blessed them . And God said to them , ‘ Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it , and have dominion .’”
God blessed Adam and Eve and then released them to be fruitful , multiply , and rule . For most of my life , I believed the opposite . I assumed that if I performed well ( bore fruit ), worked hard ( multiplied ), and succeeded ( ruled ), then I would be blessed . But Genesis 1:28 radically upends the order of events . With God , the blessing is not the reward for productivity — it ’ s the power for it .
Blessing is different than prayer and more than encouragement . It ’ s a positive vision , spoken in faith , in accord with God ’ s Word that helps people discover their deepest identity . Dallas Willard defined blessing as “ the projection of good into the life of another . It isn ’ t just words . It ’ s the actual putting forth of your will for the good of another person .” Blessed people flourish by a power that transcends human talent or hard work . They have a mystical grace at work in their hearts that makes them effective and joyful . People who know they are blessed aren ’ t struggling to prove their worth — they ’ re confident of their value and sure they can make a difference in the world . That ’ s why blessed people bless people .
Why Blessed People Are More Fruitful
Researchers A . M . Isen and P . F . Levine conducted a famous study in 1972 that observed the potential altruism of people who have just stepped out of a phone booth ( an ancient clear box used for making phone calls for a fee ). On the sidewalk , a seemingly random passerby would drop some papers just as the person stepped out of the phone booth . The question of the study was simple — how many people , after making a phone call , would stoop down and help the poor lady pick up her fumbled papers ? The researchers were surprised to discover that only a dismal 4 percent of people helped . But the researchers noticed something that occurred in nearly 100 percent of those studied : they reached into the coin return to check for a possible random coin left behind . So the researchers amended the experiment . They hid a dime in the coin return so that everyone studied found it right before exiting the phone booth .
“ With God , the blessing is not the reward for productivity – it ’ s the power for it .”
What researchers observed was astounding : 87 percent of those who had found the surprise dime stooped down to help the lady with the jumbled papers . People were twenty-two times more likely to help someone else if they had found a dime ! If people are twenty-two times nicer when they find ten cents in a phone booth , what manner of radical love might fill their hearts if they discovered themselves blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ ?
When we threaten , shame , or bribe people into being productive , they might try harder momentarily , but their hearts will become filled with fear . Anxious people are less
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