I want to be blessed. When people open up new stores, they ask pastors to come in and ask for prayers of “blessings.” When people start a new venture in terms of relationship, career, or life circumstances, they ask for prayers of “blessings.” When I wake up, I sometimes pray, “Lord bless this day.”

When I eat, I pray, “bless this food to my body.” To be honest, in regards to food, I don’t even know what I mean when I pray, “bless this food to my body.” Am I asking God, “Lord please don’t let me get heartburn or food poisoning? “

In all seriousness, I think when I ask for prayers of blessings or ask others to bless me in their prayers, I’m asking that God would give me “success.” When starting a new business, and I ask for “blessings” - I really mean I want “success.” When I start a new career or wake up in the morning and ask for God to bless me, I’m actually asking Him to give me a successful career or a fantabulous day. 

Then it dawned on me. When I ask for blessings, I really want the prosperity gospel to be real in my life. I want wealth, health, and success - all under the guise of the Christian term “blessings.” It got me thinking that I probably don’t have the correct definition of what it means to be “blessed.” When I look at someone who is healthy, wealthy and successful, inherently I think, “wow, God has blessed them.”  I count their worldly success as a “blessing” from God, as if I got gipped of God’s blessings.  Then I think, did I do something wrong? Does God love me less? Why won’t He “bless” me like everyone else? 

Then, I read Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”

I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Wait, so I’m not gipped? Guess not. Spiritual blessings being…regeneration, justification, sanctification, Christ interceding on behalf of me, the Spirit dwelling within me, being adopted as a daughter of God, no longer an enemy but a friend of God…so…no Escalade, Chanel, LV, white picket fence, 2.5 children, huge 401 k, etc.? Damn. 

A friend told me, “to be a blessing to someone comes at a sacrifice from the one who blesses to the one who receives the blessing.”

God wanted to bless me with the greatest blessings anyone could ever receive. It came at the highest sacrifice - His Son’s death - so I could receive the greatest blessings on earth. Yet, I often don’t count those as the greatest blessings ever given to me because I’m so mesmerized by the material “blessings” of this world. Perhaps the material “blessings” are not actually blessings if they distract and blind me from the spiritual blessings found in Christ. 

Oh, how I focus on common grace rather than the special grace given to me.