The Power to Bless
I drove my four wheel drive truck a couple miles into the regional center of Kissidougou. Weaving left and right through local neighborhoods lined with tin covered houses and mud huts on bumpy roads and through mud, I finally arrived at my language coach's house. She was a beautiful woman with glowing skin and an infectious smile. It was only my second or third time to her place.
I greeted her as best I could."I ni ke."
"N ni ke. I ka
kende ba?
"N ka
kende…."
She launched into words I still had yet to learn and I looked bewildered. She laughed and grabbed my hand and started walking hand in hand with me, explaining in French. She said to me, "She who displaces herself from a far distance is blessed much more than the one who welcomes her."
What a beautiful saying, I reflected.
As an international worker in West Africa for ten years (1986-1996) I was required to study and become somewhat fluent in a local language. The language I was asked to learn was Maninka, a regional language in Guinea, West Africa. I had two language coaches and she was one of them.
WEST AFRICAN BLESSINGS
I wanted to find out more about all these Maninka blessings. There are a myriad of them for this society which is predominately made up of Muslims. Many of their sayings are blessings starting with "God".
"May God grant you heath."
"May God protect your journey."
"May God give you a good night sleep."
There are dozens and dozens of blessings. It is not uncommon to string a number of them together. Guineans, though many of them are poor by our standards, are quick to give gifts and quick to give a blessing.
After my lesson with my coach I asked my language supervisor about my friend's blessing. Was this another common blessing? Hmm, he mulled. Though he was an American, he had grown up as a little boy speaking this language with his Guinean friends and worked there his whole life. He was now nearing retirement. He was a very gifted linguist.
"No," he reflected, "I have never heard that one. She is a very gracious, nice woman. I suspect she was glad to see you and genuinely wanted to bestow on you this blessing. What a beautiful thought."
As I studied blessings, curses and West African proverbs, I
thought of Klinger on the M*A*S*H* sitcom. He liked to use this curse.
"May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in your armpits!"
MAGICAL BLESSINGS or VOODOO CURSES?
Those who know me, know that I usually end my correspondence with "Blessings, Diane." I am convinced that to bless or curse someone, even inadvertently, has power. I'm not talking about magical blessings or voodoo curses. I am talking about just the power of what we say to people and the impact that leaves.
Our gracious God has blessed us to make us a blessing. God told this to Abraham.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:2
We are
blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
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. Ephesians 1: 3
Our words have great power. We see this shown in
both the Old and the New Testament.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21a
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. James 3:10
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. I Peter 3:9
THE WAY WE TALK TO EACH OTHER IS ACTION
We have such potential to touch the lives of those around us. Granted we need our actions to reflect our faith. However I contend that the way we talk to each other IS ACTION, showing our heart. Can we show contentment and trust in God, spilling over with blessing to those around us? Or do we more often find ourselves with outbursts akin to curses. I'm not talking about the camel fleas in your armpits types. I mean do we say things like,
"You
are never right!"
"You
will never amount to anything!"
"If
you believe that you are the most deluded person on the planet…"
Think
about it. The things we say in stress, anger (even righteous anger) and pain
can have barbs that will stick and sting much longer than a kind word will.
They may drive those we love or hope to influence further away from us and from
the truth. Is that really what we want?
A COVID THANKSGIVING
This
particular season we are in as a nation is extremely challening; with the COVID limitations and
stresses, the polarized political arena and stretching personal stressors. It is not natural to human nature to reach out, to bless others and
reflect happiness and contentment when we are under trying conditions. But that is not the way we as the people of
God should be. We should bless, not curse.
It is
Thanksgiving. It is a time for us to reflect with gratitude for all the Lord
has done for us and given us. If you look again at Ephesians 1:3, it reminds us
that we are blessed with every SPIRITUAL blessing. Your life of blessing may
not be monetary or even good health, or an easy sweet life. But we are loved by
a great God and His Holy Spirit is continually with us to comfort and to guide.
I
recently reminded the women in my weekly Bible study that the fruit of the
Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22-23 are not conditional when we feel good, or
everything is going our way. We cannot do these on our own because we try hard
to be good. They are after all the fruit of the SPIRIT of God. The Holy Spirit.
We rely on this Holy Spirit within us to produce this kind of life.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23.
May you
overflow with blessing and thanksgiving in all you say and do, this
Thanksgiving Season.
Up Next: Make the most of Advent
