A blog posted yesterday at the Huffington Post has been making the rounds among my Christian friends on Twitter and Facebook.
It was written by writer and former Presbyterian missionary Scott Dannemiller. In it he makes the case that Christians should not refer to their material wealth and possessions as “blessings” because of the implied meaning for those who do not share in their bounty. He cites the Beatitudes in making his case that God’s true blessings are found in suffering. It’s a thoughtful and challenging piece, one that I recommend reading.
While I agree with his basic principle, particularly as it pertains to the church in America, I do think he’s doing a little “proof texting.”
While the word “blessed” is applied to those who suffer in various ways throughout the beatitudes, it doesn’t paint the full picture of the use of that term throughout all of Scripture.
Throughout much of the Old Testament prosperity, material wealth, abundant crops, owning lots of land, and having many children were synonymous with having been “blessed” by God.
For example:
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.
4 Yes, this will be the blessing
for the man who fears the Lord.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion;
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.” – Psalm 128
Even at times in the New Testament the word “blessing” is equated with material wealth.
For example:
26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. – Romans 15
So while it may seem “plain as day” to this writer because it’s in the “red letters,” if we’re going to try to understand the full nature of God we need to look at the whole picture.
Do I believe children living in mud huts in developing countries are under God’s wrath or somehow out of God’s favor because of their poverty? No. Nor does that mean that our house is not a blessing to my family.
If we follow the writer’s logic a bit further out we might be tempted to forbid anyone from considering their children a blessing, because it implies that couples who can’t have children are not blessed by God. They may not have been blessed by God in this way, but my children are indeed a blessing to my wife and I.
If the poor and suffering truly are “blessed,” and that’s the only way that word is meant, wouldn’t we deny them that blessing by doing things like providing relief, helping build up their infrastructure, digging wells, etc? Of course not. I think you would agree that’s missing the point.
I think the danger is having the pendulum swing too far one way or the other. If we get too nutty about “blessings” meaning “material wealth” and make it our pursuit, we’re going to be missing God’s point along the way and heading for some dangerous waters with our theology. If we swing too far the other way, and forsake any material wealth or comfort as God’s “blessing,” we run the risk of denying our Father “who knows how to give good gifts” the praise and glory He deserves.
Perhaps there’s a balance to be found.
Shane Bertou 
Great article, Shane. Appreciate he further thought you’ve given to the original article. The only thing I’d say is that there simply enough voices out there the moment arguing for a radical reinvention of the “name it & claim it” blessing culture we have in much of the Western church at the moment. And a lot of moderate voices get drowned out by the big budget blessing crew.
But in saying that, your thoughts are a great step in the right direction.
This is not an article. It is an essay. An article is a straightforward factual account. An essay is an piece based on the writer’s opinion. Please stop saying otherwise. Thank you.
Thank you for this article. As I read Scott’s article I kept thinking that he was taking a very narrow view if the term blessing. Your thoughts seem more balanced to me and take into account that “every good and perfect gift comes from above.” Giving God credit for good things that happen in your life is NOT a bad thing, but when we start thinking that a blessing is more like a payment for our good behavior that is when we’ve veered off course.
This is not an article. It is an essay. An article is a straightforward factual account. An essay is an piece based on the writer’s opinion. Please stop saying otherwise. Thank you.
Blessings are like Mercy. Undeserved yet received.
I agree with you. It would be like saying I shouldn’t be happy that I have children because there are people who can’t have children. That’s ridiculous.
Very true. I believe that blessings are unique to the individual. One mans blessing is another mans curse? It can be along those lines. A blessing can be a curse to some if they are not prepared to use it. For instance: Money can be the downfall of a lottery ticket winner. So many of them commit suicide or fall into dire mental times.