We all grew up with the adage of “Be careful what you wish for.” Recently, I saw a book titled “Be careful what you pray for.” If you allow me, I would like to add just one more: Be careful what you BLESS for.
I spoke with a woman a few days ago who had quite a “blessed” story to tell: Driving home from work, anxious to see her children, the woman was pulled over for speeding. While the police man walked up to her car, she quickly said a prayer asking for help from her patron saint. Sure enough, it “worked” and the woman was let off promptly with a warning. In conversation with her after the fact, she was insistent that indeed it was divine intervention that helped her in that moment, and that she, for a least that moment, was “blessed.”
Could this incident have been the rescue of a patron saint answering the prayer of a devout follower? Possibly. Could it also have been the one of ten times a police officer pulls over a car without writing a ticket? Also possible. My interest is not which of the two possibilities occurred, but rather, the implications of how the event is spoken about: Whether or not a divine intervention was present in this woman’s story is not nearly as important as her insisting that it was. For her, understanding the situation through religious meaning reinforced her belief and confidence in a God active in her life. Innocently enough, many of us—myself included—may encourage such a story to help the individual in their spiritual life. After all, none of us would have proof that the incident was merely chance.
But such a claim, based on this woman’s subjective intuition, has significant implications. By talking about it as “blessed” event, she has created her own definition and reality of what it means to be blessed. Trying to understand this description further, I asked why she felt that way. She explained, “Well for one thing, I am not going to be late for my children. I do not have to pay a fine or raise my insurance premiums…” At least one aspect of her description gave a financial value to being “blessed.” I do not think she dwelled on the financial aspect, or even prayed in that moment with dollars signs going through her head, but indeed her religious life did—in her own estimation—have financial implications. The connection of religion, “blessing” and wealth is hardly unique…
In one of the more controversial books written about the topic, Capitalism and the Protestant Work Ethic, author Max Weber explores the implications (during early colonial living) of the religious elect and the growth of capitalism. It was believed in that time (and for some traditions, still today) that those entering Heaven—the elect—have already been determined. It was not clear precisely who fell into this category, but it was thought those within it did experience “divine favor,” or as we may label it, “blessings.”
Weber observed that those more financially successful were viewed as more likely to be amongst the elect. With this connection, the goal of becoming amongst the elect and gaining wealth quickly blurred and supported each other. Hence, those with money were likely to save it (maintaining a status seemingly more elect) and develop “capital” while those on the poorer end would work that much harder—the protestant work ethic—to advance their position. This way of thinking, Weber argues, helps explain why capitalism grew so quickly in the United States.
Weber’s perspective has been challenged with valid counter arguments, but it must be said that his point-of-view presents an interesting concept. What is considered a blessing appears based in subjective criteria. Though the Bible, in fact, suggests that those with wealth will have a more difficult entering Heaven, capital was seen subjectively as evidence of being blessed and elect.
Returning to the woman and the speeding ticket, I am curious as to what made her understand the experience as a “blessing” and not mere chance. While I wanted to encourage her interpretation to develop her spiritual growth, the historical evidence through Weber’s writing suggests such support to be dangerously expansive.
I do not think people will interpret who goes to Heaven based on successful avoidance of speeding tickets, but there does seem to be a useful (and abuse-full) liberty involved with interpreting what life experiences fall under a category of blessing.
Particularly in an era where religion has been utilized for political strategy and social divisions, I feel warranted in asking for a revision of what we consider a “blessing.”
