Blessed: Condition or Consciousness, by Rudolph W. McKissick, Jr.

WE have been living through an oppressive move called "prosperity." It becomes the sign of how "blessed" we really are. The suggestion of this premise is that God desires you to be rich and as a consequence the barometer of just how pleased God is with you and how blessed you are can be seen in the amount of material gain you have in your life. As a result, persons now flock to ministries where they can be "taught" (and I use that term quite loosely) how to walk in material gain, i.e. prosperity, and how this now becomes a sign of the favor of God upon your life. My issue is not the idea of prosperity. There is nothing wrong with WORKING, SOWING, TITHING and God blessing your OBEDIENCE AND GOOD MANAGEMENT to put you in such a position where you are able to purchase the "finer things of life." My issue is not prosperity but premise. To suggest that how much God is pleased with an individual is manifested or evidenced in how much they have eliminates many who have been faithful to God, even unto death, but did not have much. It flies in the face of the teaching of Jesus.

It was a widow woman who had nothing more than a mite who received the commendation from Jesus in the temple. It was a poor teenage girl who was chosen to be the vessel to carry the greatest gift ever given or known to humanity- Jesus Christ Himself. What do you say to the old church mother who has been faithful to God by tithing and serving but is not rolling in cash or cars? Do we suggest to her that her faith is not strong enough? What do we say to the brother who is a faithful servant to the Kingdom, active in the church, but gets laid off and has trouble making ends meet? Has God become displeased with Him on some level? To be blessed is not a condition, but rather is a consciousness. Being blessed is a state of being that begins with a proper understanding of who you are and Whose you are. You are not necessarily blessed because you have thousands of dollars in the bank, fancy cars to choose from, and name brands on every piece of clothing you own; that may mean that you are rich or that you have good credit, but you are not necessarily blessed.

Sadly, too many Christians are running around looking to climb the ladder of the "blessed life" through material gain.

Beloved, the blessed life is in knowing God through Jesus Christ and knowing who you are and Whose you are. It is knowing that with all your flaws and faults you are still God's child. It is not a condition of existence, but rather a state of consciousness. No money, but I'm blessed because I am God's child; driving the same car from 1999, but I am blessed because I am God's child. Do not get me wrong: learn to invest, learn to save, and put yourself in a position to never have to borrow. And if that does not happen to the level of some preacher's def inition of being blessed, hold your head up and walk like a millionaire, because if you belong to God and know who you are, you are truly blessed.