To Be or Not To Be (A Blessing, That Is)

I have been mulling over the idea that God is looking more for people who will be a blessing more than looking for those who want God's blessing.

God desires to give us good things. He doesn't sit up in Heaven and reluctantly say, "Oh, no! That child of mine wants a blessing. Well, I suppose I should give him one." God is a perfect parent and wants to give us so much. What parent wants to deprive their children of the things they want? Sometimes we don't capitulate to the demands of our children, but that's because sometimes what they want isn't good for them in the long run. If we let our kids eat chocolate, candies, pop and chips all day long every day, they would be sick. So we limit how much they have. And sometimes we may even encourage the healthy good things like strawberries with cream and a little bit of sugar. Sometimes the things we want are just the junk food of our spiritual lives. It's what tastes good but has no nutritional value.

So how do we incorporate into our diet the things that will make us grow? Invest into the eternal, not the temporal. People last forever. Programs will come and go. If the program doesn't make a difference in people's lives, then maybe the program needs to go. I know this isn't a new thought. But our society is so busy that we become slaves to the programs. And that's when we run the danger of asking God for blessings so that we can keep our programs running - failing to see that the program is not really being a blessing to anyone.

So how do we be a blessing instead of just asking for them? That's tough. Especially when we live in a society that desires comfort above all things. Everything we are told says that we need this or that, or need to do this or that so that life for us will be comfortable. And as Christians we've bought into it. If we aren't comfortable, we're wondering if God is mad at us. Did we ever stop to think that maybe it's when we are uncomfortable that we are being the blessing and God is pleased? Not that we need to go out and buy a bed of nails or anything like that. It's not about punishing ourselves. But it is about thinking beyond ourselves and actually caring about others even more than we care about ourselves. If it could be boiled down to one word, I think it would be "love." Love God. Love your neighbour. Love yourself. And not the lusty imitation that is used to sell every product under the sun. Real love. The kind that values. The kind that is selfless. The kind that reaches beyond us to be a blessing to others. Then our paradigm will shift. We may even find that the blessings we were asking for were nothing but junk food, and we will be able to see all the goodness God has in store for us.