Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Do you remember your kindergarten and elementary school days when you would proudly bring home a stick people drawing or a 100 on one of your test papers and someone would tell you that you did good and that they were proud of you? I’m sure most of you can answer in the affirmative, but sadly, one or two of you never experienced that. I suppose many who are in the latter group will say that it never affected them one bit and that they survived and did just fine without it. Nevertheless, and although I am not a psychologist, I suspect that God has made us all in such a way that we all need a word of approval, a pat on the back, or just to hear someone tell us that they love us, appreciate us, and are proud of us, every once in a while.
My heart aches a little bit when I hear of people who never received any affection or words of support and encouragement as children. To make things worse, many in this group, even today as adults, are still missing out on these things, whether at home, school, work, or even in church. Parents who never take the time to acknowledge and congratulate their children when they do well don’t realize the harm they are inflicting on them. To top it all off, many kids not only lack hearing these words of appreciation and encouragement, they are criticized, scolded, and told constantly that they are worthless and will never amount to anything. It is understandable that children receive this type of treatment from ungodly parents; what is hard to accept is that it often happens in the homes of many who profess to be Christians. They either don’t know or don’t care that the Bible gives us these instructions: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath : but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4 KJV)
My guess is that most of us have benefited greatly by words of appreciation and encouragement in our lifetime. Because we have, we know the value of it, and God’s Spirit has helped us tell others that we love and appreciate them. If you haven’t done it in a while, I bet there are people in your life right now that surely need to hear such words. You know who they are. Jump on the chance right now; don’t wait any longer. Personally speaking, I love to tell people “You did good!” What is even better is that, if we truly love others and touch them in a positive way in this life, one day in the next life, we will hear the One we mainly do it for, tell us “You did Good!” Now, that, is something to look forward to.
Memory verse for the week: (Proverbs 27:2) “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.”
