Adult Teachable Moments

Instead of Valentines

Feb 04

by Beverly CroweTipton

In shopping centers everywhere, Christmas-red ornaments have transformed into Valentine-red hearts. Already, husbands and wives; girlfriends, boyfriends, and wannabes; and family and friends are staring into a sea of cards, hoping to find the words to express their innermost feelings of love, appreciation, and care.

My own encounter with the card-searchers came at Wal-Mart as I passed fruits and vegetables, speeding on towards canned goods. I noticed them standing rapt, lost in looking for the perfect card. The sentiment of that aisle was markedly different from the rest of the store. Love, appreciation, compassion, and care were not words that came to my mind as I jockeyed the aisle for a bag of flour. As I neared the flour, a dreadlocked employee caught my attention. There was rhythm to his can stacking but a vacancy in his eyes. I looked at his eyes because just days before I had heard Barbara Brown Taylor preach on pronouncing blessings. She implored us to look into the eyes of the people around us. She recited a list of folks we need to notice. Store clerks were on the list. So, like a dutiful student, I followed her encouragement before I really thought about it. I did not offer him a blessing, though she had encouraged that, too. The thought of blessing him made me uncomfortable. The truth, however, is that not blessing that dreadlocked Wal-Mart employee has brought its own discomfort.

Blessing. We throw that word around a lot—we bless food before we eat. We bless people after they sneeze. We say, “Bless your heart” for a variety of reasons, most of which are not nearly as compassionate as the saying sounds.

“Bless you.” What does it mean? What did God intend with that blessing to Abraham and Sarah? Did God really expect to bless the world through them? Can you imagine? What a wild idea! How could God expect to bless “the world” through one family?

There are at least two things to remember about blessing. Genesis 12:1-3 contains one of the most profound ideas about God in all of Scripture. This promise says that God chooses to work in the world through us. Not that God is helpless without us, but that God has chosen to give us the responsibility of mediating divine blessing to the world. In a sense, it means that God wants to love the world through us. Could it be that here, all wrapped up in this important promise, is also God’s first imperative for missions? In other words, is blessing at the heart of missions?

Blessing is a good thing. Who doesn’t like to be on the receiving end of a blessing? However, God’s blessing comes double-edged. God says “I” will bless you and “You” will be a blessing. God’s blessing for Sarah and Abraham wasn’t to give them something, like a 401K. Instead, God blessed them with something to give. God blessed them for a universal purpose. That’s the second thing that’s important to remember about a biblical blessing. God blesses for a universal purpose. That sounds good, but here’s where it gets sticky. Sometimes God blesses people we don’t like or, worse yet, people who we think don’t deserve it. Remember the story of Jonah? God sent him to Nineveh to bless the people there. Jonah despised the Ninevites. And the idea that God might bless them, might love them, made Jonah so angry he just couldn’t stand it. Allowing God’s blessing to flow through us is sometimes the most difficult of responsibilities. When we fail to respond faithfully to God, we can bring disaster into the world just as easily as we can bring blessing. What does that have to do with us? There’s the rub—we are blessed because God loves us. Now, let us live out our blessing in the only way God’s blessing can truly be meaningful—by giving it away—to family, friends, neighbors, and even store clerks. Barbara Brown Taylor says anyone can bless, but not many are willing. So, instead of Valentines, offer a blessing.

Questions for Reflection
• What is a blessing?
• What does it mean to bless someone?
• What blessings have you received recently?
• What blessings have you given recently?
• What responsibilities come with God’s blessings?