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Topic: Blessed (11/29/04)
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TITLE: Blessed? By Taylor Kent 12/06/04 |
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I don't see Him in the mad materialist orgy of gift and decoration buying that in the end does nothing more than enslave the populations of third world countries and fill up our mail boxes with credit card bills.
I don't see him in the feel good dramas and youth presentations and ear tickling sermons put on by our churches under the excuse that we have to reach those who don't come to church any other time of year.
I don't don't see Him in the family gatherings where people pretend to love and care about each other while deep down feelings of envy and jealousy and hate poison their very souls.
And I sit back and wonder how we dare to call this time of year blessed.
Sure we are materially rich in this country, or at least some of us are. We have food to eat, a variety of beverages to drink, more entertainment than we could every use in a life time, and warm places to live and work. And I guess you could call all these things blessings, but blessings from whom?
Last time I looked at the gospel, specifically in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10), I think Jesus spells out who is blessed by God and why. And frankly, I don't see things there like: blessed are the rich or blessed our the powerful or blessed our those who have Satellite TV. but I do see mentions like this: blessed are the poor, blessed are those who mourn, and blessed are the meek. So I come back to the question, if we are so blessed in this country then by whom are we blessed: God or Satan?
I know in my own life that material riches are not always a blessing. In fact, lately, they have been more of a curse. I find myself addicted to "b" grade sci-fi movies and TV shows of which there is an ample supply on satellite TV . I find that I have more stuff than what will comfortably fit in my house, and for that matter I have a house and two cars. I find I have supply of video games that I will never exhaust. And worst of all I find all these things draw me away from what is important and enslave me in worry about them and care and maintenance of them. But I don't feel like any of those things are blessings. And some times I feel like if I had less of those things I would be more blessed and more dependent on God.
In my life, I can say it is more of a blessing when God rips off another hunk of necrotic flesh or tears away another dirty bandage concealing an infected wound or a false skin. This process often requires cutting and scrapping and tearing, and removing healthy flesh as well; and it can be painful, very painful. But with each of these infections removed or revealed and healed - each bit of me that is removed - more of the glowing diamond that God originally created at my core is revealed, and I am that much closer to who God made me to be.
So bottom line, when I think of being blessed I go back to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:3 (MSG): "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule."