BLESSED IS

The idea of being blessed means so many different things to different people. In the days of the Old Testament, blessings in the eyes of the people of Israel often was related to this life. We see an aspect of this in the story about Job, even though we aren't actually give a time frame for when Job lived. However, to the people of Israel they would have easily related to blessings being something that you experience in this life.

All that changed later. When Jesus was among us, he gave the concept I feel more of a spiritual aspect. Meaning, it just was associated with this life or how much you owned or possessed. Not that those didn't matter in any way, merely that we were supposed to appreciate that true life and blessings will ultimately be part of eternity. Which given the fact of the number of people who suffer in this life is from my point of view a good source of promise.

None of that in any way impacts our desires. While knowing one is saved is very important to anyone who follows the Lord, it doesn't keep us from wanting out of life all the usual blessings associated with possessions.

There are those who take both sides of this issue to extremes. You have the ones who would try to live without any material goods. They wall themselves away in some place apart from the real world. Whether this actually is beneficial is something you would have to ask those who practice such form of sacrifice.

The other side of the coin is the person who believes in one of the many different believes about prosperity. There are so many versions it would be hard to give them all credit, nor would I want to. I think they all are rooted in the view to some degree that you can have your Heaven on earth.

In both cases though I think the primary focus is related in some way to materialism, either for or against. Which again to me only makes possessions in some way the issue with regards to blessings. For even if you are abstaining from there, doesn't your idea of a blessing in part relate to the fact you claim not to need such worldly goods? Just my view naturally.

Blessings are and always will be a source of joy if they are properly appreciated and understood. What we think of as a blessing that leads to spiritual pride is corruptive and not really a blessing. That can be very difficult to give it up if you honestly crave what you sense is a blessing, even if it is in fact leading you away from the Lord.

In the midst of define what we think is a reward or other deserved plus in our lives, can we stop to appreciate what God gives us that can't be measure by the size of our bank account? It can be difficult to see spiritual knowledge or the fruit of the spirit as the blessing they are if we are only able to measure things in dollars and sense.

I only pray we all find the eyes to see when God is touching us for the good even if that good is to serve him and not our own desires. Sometimes we can miss what is so precious if we aren't looking in the right direction.