A phrase I recently heard that has permanently found a home in my memory bank is this one, “We were created to bless people not to impress people”. After I jogged over the phrase a few times and let it tumble around in my head my brain began forming all sorts of ideas and I realized a few things. First of all we are approaching people in all the wrong ways. My interpretation of this phrase is that God doesn’t always bless me personally from his hand to my grasp, but also by his placing another human being on the path I walk in life. This allows for me to also be blessed by that person as well if I allow for it. The trouble is, most of us, as the phrase suggests, are here to impress, and when you impress before you bless, you place yourself before others.
When we meet someone new what is the first thing we do? Size them up. See how they compare. See what is flawed or unique or out of the ordinary. Pick up instantly on something we like or dislike. We pass judgment. It’s natural! Why can’t we remember names on first introduction? Some people like me would blame a bad memory, but if I can memorize a telephone number at first recital I should be able to remember a name. The only difference is a phone number can’t talk and the shoes it cannot wear do not distract me. What if we actually paid attention to people the way we were meant to? If we realized individuals were unique in their own way and really weren’t that different from ourselves. If we looked them in the eyes and saw they had a soul instead of a zit on their forehead. The problem with that idea is the “I before he except after acceptance. Then, maybe once in a while”
We all think in different ways as we approach a person. A doctor for example, may begin to look at people as patients; the coughing one, the one with the cast, the one with the tumor, the cancer survivor, the pregnant lady and so on. But it doesn’t even take a doctor to start to analyze and find yourself diagnosing someone even in the aisles of the supermarket. That person is too fat, she will struggle with diabetes, that person is too skinny, I bet she’s anorexic. That person has bad posture he will get osteoporosis. That person has raggedy clothes, I bet they are foul smelling and poor. We analyze, we pass judgment, we critique and we observe, often times before a person ever has the chance to speak.
What are more interesting though are the things that come out of our mouths when we do get a chance to speak. So often they are words formed together into a sentence that will sound impressive. And oh how we love to talk about ourselves. My friend put it to me the other day like this, “We are all just overgrown babies”, and that we are. Who is not dying for some attention from someone? Who doesn’t like to feel comforted and complimented and told ‘good job’? Who in this world can do everything all on their own? Nobody. The idea that we have distorted is that of who will reap the benefits. We approach a person and their situation like this: what’s in it for me? Why should I help you? Why should I care? What does that have to do with me? How much time will this take? By doing this we again place our needs before theirs and give away the opportunity to bless.
I’ll end by sharing a story my pastor shared a few weeks ago that will forever stick with me. He said he was walking down the street some twenty years ago and saw a blind man shuffling along down the sidewalk across from him. He was clearly blind as he was cautiously walking and feeling his way down the street. What caught his eye though was the man walking right next to him holding on to his arm. This man had his sight and was directing the blind man where to go. But, as he watched the man walk it became obvious that he was crippled and couldn't walk properly. Something was wrong with one of his legs that wouldn't allow him to walk on his own. Suddenly this feeling of great appreciation and love came over Mike (my pastor) as he realized that the blind man was using the crippled man's eyes to compensate for the crippled man to use the blind man's strong and healthy legs. They were leaning on and depending on each other for their weaknesses so both of them could get down the street. His point in this story was to emphasize that when we go through struggles in life, yes, we should put our hope and trust in the Lord, but also to be aware of the people God places in front of us on our journey to help us in our weaknesses. We as human beings were made to lean on each other and ask for help from each other instead of always trying to figure things out on our own, because we can relate to one another.
How cool to think that a person who comes across your path in life is not only someone you can benefit from, but more importantly, a person that can benefit from knowing you. That speaks volumes! That’s power. And we have that power at our grasp if only we knew what to do with it. We were made to bless not to impress.
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