Do you know what it takes to be a blessing?

It is not unusual throughout the course of a day to have several people smile and say, "Have a good day." It is most certainly a nice gesture of friendliness, one that the recipient can only hope is a genuine wish for a pleasant day. I can remember being surprised one day when a store clerk said to me, "Have a blessed day." It felt sincere to me and has made me think several times since that day that all of us have a desire to experience happiness and good days. But as we all know, just wishing that we or someone else will have a good day does not cause it to happen.
Much to my surprise one morning, recently as I was studying to teach my Sunday school class, a verse in Galatians seemed to leap off the page at me. It reads, "Be mindful to be a blessing..." (Gal. 6:10 Amplified version) Wouldn't it be wonderful if our greetings to one another would change to, "Be a blessing today!" That is something we can control.
I wondered if the book of Galatians made any suggestion as to how we can be a blessing to others. It is one thing to have a desire to be a blessing, but quite another to know how to actually do so. I found several suggestions just preceding the challenging verse I read that morning. Here are some of the suggestions: (1) Restore those who have fallen in a spirit of humility; (2) Carry each others' burdens' since this fulfills the law of Christ; (3) Don't be arrogant toward others; (4) Don't live selfishly; (5) Don't become weary in doing good; (6) Look for every opportunity to do good to as many people as you can.
These suggestions are a good place to get started. Most of us already know much more good we could be doing than we are putting into practice. Most of us know we should make calls or visits or send cards to those who are facing difficulties. Most of us know the niceties of being a good neighbor or colleague at work. It is not that we do not know what to do; we need to be reminded to do them, to be that blessing others need.
Several years ago, I challenged a group of people assembled for a prayer meeting at my church to become a "Secret Blesser." I shared with them some of the ways they could bless someone without letting them know who had done so. Some possibilities: (1) Pray for people as you see them walking along the road or as you pass their home; (2) Send some money anonymously to someone you know needs help; (3) Pray for the people in the checkout line at the store; (4) Go to the hospital or nursing home and look around for people who may need a listening ear.
It does not take a lot of creativity to discover how to be a blesser. Start with doing what you would want others to do to you. Hey! That reminds me of another verse of scripture by the master blesser himself: the golden rule! By the way, how about helping me share the new phrase: "Be a blessing today!"

Dr. Alice Cullinan, professor emerita of religion,
Gardner-Webb University, is Spiritual Enrichment/
Christian Education Leader of the Greater Cleveland County
Baptist Association
and the author of
"Time for a Checkup"
(CLC Publications),
"Sorting it Out: Discerning God's Call to Ministry" (Judson Press) and four devotional books.