Encourage
The soul is often referred to as a fire. Sometimes as "flickering" or "blazing" or "almost out" or whatever. Just different ways to describe the level of passion someone is portraying. This "fire of the soul", could also be described as a love tank, or self-esteem level that is maintained in part by compliments, and our perception of other people caring about us.
Encouragement is one source of fuel for that fire. Compliments are included in the category of encouragement, and I believe our perception of how others think about us also translates to encouragement, or discouragement, depending on that said perception.
That said, I've been mulling over encouragement primarily in its form of spoken and written word. What got me started was encouragement from an unexpected source. For a while I didn't think anything of it, until I realized I was still thinking.... of it.
See, if the soul is a fire, and encouragement fuels that fire, encouragement from different sources ends up being different fuels. From close friends it's like gasoline, burning exceptionally fierce, because from a friend, it goes straight to our heart. We know they meant what they said, we know they care about us a lot, and we probably know the reason why they said it. However, despite how fiercely powerful encouragement is from a good friend, familiarity keeps it from lasting long. I'm not saying that in any given situation that encouragement is shallow, only that for many reasons, it will slip away sooner than we may like. Chances are, we are encouraged every time we meet a good friend, which is part of why the friendship exists, only because of that regularity, we will forget some of what's been said.
Encouragement from an unexpected source though, that's more like wood. It burns. Not really all that hotly, because as much as we appreciate the kind words (or whatever the encouragement was), we really don't know that someone to well. But it is fuel, and more importantly, it can last for quite a while, because it sticks in our brains as we puzzle over why we received it. This isn't strictly conscious puzzling, but more of a back-burner awareness of something out of the ordinary that happened to us in our daily life.
I've gained a new appreciation for the power of my words upon people. I've always known that close friends can either set each other soaring, or destroy each other, simply with a few words. Until now though, I've never realized that we not only utilize power with encouragement for our friends, but also wield a hefty punch for people we don't know at all. Encouragement from the unexpected sticks. It doesn't always just bounce off.
This encouragement, it isn't just the spoken word that I'm writing about. It could be a one sentence note. It could be a facebook wall-post, or message. It could even be a letter. The point is that what applies to the spoken word, also applies to the written word, and sometimes even more so.
Finally, my dear friends in Christ, we have another source of encouragement. Not only do we have a common belief with which to affirm and build each other up with, but we have the Word of God. The Bible, while maybe not always as fiercely burning as gasoline, still burns every bit as hot, and for far longer. I think it's kind of like coal. There is no substitute. It is calming, empowering, deeply warm, and doesn't go out for a long, long, time. There is nothing else that satisfies and feeds the fire in our soul as completely or as perfectly.
Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Encouragement is one source of fuel for that fire. Compliments are included in the category of encouragement, and I believe our perception of how others think about us also translates to encouragement, or discouragement, depending on that said perception.
That said, I've been mulling over encouragement primarily in its form of spoken and written word. What got me started was encouragement from an unexpected source. For a while I didn't think anything of it, until I realized I was still thinking.... of it.
See, if the soul is a fire, and encouragement fuels that fire, encouragement from different sources ends up being different fuels. From close friends it's like gasoline, burning exceptionally fierce, because from a friend, it goes straight to our heart. We know they meant what they said, we know they care about us a lot, and we probably know the reason why they said it. However, despite how fiercely powerful encouragement is from a good friend, familiarity keeps it from lasting long. I'm not saying that in any given situation that encouragement is shallow, only that for many reasons, it will slip away sooner than we may like. Chances are, we are encouraged every time we meet a good friend, which is part of why the friendship exists, only because of that regularity, we will forget some of what's been said.
Encouragement from an unexpected source though, that's more like wood. It burns. Not really all that hotly, because as much as we appreciate the kind words (or whatever the encouragement was), we really don't know that someone to well. But it is fuel, and more importantly, it can last for quite a while, because it sticks in our brains as we puzzle over why we received it. This isn't strictly conscious puzzling, but more of a back-burner awareness of something out of the ordinary that happened to us in our daily life.
I've gained a new appreciation for the power of my words upon people. I've always known that close friends can either set each other soaring, or destroy each other, simply with a few words. Until now though, I've never realized that we not only utilize power with encouragement for our friends, but also wield a hefty punch for people we don't know at all. Encouragement from the unexpected sticks. It doesn't always just bounce off.
This encouragement, it isn't just the spoken word that I'm writing about. It could be a one sentence note. It could be a facebook wall-post, or message. It could even be a letter. The point is that what applies to the spoken word, also applies to the written word, and sometimes even more so.
Finally, my dear friends in Christ, we have another source of encouragement. Not only do we have a common belief with which to affirm and build each other up with, but we have the Word of God. The Bible, while maybe not always as fiercely burning as gasoline, still burns every bit as hot, and for far longer. I think it's kind of like coal. There is no substitute. It is calming, empowering, deeply warm, and doesn't go out for a long, long, time. There is nothing else that satisfies and feeds the fire in our soul as completely or as perfectly.
Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
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