SYDNEY RELOADED | Am I blessed?

"God blessed with a big house and big car. I am truly blessed."

I have always wondered whether we have truly understood what it means when we gave credit to God for a blessing. Thanking God for everything He's given us and I used to just be happy with that. Until a physio's words changed my entire perspective.

In the very short stint that I had playing basketball in High school, I managed to roll my ankle so badly that I was limping for months and had to go for physio to retrain my brain to walk properly again. I happened to then be introduced to a gentlemen that took that moment to strap, what looked like, a mild taser onto my leg and then started conversations with me. I used to enjoy these conversations because he would always ask me very thoughtful and provoking conversations. It's in one of these sessions he asked me, "Linda what is a blessing". I naturally just rattled off, "things or scenarios that God has given us." He chuckled and then said, "What if I told you those were not blessings as per Eastern philosophy. What if I told you that these 'things and scenarios' that you say are God's blessings can also be the cause of sin. Sin being absent with God or no longer in the Kingdom of God."

This moment, this exact moment, started my quest to find out what a blessing was and how it fit into this whole world of understanding being in the "Kingdom of God".

Divine Blessing

What we all seek or are sought to seek is the ultimate relationship with God that gives you a peace beyond all understanding. This is what we see as a divine blessing. In its simplest form, a blessing is a 'favour given to us freely'.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; no law is laid down against such things." Galatians 5: 22-23

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Ephesians 1:3-4

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:19

For the Christian faith, we believe that we have been given a right of passage directly with God with Jesus having died for our sins so that we may freely, and without worry, have this connection with Him that created us. Being human, God knows that we will continue to doubt so He keeps reminding us with continuous 'blessings' in our lives. Blessings come with an expectation though. If it has brought you joy, your purpose then is to ensure you flow that blessing onto others.

"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." Proverbs 11:25

Be Blessed to be a Blessing

A lot of people love stating "God has blessed me" and then that's it. They sit on it. Big house, big car, lots of food, perhaps a big family and then they sit on it. The problem with this is, the moment any of it is taken away then would that mean God is cursing them? The challenge with keeping this type of understanding is that these items or scenarios then becomes the focus for that person and they forget their focus on the Kingdom of God.

The house becomes a mortgage that we spend hours of our life working and paying it off. Don't forget cleaning it. No time for God.

The house or things become a worry to ensure it doesn't get stolen or insured or protected. Too worried to think about God.

What we must understand is that all these blessings that have been given to us is not for sitting on it. It is God essentially saying, here you asked for it, let it bring you Joy so that you can honour me then go for it. Does the car take you to Church or your neighbour? Does the house host those in need? Does your child, whom I have entrusted, know Me?

Jesus really turned everything around when he started pointing out those who were truly blessed in Matthew 5:3-12.

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 for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will 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 children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus pointed this out because he knew that all the worldly riches and placements that were given to them were not being used to continue blessing others but in fact became a blocker to the Kingdom of God.

So do I throw everything?

So the next question I had was, "What does this mean? Does this mean I must shirk away all frivolities and live like Gandhi?"

I believe that each person is given resources or talents to contribute something bigger than them. We are called to seek and bask in the Kingdom of God, which is the ultimate Divine Blessing. During this journey we will be given 'small blessings' in the form of tools, resources and talents to bring others to the Kingdom of God. We will be given 'small blessings' so that we may not be caught up in trying to secure our basic needs.

"Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." Proverbs 30: 8-9

By having our basic needs met and then realising everything extra is just a tool, we become less dependent on worldly things. See them as tools in the means of being a blessing for others. Feeding those who have less, being present to those that are lonely, teaching, preaching, praying, serving. To be a blessing for others so that they may also thank God for the small blessings they receive.

I thank God for meeting that physio that changed my perspective in life and whenever I give thanks for a blessing, my next step is to then ask, "how can I pass on this blessing Lord?". It's not easy, our human tendency is to really enjoy our spoils and get attached to them or servicing them without realising. Complacency is the biggest hurdle. Humans are so fickle and easy to divert, and the Eastern philosophers knew this. That's why they started labelling riches as 'sin'. They wanted everyone to first focus on the ultimate blessing, that is the Kingdom of God. Keep it simple. Everything is just a tool to help others reach the Kingdom of God.

So have a think next time someone says "All God's blessing".