Daily Journal: 8 September

Bless and Do Not Curse

It's a blessing to walk through the highs and the lows of life with others and seek well-being toward each other. It's a blessing to have people in our life who know us, have walked through testing with us and have chosen to remain. To live with understanding and compassion between one another, to always choose a reconciliatory heart over self-righteousness, to look for the best for another, is a gift to ourselves as much as it is to another.

We may at times seek validation when we talk with a trusted friend about the troubles we experience in other relationships, but we have to remember the principle of blessing and cursing.

If we sow injustice we will reap calamity (Proverbs 22:8). We must watch the heart we carry toward each other. Any injustice we carry against another will eventually be recognised.

Romans 12:9-16 (NIV)

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.

Mutually connecting with others from the heart is a human need and brings fulfilment. Living through the trials of life while remaining connected is a learned joy. We don't want to hold back good, we want to let wellness be a pool from within that flows outward. Blessing others comes from a heart that is expansive, able to honour and speak wisely, even through challenges. Cursing others, in other words, criticising and gossiping, comes from a heart that is self-indulgent and insincere.

Deuteronomy 29:19 (NKJV)

and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.

We don't always see things clearly. We can be self-deceiving. We have to seek the Lord about our own conduct first, before we point the finger at others.

Harmony in relationships brings blessings from God.

Psalm 133 (NLT)

How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.

Is your heart right before God concerning the relationships in your life? Is your heart nudging you towards anything that needs to be rectified?

Lord, may we find harmony in our relationships in order that you may pronounce your blessing over us. May we seek the wellness of right relationship with others. May our heart be toward righteousness and justice, and bring us peace.