Short and sweet this time, fellow babies! (Okay, okay, not so sweet...)
If someone says "Bless you" or "God bless you" after you sneeze, do you thank them? How about if they say "gesundheit," as I do? (I think it's extremely presumptuous to assume that God will bless someone who's a total stranger to me, simply because I asked Him to do so.)
I've found that whenever I say "gesundheit" -- as I did yesterday to a young woman who was sitting right next to me in the library -- people generally don't say "thank you."
Thanks for your time.
I think you can pray for strangers. God doesn't answer prayers with the condition that you have to personally know who you're praying for. lol....
ReplyDeleteSo, what does gesundheit mean, anyway?
it means good health...its german...
ReplyDeletebut i doubt many know what it means...
eh, i would bless strangers...and i imagine
if god would bless anyone it would be strangers...
smiles
I think is salud! or good health! we allways say when someone make this, I love the picture!
ReplyDeleteMaybe some people dont know what you say and dont understand!
and think like Betsy really God dont care for who you are pray He doesnt ask you : Are you sure? do you know his or her? LOL
I say excuse me when i sneeze around people, but that is about it. When people sneeze, I'll say bless you if i know them, but other than that I keep on walking.
ReplyDeleteI say 'Excuse me', too! :)
Delete"Other than that I keep on walking." Ha! Love that.
DeleteI always say bless you when someone I know sneezes. Once I had someone get snippy when I said bless you. They said something like...who are you to bless me. So I just say it to people I know now. I know one couple who don't think it's right to say it and never respond when I say it to them. But that's their problem ; )
ReplyDeleteI heard that saying bless you comes from the fact that your heart stops beating when you sneeze. Kind of like a blessing that your heart starts beating again??? Bad grammar warning on that last sentence : )
P.S. Love the top photo of Orson!
ReplyDeleteYeah, me too! :)
DeletePerhaps people don't know what it means anymore. I say "God bless you," or just "Bless you." Why wouldn't God listen? I often pray for people I've never met.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I say thank you when people say "bless you" but I usually say "excuse me" right away.
DeleteLove,
Janie
I always say thank you, either way. I mean if someone is wishing me good health it is rude not to say thank you. lol
ReplyDeleteThat's what I think, too. It's rude not to acknowledge it.
DeleteTo Betsy, Brian, Gloria, and Janie: I wrote a smartass post and started a theological discussion! I wasn't necessarily saying that God wouldn't want me blessing strangers. But what if I asked God to bless a stranger, only to find out later that the stranger in question was an axe-murdering, mother-stabbing father-raper who didn't deserve being blessed? I'd feel so silly.
ReplyDeleteFirst person who answers that point seriously has to click on my "donate" button and pay me $10.
Well, since we're to love everyone, and your intentions were pure...you shouldn't feel silly. I don't think God judges your intentions in praying for strangers in the way you're implying. And since you don't know the stranger...you won't feel silly, because you won't know what he's done, right?
Deleteok....now you SHOULD feel silly. ha.
besides, it was just a freakin' sneeze, Silver. ha.
DeleteAnd now you owe me ten dollars! (ducks)
DeleteSeems like you should be paying me for straightening out your theology. lol....
DeleteNice try, doll. Ha. :)
ReplyDeleteShe should pay up.
DeleteOh, don't worry. I paid him! :)
DeleteI have reached a sponsorship deal with a number of commercial backers so that they pay me (a modest but welcome amount in cash or kind) to announce their name plus a short tag-line when somebody sneezes. My current client is the supermarket chain Tesco, so if you were next to me in the library and sneezed I would proclaim "Tesco, where the best costs less"
ReplyDeleteNow that's making politeness pay!
Delete