ENCOURAGEMENT CHANGES EVERYTHING

Encouragement is incredible. Its impact can be profound - nearly miraculous. A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change his life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach his or her potential. As Zig Ziglar says, “You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.” To encourage people is to help them gain courage they might not otherwise possess - courage to face the day, to do what's right, to take risks, to make a difference. And the heart of encouragement is to communicate a person's value. When we help people feel valuable, capable, and motivated, we often get to see their lives change forever. And we some-times get to see them go on to change the world. If you are a parent, you have a responsibility to encourage members of your family. If you are an organizational leader, you can increase the effectiveness of your team dramatically in proportion to the amount of encouragement you give the people you lead. As a friend, you have the privilege of sharing encouraging words that may help someone persevere through a rough time, or strive for greatness. AS A CHRISTIAN, YOU HAVE THE POWER TO REPRESENT JESUS BY LOVING OTHERS AND LIFTING THEM UP WITH AN ENCOURAGING WORD. GOD LOVES EVERYBODY Many Christians tend to be too choosy about who they help and who they encourage. They look for people like themselves. Some people even believe that they should help only other individuals who believe what they believe and think as they do. That's not the way it should be. It's certainly not the way JESUS did it. Years ago I came across a piece about someone who fell into a pit and could not get out - and how others treated that person: *A subjective person came along and said, “I feel for you down there.” *An objective person came along and said, “Well, it's logical that someone would fall down there.” *A Pharisee said, “Only bad people fall into pits.” *A mathematician calculated how the individual fell into the pit. *A news reporter wanted an exclusive story on the person in the pit. *A fundamentalist said, “You deserve your pit.” *A Calvinist said, “If you had been saved, you would never have fallen into that pit.” *An American said, “You were saved and still fell in that pit.” *A Charismatic said, “Just confess that you are not in that pit.” *A realist came along and said, “Now that's a pit.” *A geologist told him to appreciate the rock strata in the pit. *A SARS worker asked if he was paying taxes on this pit. *An inspector asked if he had a permit to dig the pit. *A self-pitying person said, “You haven't seen anything until you have seen my pit.” *An optimist said, “Things could be worse.” *A pessimist said, “Things will get worse.” *JESUS, SEEING THE MAN, REACHED DOWN AND TOOK HIM BY THE HAND AND LIFTED HIM OUT OF THE PIT! Jesus came to die for people. He was and is in the people business. And you and I need to be in the people business too. We should always keep in mind that God loves everybody, and we need to treat others the way Jesus would treat them. We need to encourage them to be who God created them to be. I believe that deep down, everyone wants to become an encourager, and everyone who knows Jesus wants to be more like Jesus - even the most negative person. Why do I say that? Because I believe that we all want to have a positive influence on the lives of others. We want to add value to others, not take it away from them. You can make a difference. You can add value to others. You can represent Jesus well and some-day hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Everyone can become an encourager. You don't have to be rich. You don't have to be a genius. You don't have to have high charisma. And you don't have to have it all together. You just need to care about people and be willing to get started. You don't have to do anything big or spectacular. The little things you do every day have the potential to have a much greater impact than you can imagine. *Give someone a sincere compliment. *Praise someone when he does something right. *Assist someone in need. *Offer someone a shoulder to cry on. *Celebrate with someone who succeeds. *Give someone hope. You can do this. Act now. And keep in mind this quote that I've always loved: “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” [John C Maxwell, contributing author to ‘The Love Revolution’, Joyce Meyer, Faith Words, 2009].