I have a confession to make. I really dislike motivational posters. I know that lots of you will have found some of them helpful, and I am sure that there is a lot of wisdom on them, but there’s something about them that makes me shrink away from them.

Perhaps it’s the twee nature of some of them: “The only way to guarantee failure is never to try.”

Sometimes it’s the fact that they are blatantly untrue: “You can do anything if you put your mind to it.” (Can I really fly unaided if I think about it hard enough?)

Some of them could be heaping guilt on those who are struggling: “Excuses are for the weak!”

And some of them, (begrudgingly) are helpful@: “Stop being a critic. Start being a creator.”

And there’s the thing. While I will find some of these unhelpful, others will find them inspirational. They will be exactly what that person needs to receive at that time. So I am going to offer you a motivational poster of my own:

You see I have found that often when I have blessed other people (knowingly or unknowingly) the blessing has grown. It has grown by expressions of gratitude (this morning I was blessed by someone saying I had blessed them several years ago in something I had done as part of my job – that made me feel good too). It has grown as those who are blessed have shared that they felt blessed. It has grown as they are inspired to bless others. It has grown when I am encouraged to be more of a blessing because I can see the positive difference it has made to others.

And for any of you that want a Biblical mandate for this, how about the way that Abram and his descendants were blessed and through them the whole world would be blessed? (Genesis 12:1-3)

Don’t keep your blessings to yourself. Share them and watch them grow!

Be blessed, be a blessing