Christians should speak words of blessing, author insists

CORPUS CHRISTI – Christians should bless people around them—particularly children and young people, said John Trent, author of The Blessing Challenge and founder and president of Strong Families.

Christians should speak words of blessing–particularly to children and young people, John Trent, author of The Blessing Challenge and founder and president of Strong Families, told the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting. (PHOTO/Eric Guel/BGCT Newsroom)

Words can bring either life or death to an individual—a blessing or a curse, Trent told the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Trent referenced Deuteronomy 30:19, where God provides the Hebrews with a choice either to follow him or to disobey his commandments. The choice, according to Scripture, was between life and death, between a blessing and a curse, he said.

The Hebrew definition of life in this passage means a "movement toward someone or something," while death means a "step away into isolation," Trent explained. Likewise, the blessing means "to add a coin to a scale," while curse means "to dam up a stream."

"When you choose to bless someone, you are choosing to add value to their life," Trent said. "When you curse someone, you dam up the living water in someone's life."

Looking to Jesus as the great example, Trent said Christ refused to keep living water away from someone and instead, in the case of the Samaritan woman at the well, poured living water into her life.

To engage in a culture of blessing, Trent suggested several steps.

First, begin a blessing with an appropriate, meaningful touch. In Scripture, the one giving the blessing embraces the other.

After meaningful and appropriate physical contact, an individual's blood pressure is lowered and hemoglobin goes up, Trent reported. Even babies born prematurely who have continuous, appropriate touch gain weight 47 percent faster than children who are not touched, he noted.

"Physiologically, even before you say a word, an appropriate touch blesses a person," he said.

Second, Christians should offer praise through a spoken word.

"There are so many of us that grew up and maybe we knew we were loved, but we never heard it," Trent said.

Third, when the words of praise are given, they need to be attached with high value. False or empty praise does not convey the blessing; instead it needs to be heartfelt and personal.

Trent suggested a fourth aspect— the need to picture specific future for the person when the blessing is conveyed.

"It is with our words, spoken and verbalized, that attach high value when an individual begins to realize that they have special futures and no matter what, you are going to give that blessing to them," Trent said.

Finally, when the blessing is given, Christians need to maintain a genuine commitment to the individual. It doesn't work to give a blessing and then leave, he said. A commitment to nurturing and continuing the blessing is needed to make a lasting impact.