Quiet Time: Church Politics 101.1: Be A Blesser

Church Politics 101.1: Be A Blesser

Read: Romans 12:14-20


Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. – Romans 12:14

Saying, “God bless you” when a classmate sneezed would’ve gotten you a lower grade as a student in Steve Cuckovich’s high school health class. He even knocked 25 points from one student's grade for saying the phrase in class. After parents complained about students losing points for saying "bless you", Cuckovich says he decided to stop the practice, but intends to find another way to discipline his students going forward.

That story reminded me of a funny exchange I overheard between two coworkers. One guy sneezed and the other guy said, “God bless you.” “Why’d you say that? You didn’t have to get all religious on me!” said the one who sneezed, at which point the other replied, “I guess I could’ve said, ‘May the evil spirits depart from you,’ but that seemed a little long.” Everyone in the place burst out laughing. From then on, whenever the guy who considered the phrase offensive sneezed, the place irrupted with a loud and boisterous, “GOD BLESS YOU!"

The bible tells us that it’s good for us to bless others. We are challenged to bless our enemies (Romans 12:14; Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28; 1 Corinthians 4:12) In Matthew 5, Jesus actually tells us to let our enemies bring out the best in us and reminds us that, God “…gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.” (The Message Bible) When we act in accordance with God’s word we act according to our real selves; the person God saved us to be. In other words, our lives become more godly and our walk with Jesus more powerful and fulfilling.

A THING TO DO:
The next time we are confronted with an obnoxious filth spewing person, we can stop and stand quietly (our response is our choice not theirs)and ask God to bless them by drawing them to Jesus.

Something else we can do is to make a habit of blessing those around us like our family members, friends, and work associates. We don’t need to make a big deal out it. Actually, we can bless them in our hearts, but the next time we say good bye to someone we like or love, why not add, “God bless you.”

Bless and curse not.