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What does it mean to be blessed?

Weeziana

New Member
I often hear people say how "blessed" they are when something good happens to them. A neighbor of mine says how "blessed" her family is that they are healthy. This frustrates me to no end. So, does that mean that your god blessed you but not the family around the corner with a toddler with terminal brain cancer? Does this mean that your god picks and chooses who he blesses and lets others become ill and other die? Why would he do that? It's basically the same to me when someone asks you to pray for a loved one or ill person. Would your god let someone die because no one prayed for them?

I'm curious to see what those of different beliefs feel about this topic. What do you think it is to be blessed and what does it mean to you. For the non-believers, what do you think when someone says this? What does it say about "God" to you?
 

PHOTOTAKER

Well-Known Member
Weeziana said:
I often hear people say how "blessed" they are when something good happens to them. A neighbor of mine says how "blessed" her family is that they are healthy. This frustrates me to no end. So, does that mean that your god blessed you but not the family around the corner with a toddler with terminal brain cancer?

i thank it is a blessing, when my dad had cancer my family was really close something like that brings people to geather makes them stronger, no matter what the out some, some lessions in life are not easy, some are.

Does this mean that your god picks and chooses who he blesses and lets others become ill and other die?

we are only give the challages that we can handle, some things that happen to me might be for someone else. there is much happyness in the world, but people seem to not care and go on, God dose love and bless all of his children, were the one that walk away from him. "if you found yourself farther from God who moved? It wasn't God." we make the destions our self. take Joseph sold to ejypt for exaple he went though very hard times, did he thank God cursed him? no he went on with faith...

Why would he do that?

sometimes we ask ourself that, but theres another question that comes after this one it is more important. what are we doing here? and were are we going?

It's basically the same to me when someone asks you to pray for a loved one or ill person. Would your god let someone die because no one prayed for them?

people are appointed to death at a certain time, how that person dies in life no one knows... "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands." [Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9]

I'm curious to see what those of different beliefs feel about this topic. What do you think it is to be blessed and what does it mean to you. For the non-believers, what do you think when someone says this? What does it say about "God" to you?

to me life is a test, to follow God or not there are many things that we cannot explain many that we can. why is it that a tornato one of the most power things on the earth can lundge a straw into solid brick and take an egg and place it on the ground with no scrach on it? people belive what they wait to belive weather it is the true or not, for the most part they want the easy way out... but at the end all people seek something they can neather see nor touch... i belive that a kind and gental person will have many blessing that can and cannot be seen, like a new car vs. peace. some of the most important blessing to me are not things of the world but the closeness of my parents that is more important than anything in the whole of the world, out of everything there the one that are going to stick it out, we all have choices so make them good ones and never regreat anything!!!

welcome to the form
 

1nharmony

A Coco-Nut
I just view the term as one that has come into common use by religious folks that simply means either they are having a good day, or that they are bearing well under thier burdens on that day.

:shout

I wouldn't take it as a personal slight from God if you happen to be having a ****ty day yourself. It's just a matter of circumstances, or how you view your circumstances. God has nothing to do with it.
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
Weeziana said:
I often hear people say how "blessed" they are when something good happens to them. A neighbor of mine says how "blessed" her family is that they are healthy. This frustrates me to no end. So, does that mean that your god blessed you but not the family around the corner with a toddler with terminal brain cancer? Does this mean that your god picks and chooses who he blesses and lets others become ill and other die? Why would he do that? It's basically the same to me when someone asks you to pray for a loved one or ill person. Would your god let someone die because no one prayed for them?
My God would let somebody die when it was his turn to die. Can you imagine the ramifications if we were to all live forever! The biggest problem I see with your point of view is that it allows for no negative experiences in the world. We'd all live forever, never be sick, all be physically attractive and intelligent, always have a good job, never be in debt, never know disappointment or defeat, etc. Where do you draw the line? How much in the way of evil, poverty, sickness and grief do you believe God (if you believed in Him) should allow to exist?I see where you're coming from and appreciate your perspective. However, as a theist, I believe that all good things come from God. I see myself as being blessed in some ways, while you may be blessed in others. If you have a loving relationship with someone, a roof over your head, food to eat, and live in a free country, you're blessed. The family who is struggling with a dying child may be blessed in other ways, as tragic as that experience undoubtedly is.
 

Weeziana

New Member
How much in the way of evil, poverty, sickness and grief do you believe God (if you believed in Him) should allow to exist?I
That's a loaded question. I'll leave that up to someone who does believe.

Also, you said all good things come from God, what about the bad things? That's part of my question here, when someone says they are blessed for whatever reason, what about those that do not have those good things that the other person does have, are they non-blessed? I know we can't all live forever, we all have our time, but is it fair for someone to say they are blessed because they do not have "example: terminal disease" while many others do. If you were in a hospital with a loved one who was dying, but they recover with no explanation, are you blessed? are they blessed? even though hundreds across the globe died from the same thing that very day. This could apply to anything really, and to say everything is a blessing is sort of a cop-out and leaves no room for argument. If your house burned down and your entire family died inside, would that be a blessing? I don't think so.
 

mostly harmless

Endlessly amused
Weeziana said:
This could apply to anything really, and to say everything is a blessing is sort of a cop-out and leaves no room for argument. If your house burned down and your entire family died inside, would that be a blessing? I don't think so.

If you learn something from your house burning down and allow yourself to grow from the experience...then yes it is a blessing...Not every blessing is happy and wonderful, when a person's job here is done, it's done. There is only sorrow for those of us left behind. Sad for us, but still a blessing.
 

mostly harmless

Endlessly amused
Katzpur said:
How much in the way of evil, poverty, sickness and grief do you believe God (if you believed in Him) should allow to exist?



I don't think God allows those things to exsist. I think they exist because WE allow them to.

The real question, I think, is: How much in the way of evil, poverty, sickness and grief do you believe WE should allow to exist?
 

sister M

Member
Weeziana said:
I often hear people say how "blessed" they are when something good happens to them. A neighbor of mine says how "blessed" her family is that they are healthy. This frustrates me to no end. So, does that mean that your god blessed you but not the family around the corner with a toddler with terminal brain cancer? Does this mean that your god picks and chooses who he blesses and lets others become ill and other die? Why would he do that? It's basically the same to me when someone asks you to pray for a loved one or ill person. Would your god let someone die because no one prayed for them?

I'm curious to see what those of different beliefs feel about this topic. What do you think it is to be blessed and what does it mean to you. For the non-believers, what do you think when someone says this? What does it say about "God" to you?
To me it means to be content with what I have. To be content with whatever He wants to bless me with. To be able to feel humility, respect, tolerance, happiness, sadness - these are blessings to be thankful for.
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
Weeziana said:
That's a loaded question. I'll leave that up to someone who does believe.
It's really not. I'm sorry you saw it that way. It's just that I hear non-theists say that God can't exist because there is evil in the world. I don't understand that perspective and I was just trying to get to the bottom of it.

Also, you said all good things come from God, what about the bad things?
Well, since I believe that God created our universe, along with the natural laws that govern it, I would concede that He is ultimately responsible for the "bad things." To me, the real question is, "What makes a 'bad thing'?" And that ties back into the question you saw as loaded. Is it a bad thing when a tsunami kills tens of thousands of people? What about when a freak accident kills one person? Which of these two things is worse? Is it worse for a 95-year old woman, who has had a quality life to suffer terribly for month before her death or for a three-year old to be killed instantly in a car crash? How do we mortals judge what is 'bad'? By the number of people affected? By the degree of suffering? By the age of the person who is made to suffer?

That's part of my question here, when someone says they are blessed for whatever reason, what about those that do not have those good things that the other person does have, are they non-blessed?
And my answer was that we're all blessed in different way. I'm not blessed to be independently wealthy, or drop-dead gorgous or with great musical or artistic talent. So yes, with respect to those things, I am definitely "non-blessed."

I know we can't all live forever, we all have our time, but is it fair for someone to say they are blessed because they do not have "example: terminal disease" while many others do.
Sure, good health is a blessing.

If you were in a hospital with a loved one who was dying, but they recover with no explanation, are you blessed? are they blessed? even though hundreds across the globe died from the same thing that very day.
I'd say I was blessed. I'd say my loved one was blessed. But since death is going to come to all of us at some point, I can't really say that dying at one particular time is any worse than dying at another time. We're also going to all lose loved ones eventually. Sure, it's terrible to see a young life cut short. It's tragic. But the experience of tragedy does not negate the experience of joy -- unless we let it. Rather, the sad times make the happy ones more meaningful.

This could apply to anything really, and to say everything is a blessing is sort of a cop-out and leaves no room for argument. If your house burned down and your entire family died inside, would that be a blessing? I don't think so.
Well, I think it's a cop out, too, which is why I didn't say that, and never would. I don't think that it would be a blessing -- by any stretch of the word -- to lose my entire family in a fire. I hope that's not what you really thought I was getting at.
 

lilithu

The Devil's Advocate
Weeziana said:
I often hear people say how "blessed" they are when something good happens to them. A neighbor of mine says how "blessed" her family is that they are healthy. This frustrates me to no end. So, does that mean that your god blessed you but not the family around the corner with a toddler with terminal brain cancer? Does this mean that your god picks and chooses who he blesses and lets others become ill and other die? Why would he do that? It's basically the same to me when someone asks you to pray for a loved one or ill person. Would your god let someone die because no one prayed for them?

I'm curious to see what those of different beliefs feel about this topic. What do you think it is to be blessed and what does it mean to you. For the non-believers, what do you think when someone says this? What does it say about "God" to you?
Jeez Louise, so a person can't express their feelings of gratitude without you interpreting it as something negative?

I often say that I am blessed. There are non-theists in my church who say they are blessed. It is a recognition that other people are less fortunate. It's a way of focusing on the positive things in one's life and not griping about the negatives. It's equivalent to an atheist saying "I am lucky."

Who knows why some people walk through life as if they're teflon and others are faced with more than their fair share of suffering? What I hear from you is that you are irritated by being reminded that some people view the world differently than you do. Does even the hint of the recognition of God have to turn into an argument?

Someone is expressing their humility, recognizing that they have things that they did not get by their own doing, and being grateful for it. It doesn't matter who or what they are grateful to. That's what saying "I am blessed" means to me.
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
Seraphiel said:
That's called luck and those people should be thankful for that.
Who should they be thankful to? If it's truly luck, them there is no reason to be thankful at all. People who see their good fortune as luck should be happy that they're so lucky. It's only if they see it as more than luck that gratitude comes into play.
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
mostly harmless said:
I don't think God allows those things to exsist. I think they exist because WE allow them to.
I think we are responsible for a tremendous amount of evil, poverty, sickness and grief in the world. I also believe that God could conceivably have made a world where we would not have had to deal with any of these things. But to what end?

The real question, I think, is: How much in the way of evil, poverty, sickness and grief do you believe WE should allow to exist?
I think it's our responsibility to alleviate as much suffering as possible and to accept that there are some things beyond our control.
 

Weeziana

New Member
Jeez Louise, so a person can't express their feelings of gratitude without you interpreting it as something negative?

I often say that I am blessed. There are non-theists in my church who say they are blessed. It is a recognition that other people are less fortunate. It's a way of focusing on the positive things in one's life and not griping about the negatives. It's equivalent to an atheist saying "I am lucky."

Who knows why some people walk through life as if they're teflon and others are face more than their fair share of suffering? What I hear from you is that you are irritated by being reminded that some people view the world differently than you do. Does even the hint of the recognition of God have to turn into an argument?

Someone is expressing their humility, recognizing that they have things that they did not get by their own doing, and being grateful for it. It doesn't matter who or what they are grateful to. That's what saying "I am blessed" means to me.

Does even the hint of the non-existence of God have to turn into an argument? I posted a question, and why I don't agree with the idea of being blessed. Thank you for your answer.
 

Weeziana

New Member
I think we are responsible for a tremendous amount of evil, poverty, sickness and grief in the world. I also believe that God could conceivably have made a world where we would not have had to deal with any of these things. But to what end?

We are responsible, I completely agree with that. I also agree with survival of the fittest. That's how nature works and in reality, that's how the world works. But if I were to say that God is perfect but the world is not, and we are not, then how did someone perfect create such imperfection? That's just not possible. Of course, that's a whole different topic.;)
 

lilithu

The Devil's Advocate
Weeziana said:
Does even the hint of the non-existence of God have to turn into an argument?
I couldn't care less where you stand on the existence of God, only how you respond to the beliefs of others. By your own account your neighbor wasn't trying to proselytize to you, just voicing her own gratitude to a deity that she didn't even name and that still bothered you.
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
Weeziana said:
We are responsible, I completely agree with that. I also agree with survival of the fittest. That's how nature works and in reality, that's how the world works. But if I were to say that God is perfect but the world is not, and we are not, then how did someone perfect create such imperfection? That's just not possible. Of course, that's a whole different topic.;)
I'm not sure it's such a different topic, although I've yet to see it resolved (and it actually has been debated a number of times on this forum). You are assuming that the world is imperfect, but you haven't explained what your criteria for perfection is. That's what I'm trying to get out of you. Why should God have created a world with no sickness, death, poverty, etc.? Or if a little bit of sickness, death and poverty is okay, how much?

You just seem to equate hardship and suffering with an imperfect world, and I don't. I recognize that there is purpose in God having given us trials. That's not to say I like it when somebody I love dies, or when I lose my job or my car breaks down. All I've been trying to say is that it would be impossible for us to recognize anything as a "blessing" if we did not have something with which to compare it. If you've never been sick, how are you to appreciate good health? If you've never been poor, how do you even know when you're wealthy?
 
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