Christmas 2023 Presents Blessings

As The Emerging Man 2023 has handed me a couple of “blessings in disguise”.

One of which has been a revealing of what “blessing” truly means.

I’m sure someone has told you to, “Count your blessings,” at some point in your life.

Me too.

But as a man, when I look at my “blessings” they look suspiciously like “responsibilities” and when a man looks at his “responsibilities” all I can “see” is… work.

So I had to investigate… my perspective… and the history of the word blessing.

I discovered my inner perspective of what a blessing is was directly attached to the current usage of the word blessing itself.

Somewhere in the word blessing’s history… somewhere around the years 1280 to 1405… the word went from the scripture usage and it’s Latin and Greek meanings to an English meaning and usage based loosely off of another unrelated word “bliss”… and capturing a sense of “happiness derived from things.”

And that is our current usage today… “a blessing” is a “thing” that we are supposed to be blissfully happy over. It can be a physical, material, “thing” or it can be an “experience” “thing”.

Being a writer I’d like to borrow an idea from another writer, Mr. Charles Dickens and his character “The Ghost of Christmas Past”.

As this Christmas is almost upon us, think back to “The Ghost of Christmas Past” from 3, 4 and 5 years ago… do you still have “the blessings” you received from those Christmas Pasts?

Me? I usually get a new pair of slippers, some hunting socks, and a new tool or two. (how else am I supposed to get all that work done?)

Wouldn’t it be nice if “blessings” could stay a little bit longer?

So… as I contemplated my feelings towards blessings I got stuck on this thought, “I don’t think a material possession, like hunting socks, slippers, or even a home… is the definition of a blessing, sure if you have a home to live in that’s great, it’s a basic need, but lots of folks don’t have one, and with it comes a lot of responsibility and work.”

Here is the point of the article where I inform my readers that as The Emerging Man I have chosen to subscribe to the Bible as my new foundation to make life decisions based off of my relationship with Jesus Christ.

So let’s ask The Ghost of Christmas Past to introduce us to The Ghost of Ancient Antiquity and take a look at the Latin and Greek words that were used for “blessing” prior to the English word being adopted and put into use.

“(blessing, bless)This word was chosen in Old English bibles to translate Latin benedicere and Greek eulogein, both of which have a ground sense of “to speak well of, to praise,” but were used in Scripture to translate Hebrew brk “to bend (the knee), worship, praise, invoke blessings.” ~ courtesy Online Etymology Dictionary

Hebrew brk “to bend (the knee), worship, praise, invoke blessings

Latin benedicere … which we get the modern day English word ‘benediction’

Greek eulogein … which we get the modern day English word ‘eulogy’

The Hebrew word brought back to memory the story of Jacob pronouncing “a blessing” over the sons of Joseph. You can find it in Genesis 48. Here is the portion that came to mind…

“Then Israel [Jacob] stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
¹⁶ The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”“

That type of “blessing” lasts… forever.

So… the Greek and Latin meanings of “to speak well of, to praise,” to me… takes on a deeper meaning when lined up with Gods Word, as seen in my example found in Genesis 48.

Then… my question(s) is this, “When was the last time YOU spoke well over someone or praised someone”?

And… “Have you had the experience of God speaking well over you, blessing you, forever?”

In my book “When We Were Lions” I recount when at 10 years old God laid his hand on my shoulder and spoke well over me, he said, “That’s what I love about you.”

The scenario that led up to that blessing has recurred throughout my life with the same result… I step up, I struggle, I try and try, I think I figure it out where I’m at, and then God… over and over again… puts his hand on my shoulder and moves me up to the appropriate spot… teaching me something new about his character and revealing something to me in His Word… every single time.

So I then find this bible verse to be true also…

Psalm 119 :

89 Your word, O Lord, will last forever; it is eternal in heaven.

90 Your faithfulness endures through all the ages;

So this Christmas season, as an EMERGING MAN (or WOMAN)… with intention, look to speak well over someone, especially your kids, if you’ve been given the responsibility, and yes, the blessing… of having kids.

Or maybe you have a neighbor that needs a visit and a kind word.

Or a friend.

Or a co-worker.

Or a waitress, or other server, when you are out and about enjoying your physical blessings.

Hunting socks are nice and warm, but they wear out, but kind words spoken with intention… are eternal.

The EMERGING MAN writing to ENCOURAGE, EQUIP & ENGAGE!

And offering ‘Positivity with Work Gloves’