A blessing!


To bless someone is to speak well of them and to share your heart of love over them. In the Old Testament we read the story of Moses and the people of Israel. Whenever they came together to be instructed by the man of God on how to live and do right they were to be blessed. God himself gave Moses these words of blessing. He told Moses that every time they came together before they were dismissed he was to speak this blessing over them.

Words are powerful. With words we can build up or tear down. We can encourage or discourage. We can make happy or sad. We have in our mouths the power of life and death. We can criticize, demean, and belittle with our words and even with our tone and volume of voice. We can increase, uplift, and give joy just as easily with our words.

Often we have this idea that God is so disappointed in us every day! That he is always shaking his head in disgust and disbelief. I’m am embarrassed to admit that somewhere along the line I became a name caller. It just happened. When we had kids it became easier. No cuss words but just as powerful and even humiliating. I could find plenty of sources to blame like tv sitcoms, parents, school peers, etc. Ultimately I bear the blame. Calling people knuckleheads, meatheads, and so forth. Sound innocent enough until you realize what you are doing. You are not building up but tearing down character. We often don’t realize it until our kids begin calling their kids the same things and feel absolutely horrible that you perpetuated this nonsense. 

I could certainly see God doing that to some people I know but that is a distortion of who he really is. You see he knows how frail we are and that we are but dust. So when God told Moses how to speak to the people he instead chose to bless them. He could just as easily have called them a few choice names. Now every Sunday as I get ready to dismiss my congregation I use this very same blessing. There have been plenty of times I’ve spoken it with tears in my eyes because of the beauty of the words.

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.”

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