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Christian Twitter: can we phase out “feeling blessed”? As a grammarian, I first have to talk about the use of passive voice. Ex: I am feeling blessed b/c I have power and heat right now.
This is troublesome language, b/c it doesn’t directly point at the source of blessing. /1
This is troublesome language, b/c it doesn’t directly point at the source of blessing. /1
I’ve always had a problem tbh with this, esp in the moments where I was crying out to God and did not feel one bit of blessing. We call those times “dark nights of the soul.” When everything goes blank and dark, and you’re searching for the smallest of signs that He hears you.
When we say, “I’ve been blessed...” I don’t disagree that we feel that. But the unspoken space to those else is where I’m talking about. In passive voice, who is doing the blessing? Well, God or whoever else you’re vaguely attributing it to. /3
But when you’re going through a DNOTS or circumstances that don’t feel blessed, it’s easy to feel like God is blessing that person but not you. Then we start the painful back inventory of what we could have done to deserve a lack of blessing. Back down the legalistic spiral we go
Is it a blessing? Perhaps. Or maybe just privilege. Either way, maybe it’s not the best use of language to encourage others, because human beings desire connection. Talking about your blessing in the midst of others’ pain isn’t encouraging or helpful - it’s defeating.
This isn’t to say that we can’t talk about the good things going on in our lives. But “blessed” is troublesome language b/c it implies that one is more deserving than the other, and human life (and the U.S.) just isn’t set up that way. Some people have more, some have much less.
Maybe fortunate? Because that implies more happenstance rather than God plucking you out and bestowing blessing upon you rather than your neighbor, who is struggling physically, financially, or emotionally. Just something to be mindful of in conversation. And I’m also guilty.
