Pastor Brent looks at what the Apostle Paul and Jesus have to say when it comes to being blessed and how it is different from what we call #blessed today.
Ephesians 1:3-6, Matthew 5
Introduction
Good morning everyone and thanks so much for being here. My name is Brent, and I am one of the pastors here at Ashworth. Have you ever been in a conversation where something was talked about, and as the conversation continues, you realize that you might not really understand what they are talking about? You might not know the real meaning of the topic.
In my younger days, not wanting to admit I didn’t know something, I would have stayed there, shook my heard, thrown in an agreeing word here or there, completely oblivious as to the real meaning of the conversation.
The nice thing about getting older is that I have learned how to use a very powerful expression. It is life changing. “I don’t know what you mean. Could you explain it to me.” Or “I am unfamiliar with that. What does that mean?”
And then there are moments when you know a word or phrase, and you think you understand it, and you use it, only to be told later that you misunderstood the word. For example, take the word “literally.” I literally go mad every time someone misuses that word! Did you catch that!
A few years ago, I was with my extended family, and we were having a discussion. Someone made a statement like “I literally died when I saw that.” My brother chimed in. “Well, you didn’t literally die. If you did, you wouldn’t be here. You figuratively died. You metaphorically died, but you didn’t literally die.”
Sometimes we hear words or phrases so often used that we pick them up and we may or may not fully understand what they literally mean. That’s what I want us to look at today.
We are in the series “Who Do You Think You Are” where each week we are trying to discover our identity as defined, not by the world around us or even ourselves, but by God. Who does God say we are? And today we’re going to look at an often used word or expression to see if it is true, but also are we even using it correctly. Let’s see what it means that You Are Blessed.
#Blessed and Other Misuses
A quick peruse through social media would show you that the idea of being blessed is widespread here in the US. In fact, we could say that the word blessed flows easily off or lips. A quick search of Instagram shows over 107 million uses of the hashtag #blessed. If you add the variations of #blessed praying hands, #blessedlife, #blessed praise hands, or #blessed angel, you find it used 5 million more times for a total of 112 million uses.
In case you don’t know, a hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#), used on social media to identify messages on a specific topic. On Instagram, hashtags accompany pictures. So that picture of your new car, #blessed. That college acceptance letter. #Blessed. That engagement picture, beach vacation, family photo, new baby, the goal scored in the game. #Blessed.
But is this what blessing looks like? Because as I think about how we use this #blessed, I can’t help but think of the inverse. If you are #blessed with a new car, does that mean the person who can’t afford the new car is not #blessed? If we are #blessed because of that new promotion and raise, what does it mean for that person who just got laid off? And if you are #blessed because of your new baby, what does that mean for the mom and dad who desperately want a baby but are unable to conceive?
I’ve heard people say; God has blessed my business, God has blessed me with this house, God has blessed me with financial security, but is this how God works?
There is a very slippery slope we have to be careful of when we talk this way. In religious circles around the world, there is a very popular movement we know as the Health and Wealth gospel or the Prosperity Gospel. And it goes something like this; if I give, I will get, if I do, I will get. Getting is a
