You SHALL Be A Blessing

Have you ever heard the following statements?


“Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”
      - T.H. Thompson and John Watson

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
      - Plato

So my question is. . . Is it true?

Every time I have asked this question the answer has always come back, “Yes, it is true.”

As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, "I see a black mark." "Right," the preacher replied. "What else do you see?" Complete silence prevailed. "Don't you see anything other than the dot?" he asked. A chorus of “No” came from the audience. "I'm really surprised," the speaker commented. "You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all – the sheet of paper." Then he made the application. He said that in life we are often distracted by small, dot-like disappointments or painful experiences, and we are prone to forget the innumerable blessings we receive from the hand of the Lord. But like the sheet of paper, the good things are far more important than the adversities that monopolize our attention.

So if it is true that we all struggle in many ways and as a result we tend to focus our attention on our personal struggles, how do we as Christians live “the blessed life” or receive blessings from the Lord – especially since we expect God to hear and to answer our prayers?

The Bible says:

         Gal 3:14 - He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.

So how are we supposed to receive this blessing? Here was the original promise given to Abraham:

       Gen 12:2 NKJV - I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.

It is interesting to note that grammatically the word “shall” is an imperative – which means it is a command. God is setting forth His way of blessing His people which is “You SHALL be a blessing.” Which is precisely what the rest of the Scriptures teach:

        Prov 11:25 MSG - The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.

        Prov 11:24-25 ERV - Some people give freely and gain more; others refuse to give and end up with less. Give freely, and you will profit. Help others, and you will gain more for yourself.

       Luke 6:35-38 – But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.

It is a principle within the kingdom of God that His people initiate being a blessing to others and in return they are blessed themselves. The passage in Luke shows us that it doesn’t just work with giving financially, but in every area of our lives we are told to “do to others what you would have them do for you” (c.f. Luke 6:31).

But the teaching demands more than just a desire to be blessed. There is a command to be sincerely caring about the struggles of others.

       Phil 2:3-4 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

       1 Cor 10:24 - Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

As Christians, I think most of us would agree that we have a responsibility to care about the needs of others and to show that concern in tangible ways, the problem is that our struggles are often the focus of our lives right now. We have dreams about making a difference in this world or in the lives of others as soon as our problems have gone away or at least subsided. But I am going to share with you an important truth:

          Eccl 11:4 TEV - If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.

It is true in principle that if you are waiting for the conditions of your life to be just right before you begin to obey God’s command to be a blessing to others – you will never do it and as a result you will not have a very blessed life. Look for it in the Scriptures whether it has to do with tithing (Mal 3:8-12); caring for the poor (Matt 25:31-40); having God hear our prayers (Isa. 58); each of these commands that result in us being abundantly blessed all have to do with us meeting the needs of others. We are responsible to those who we are aware of that are in need:

          Prov 28:27 - He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.

         Isa 32:8 NKJV - But a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand.

In fact, the Bible asks, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18).

Notice that the Bible teaches that it cannot just be something we desire to do and just give lip service to doing we are expected to actually do it! Just as James states:

      James 1:26-27 - If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Now someone may question, are you trying to teach a “works” orientated salvation? Notice what the Scriptures teach:

          Eph 2:8-10 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Notice we are not saved BY works but being saved in Christ Jesus means we will do good works. If we do not understand this we miss the focus of what Scripture is trying to teach us:

           2 Tim 3:16-17 NKJV – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The end result of our Bible study should be that we are equipped to do good works. In fact, this is the primary focus of the teaching of a godly leader:

            Eph 4:11-12 - It was he (Jesus) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

          Titus 2:13-15 NKJV - Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. 15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

         Titus 3:8 NKJV - This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

        Titus 3:14 NKJV - And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

It is the reason that we gather together – to provoke each other to do good works:

        Heb 10:24-25 NKJV - And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

It is how we are to win the world to Christ:

        1 Peter 2:12 - Live such good lives among the unbelievers that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

        Matt 5:14-16 - "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Tavis Smiley, TV talk show host, recounts, “Dr. Cornell West has this really powerful definition of leadership that he told me one day. So, we're sitting around literally eating hot dogs one day and Doc says to me, "You know, it's true Brother Tavis, that you really can't lead people if you don't love people, and you can't save people if you don't serve people."”

This is really true, we cannot save people – reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ – unless we are willing to do what Jesus did, which is to serve others in love (Gal 5:13). Until we feel debtors to serving others we will not be walking in the will of the Lord for our lives and we will not know what it is to truly be blessed (c.f. Acts 20:35).

            2 Cor 9:6-8 - Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

The beautiful thing is that once we are committed to serving others God promises to provide all that we need to do His will (Heb 13:21). So as difficult as it may seem, let us all turn our eyes away from the storms of our lives and focus on Jesus’ will – the result will be miraculous.

Lord God, it is so difficult for us at times to do the things that are in our hearts to do. Sometimes we even say to You and others our intention to do well, but find we let the struggles of this life choke the word and keep us from becoming fruitful and actually doing the good work. Forgive us and give us a renewed commitment to be a blessing to others both in the church and also in the world that they may see our good works and glorify You. Let us not become weary in doing well and let us receive the harvest of righteousness that You have promised to those who obey You. In Jesus name, we ask it. Amen.