Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
I Thessalonians 5:11
Continuing our discussion for this week on the word “Build,” we have discussed what it means to build and how we build things. We have reflected on the need to “build yourself” and today we will reflect on the need to build others. The best way to build others is with encouragement. This is a subject near and dear to my heart, I’ve written a lot about it. In a noisy room, only the loudest voice will be heard. In a world that seems to be drowning in negativity and judgment, the voice of encouragement is needed today more than ever.
Encouragement changes lives. People need to hear voices of optimism and affirmation. They need positive feedback, and sometimes even gentle correction, which can be given in the form of constructive criticism, rather than destructive comments. Encouragement is something we all need, something we can all give, and something that hardly any of us get enough of. Encouragement changes the lives of those who receive it. Encouragement is validating and empowering, it helps one have more purpose and focus, it allows one to feel appreciated, and is often a catalyst in providing direction and inspiration. And, it feels good to receive encouragement.
The life of the encourager is also positively impacted. Simply put, it also feels good to help others feel good. It brings one joy when he or she knows that they have brought joy to someone else. There are so many negative voices in the world that if you are trying to make new friends, being a voice of encouragement is a great tool in that quest. Encouragers stand out. And encouragers are drawn to each other.
Encouragement is impactful on both the one receiving encouragement and the one offering it. The words we use when speaking to others, about others, and in the company of others, matter. For anyone in a leadership position—that includes parents, bosses, anyone leading a ministry, or even someone who stands up to contribute to a discussion (they are the leader in the room for that moment) has the ability to affect the “temperature” of the room. Words matter. Children who grow up with a positive outlook most likely had parents with a positive outlook. Bosses who foster an environment of encouragement most likely have a positive work environment, rather than a toxic one. In Ephesians 4:29, St. Paul writes, Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
Those who are strong must look out for the ones who are struggling. In Romans 15:1-2, we read, We who are strong out to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him. In this case, we are not talking about classes of people who are stuck in a permanent cycle of strength or weakness. Everyone, no matter how strong they are, will have moments of weakness, and sometimes in those moments, they will even fail. This is where encouragement is especially needed, to get right back to work, to repent, recover, and be renewed. We have already reflected on Jude 1:20-21. Continuing on in this brief Epistle, we read And convince some who doubt; save some, by snatching them out of the fire. (Jude 1:22-23) Not only do we have to encourage people to do what is good. Sometimes we have to provide encouragement to counteract doubt, and gently help people to correct course when they get off the path.
Proverbs 22:6 says Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Discipline, guidance, and instruction in our families is expected of believers in order to build up the next generation. Our families should be considered our “first church.” Encouragement begins in the home. So does faith. We must work in our own homes and in our own families to make sure that those who live under our roof are rooted in the faith and also feel encouraged and lifted up. Specifically, regarding encouragement in the faith, we know that in a crowd of voices, the loudest one wins. If one only receives spiritual encouragement on Sundays, the voice of the priest, or the church community, and even the voice of God in the Scriptures will be lost amidst the voices of media, advertising, political discourse and other distractions. It is critical that one hears the encouraging voice of God through prayer and Scripture reading in the home, and parents are a key factor in making sure that happens. Even in a home where there are no children to raise, everyone needs to be in prayer and reading Scripture and not just leave the voice of God reserved only for Sundays.
Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for He is gracious, and a song of praise is seemly. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars, He gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the downtrodden, He casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving! Psalm 147:1-7
Questions to ponder: What or who encourages you most in life? What or who encourages you most in your faith?
