Nobody I've met to date has been over-encouraged. I've never encouraged someone only to have them respond with "Hey - you know what? I've had way too many good things said about me. I'm at my max. Lay off a little."
On the other hand, most of us probably feel like we could use an encouraging word. I even keep an encouragement file. Every time someone sends me an encouraging note, I drag it into that file on my desktop. Many of you do the same thing I'm sure.
Sometimes, though, I wonder whether we misuse encouragement.
Let me ask a hard question: when someone encourage you, do you file it away as affirmation, or do you use it as encouragement?
What I mean by that is what the word literally says - encouragement is designed to give you courage. Are you encouraged to do bolder, greater, more ambitious things because of the words that came your way? I'm pretty sure that what the Kingdom of God needs is more risk takers, more people to boldly push out frontiers, try new things, experiment and explore.
If you're not advancing the Kingdom, then you're either managing it (adding no new value), justify your inaction (there are lots of reasons not to be bold) or blaming others (if they wouldn't be so....). Managing has a season, but justifying why you aren't doing anything of significance or blaming others for it really don't make for a compelling story. It's way too easy to end up spending most of our time justifying, blaming or managing yesterday's fading success. And meanwhile, nothing of significance gets done. Fear and the power of inertia gobble up our drive.
So here's a little thing that could make a difference. When someone encourages you (and they will, if not today, then tomorrow), use it to give you courage. It's not just affirmation. It's directed, by definition, to make you do things you wouldn't have done but for the encouragement. Be bold. Do something!
You'll have to push past the fear that always stands between the status quo and progress. But then that's the dynamic that fuels every story worth reading and every major act of progress in human history. Someone pushed past their fear and moved forward.
Today, be encouraged. For real.
I have to admit that when someone 'encourages' me, I write it off as insincere. This is not because I believe everyone in insincere, I just can't believe anything good about myself.
Therefore, their encouragement does nothing to give me courage...
I badly need to work on this!
Posted by: Peter P | June 03, 2009 at 01:47 AM
POW! Right between the eyes! Carey, you have an uncanny sense of timing. Just when it seems that I am deep in thought about an issue that confronts me you fly one out and it is one in the same. Scary!
Peace
AL
Posted by: Allen Forget | June 03, 2009 at 04:25 PM