It has become customary that when we hear a sneeze (or two or three …) to automatically say “God bless you”. How did that come about?  Do we truly mean it or say it because it has become what we do?  Habit?

The history of the sneeze blessing goes way back before my time for sure!  It was thought that a sneeze could spread infectious diseases such as the bubonic plague.  It is also stated that Pope Gregory the First bestowed such a blessing during a bubonic plague outbreak.  Going back further the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder pondered the same (am I among great minds?? yikes!) But good ol’ Pliny didn’t know how it started either so it must have been around long before his time (77BC).  The last common theory I will mention is that in ancient times it was thought that evil spirits could enter the body or momentarily expel the soul from the body (glad that’s a misnomer because I sneeze a lot some days!) or even stop the heart,  So a “God bless you” became a prayer to protect the sneezer and those close by.

All that brings me to this point … when we say “God bless you” it should mean something to us and to the person you say it to.  To say it should be meaningful.  Do we want God to bless someone who reviles Him?  Do we know who we are asking God to bless?  What would be a good response to the sneezer if we didn’t say “God bless you”?  Is it considered poor manners to let a sneeze go unanswered?  If a “blessing” is not forthcoming it sometimes leads to an awkward silence.

The question remains unanswered!  But it leads me to another “blessing”.  Someone recently asked a serious question to a group that I was a part of … “How can we bless God? God is God, He already has everything so how can we bless Him”.  There were several responses and I take this away … in the past, I have asked the same question but a couple things come to mind (well, maybe more than a couple!).  

1)  The Bible tells us to bless Him! The first scripture (among many) that comes to mind is “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name” Psalm 103:1.

2)  We can bless Him by offering singing, thanksgiving, praise, and worship. (Psalm 100)

3)  We can bless Him by living a godly life (“Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives.” Psalm 96:9 LB)

4)  We can bless Him by willingly obeying Him (“If you love me you will obey me (John 14:15)

  5)  The Psalmist danced, clapped, and lifted his hands to the Lord in exuberant worship … why are we embarrassed to do the same?  Dance before the Lord in worship!

6)  Bless Him by sharing with others what the Lord has done for you.

7)  Be a part of the heavenly hosts who worship Him who sits on the Throne, “they worshiped without ceasing day and night, singing, ‘Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)

8)  Here are just a few of the admonitions in the Psalms … exalt the Lord, praise Him for He is great and holy, God the great forgiver, enter His gates with singing & thanksgiving, “I will bless and praise the Lord with my whole heart”, let everything (and everybody!) PRAISE THE LORD!  That blesses Him!

We as Christ’s followers have fallen into the trap of always asking God to bless us, and He does, but often we fail in blessing Him.  He is worthy to be blessed. He is blessed by our offering our blessings to Him.  He lives in our praises so BLESS HIM!

Connie Haus