Most of the time, whether we realize it or not, we are either encouraging or discouraging. We either have a positive or a negative impact on others. So, we need to make it a habit to look for ways to lift the spirits of people we are around and whom we meet. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love “does not seek its own.” Love encourages rather than discourages.
Edgar Guest wrote:
I watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell,
They swung a beam, and the side wall fell.
I asked a foreman, “Are these men skilled,
As the men you’d hire if you had to build?”
He gave a laugh and said: “No, indeed!
Just common labor is all you need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do.”
And I thought to myself as I went my way,
Which of the roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds to a well-made plan,
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?
Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 12:9-13 and how it relates to being an encourager. Turn over to Romans 14:19-21 and listen to Paul’s words relative to encouragement. This same word translated “building up” in 14:19 (NASV) is translated “edification” in 15:2. Look at where this same word – the noun and its verb – are used:
1 Corinthians 8:1, 10; 14:3-5, 12, 17, 26
2 Corinthians 5:1; 10:8; 12:19; 13:10
Ephesians 2:21; 4:12, 16, 29
1 Thessalonians 5:11
One verse I like to use is Acts 20:32: “I commend you totGod and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified.” The word of God builds us up. We need to use the word of God to build up others.
HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE OTHERS?
There are actually a thousand small ways we can encourage others every day.
Give a simple smile.
Say a kind word.
The tone of voice we use is so important.
We also encourage by acts of love and kindness.
Finally, we can encourage others just by being good listeners.
To love like Jesus loved, let’s work on putting the heart into others around us through kind and thoughtful words and works.
Paul Holland
