“The blessing is everyone’s birthright, not a reward!” I announced. Some truths are bittersweet; this is one of them.
Years ago I was asked to run a workshop on Creating a Culture of Blessing for the teachers and staff at a Christian school. As we made our way through the concept of blessing and how it restores and empowers us to prosper, I kept hitting up against some fierce mindsets couched in honest questions.
“But, what if the kid is a real troublemaker? Are you saying we should find ways to call out the good things in them?” a primary school teacher asked me.
“And what if they put in no effort and just scrape through on their scores? Are you suggesting we just give them A’s and release them to the workforce?” a high school teacher shouted out from the back of the room.
As a father of three and someone who has worked as an educator and trainer for many years, I understood where these frustrated teachers were coming from: as a teacher, you are employed in the classroom to teach skills and assess learning—not play the role of parent or priest. Or at least that is what the employment contract states.
As the workshop continued, I couldn’t help but also notice the teachers who were totally on board with the concept of blessing. They shared stories on the impact of words, the ability to see the good in others, and the loving adults who shaped their lives with their presence and practices.
As I chatted to the different school staff during the breaks, it became apparent that I wasn’t fighting flesh and blood, but pushing up against pronounced principalities and powers in the hearts of those who just couldn’t see the difference between the blessing as a reward and a birthright. To be honest, I felt compassion for them—so I switched things up.
In the last session of the day I invited the staff to break up into groups of 4 or 5 people of their choice and departments. The teachers gathered in groups of their kind. So did the admin, cleaners, bus drivers and grounds people. I then announced that each group was going to write and speak a blessing over another group in the room. I appointed the groups they would each craft and speak a blessing over and gave them 15 minutes to write a blessing using the 4D Blessing elements of Delight, Design, Destiny and Dominion (which we unpack in the new book*).
The hour that followed as the groups took turns blessing each other was remarkable. There was barely a dry eye in the room. Teachers blessed the cleaners for their care and service to the classrooms. Bus drivers blessed teachers for loving the students—blessing the classroom stories from kids they heard on their buses daily.
The most memorable interactions were with the groups of teachers who had struggled to see the difference between the blessing as a birthright and reward—the very act of both giving and receiving a blessing broke something open in many of them.
You see, the school year hadn’t started yet. Everyone had been on a well-deserved break. There were new staff in the room whom the existing staff had to find kind words for. There were strained relationships and disappointments that staff had to look past as they crafted and spoke the blessings. There were also years of bitterness and poor behaviour from many staff—especially those who struggled to get the concept of blessing—that was overlooked as others spoke divine truth and well-being over them.
Friends, the power of intentional blessing will change your homes, workplaces and communities. The blessing is a demonstration of grace. The blessing is restorative. It exposes the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessings
David
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* Natalie and I are putting many of our learnings around restoring hearts through blessing into a practical guide to praying an effective blessing over others. If you are keen to support its creation and get early copies, check out our crowdfunding page here.
Pic: generated
When teachers bless the kids in class…
