I was in dialysis today and a technician walked by and sneezed. It brought up one of my "reflections" let's say, about a common response heard when a person sneezes..... "..bless you!". Or as some may be brave enough to say "God bless you". For some reason this has stuck in my craw through the years because it takes a lot for granted.
Some stories say that it came from the belief that when a person sneezes their heart stops for a second. A better explanation is the use of the term "Gezundheit" - read an interesting story about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesundheit.
but let's get back to ...."bless you". The thing that bothers me, is that even though it may have been at one time a means to wish a person better health, think about what it is saying. A person sneezes and you hear a chorus of "bless you!" , or "Oh, my, bless you". I didn't realize we were so powerful! A person sneezes and by our very words we command God to bless that person! We don't ask God to bless them, we tell Him. And just to show how powerful we are and God isn't, often we don't even use His name. We just give out our OWN blessings to person by saying "bless you". When a Christian says that to a non-Christian what do they think about what we really believe about God? That a mere Christian can command God to bless a person they choose?
Now, I know most don't think about that when they utter those automatic phrases, just like we don't think about it when we ask a person "how are you doing today". It has just become an automatic phrase whose meaning or desire for a real answer has been lost a long time ago.
So, now that you've thought about this, the next time you're in the office and a person sneezes and you DON'T say "bless you", watch what happens. It becomes very quiet.
Now, I've tried to think of something more appropriate, but really haven't come up with anything good. "Whew, sounds like you're getting a cold" really doesn't do it. "bless you" is so much easier to say and get it over in a second without making an issue.
Any suggestions?
3 comments:
That's interesting that you brought this topic up. I've thought about this quite a bit as well. I agree that people often don't think about what they say before they say it. The phrase "God bless you" is used almost flippantly sometimes.
However, I do not have a problem with people using that phrase as long as they understand what they are saying.
When people tell God to bless another person, I don't take it to mean that they are demanding God to do something. Rather, I take it as a plea for God to do His will.
For example, if we page through the Psalms we see that David continually "commanded" things of God..."Hear my prayer, O Lord, when I cry"..."Deliver me from my enemies, O God, Defend me from those who rise up against me"..."Create in me a clean heart, O God" (Ps 102:1; 59:1; 51:1).
We wouldn't expect David to say "Will you hear my prayer? Will you deliver me? Will you create in me?" While it wouldn't be wrong of him to ask in that way, he doesn't have to, because we understand that He is appealing to God. When he says "God, Do ____" We understand that he is not presuming anything about God or being arrogant or commanding, he is simply pleading for God to work.
In the same way, unless I have reason otherwise to believe that they are using the phrase flippantly, if someone says "God, bless you" I take them to mean "May God bless you".
How about: "Thanks for the shower!"
Jacob, thanks for the response. That really changed my attitude towards the phrase. I agree that when/if we say "bless you" we think about what we're saying.
geekbert: "Thanks for the shower" is a .... well suggestion... funny!
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