are the things we for which we bow down and thank God. These are not the only things that we are blessed by God to have. You should thank God for your job, food on the table, your ability to buy nice things or drive in a car. You are blessed to have nice things. We are blessed in this country to have what we have. You have a home! You have parents! You go to school! These are gifts that many people in our world do not have the opportunity to enjoy. Denying any of these things as blessings is denying a major facet of Christianity: we have nothing alone, and everything with God.
In Pope Francis’ new book "The Name of God is Mercy,” he recalls a story of a woman that he met in confession while he was bishop of Buenos Aires. She said, “If the Lord didn’t forgive everything, our world would not exist." This speaks so much to the faith, hope, and love of a truly devout Christian. You understand that if Christ forgets you, you have nothing. Every single thing in our world would not exist if it had not been for Christ’s redeeming love, even material things.
Scott Dannemiller, the author of this article, is onto something, however. He preaches that we ought not to believe that God gives us material gifts based on how faithful we are. This presupposes a false and heretical “theology of prosperity.” A theology of prosperity would assert that everything you have is because God loves you more or you’re a better Christian than someone else who is not as fortunate. That is definitely not the case.
You don’t have a great job because God handed it to you. You don’t have a nice car or money or food because God handed it to you. If feeling blessed means you’re “[reducing] The Almighty to some sort of sky-bound, wish-granting fairy who spends his days randomly bestowing cars and cash upon his followers,” as Dannemiller mentions, then you don’t understand Divine Providence. You also don’t understand that Christ doesn’t do the whole positive reinforcement thing. He bestows grace upon us to enjoy and love everything we have, whether we’re rolling in dough or rolling in debt. God blesses us not only with spiritual and material gifts, but also with the gratitude to enjoy it all without question. It is His will that you have the things you have. If we ask Him to give us what he thinks is best, He will give us those things, and it is our responsibility to love and appreciate whatever that is in whatever form we receive it.
Dannemiller makes another crucial (and somewhat brutal) point. Blessings from God come with a price tag, so to speak. Everything that you have whether it be material, spiritual, physical is a call from God to give. When we are blessed, we are called to bless others. Our time, talents and treasure are gifts from God that we should use to further His will for all people. What you do with your gifts should be done with one thought in mind, “God has given me so much. How can I give more?”
