Choose To Be a Blessing

Being a blessing to those around us is a choice. Part of being a blessing to those around us is to be a constructive, positive influence. Looking at the bright, positive side is also a choice. At times it can be a hard choice, but I have never met someone who said "Boy, I regret looking for the good in that situation."

In John 1:16, it says "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." As Christians if we believe that all good things come from above and that we do receive one blessing after the other because of the grace of our God - we must pass it on. We can't just hand out our blessings and be positive with those who agree with us, we are called to repay evil and insults with blessings (1 Peter 3:9).

Whenever it is within my power I will choose to live in peace and positivity. What blessing is it to my fellow humans to tear another down to build myself up? I have never understood the need to base self affirmation on destroying the character of another. It accomplishes nothing but strife. Each day has enough friction of its own without adding my own to the mix.

These days it is difficult to keep an affirmative outlook. There are a lot of dark clouds in the form of negative people out there. In my view these are people who have lost their way and are in need of my support, not my condemnation. In this case I choose to be a blessing. My support does not include patting them on the back and telling them that what they did or said is okay. Giving my support, to my way of thinking, means guiding them; leading them to an understanding that choosing positivity is always a good option.

Being a blessing in this life is a process. Not everyone is born with rose colored glasses on. Bad things happen in our lives and it can be an uphill battle to stay positive. We often feel reluctant to bless the life of someone else, because we feel that it will not be repaid in kind. It feels like -- why should we be the ones to bless someone else? That doesn't matter. Blessing someone else is not an act of reciprocity; it is a gift, freely given.

It is my prayer that it will be said of me that I was a blessing in the lives of those around me; evidenced by the fruit I leave behind. What a testimony that would be of my relationship with my God and the power of the fullness of his grace.

John Waller's The Blessing