When Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, it was very interesting to find out what he had been carrying in his pockets. (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm012.html) The items included two pairs of reading glasses, a lens polisher, a pocketknife, a watch fob, a linen handkerchief, and a brown leather wallet containing a five-dollar Confederate note and nine newspaper clippings. Outside of the Confederate note, the newspaper clippings were the most interesting. They consisted of articles that cast the President and his policies in a favorable light.
If you know much about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, you would know that he suffered a great deal of criticism while in office. Most of the South hated him and thought him to be the very embodiment of evil. He wasn't treated much better in the North either. Depending upon the person, he was too radical or not radical enough, his decisions were scrutinized and second-guessed and he was regularly lampooned in cartoons across the country as being some sort of gorilla who didn't know what he was doing. Now do you understand why Lincoln carried those favorable newspaper clippings around with him? Because they were a source of encouragement to him! Trying to lead a fickle and often thankless nation, with congressmen and military personnel who were either incompetent or self-serving, was very draining. Then there were the wounded soldiers whom Lincoln went to see late in the evenings. He felt their pain, the pain of their families, the pain of the nation. For as great a man as he was, Abraham Lincoln desperately needed encouragement!
The fact is that we live in a very negative world. 95% of the news we read and hear is negative - natural disasters, crime, war, political intrigue, looming crises. On a personal level, our conversations at work often revolve around people and situations we don't like. In our marriages, much of our conversation and attention revolve around problems and our spouse's short-comings. Even in the church, there is a great deal of criticism and the pointing out of faults and shortcomings. More often that not our world is a place where 'seldom is heard an encouraging word'.
What would God have us do? Well, while not ignoring injustice or situations that need to be addressed, He would have to encourage and bless others! That's right - to find the positive in a situation, to be quick to praise and thank others, to let them know the good qualities we see in them and the good they are doing.
I love encouraging others. I believe that it is one of my spiritual gifts. You might say that it comes 'supernaturally' to me! If ever there was something that our world desperately needs, it is encouragers. So, decide to be one! It's not all that difficult. Look around. Who can you encourage today? A parent, a spouse, a child, a neighbor, a co-worker, a stranger? Call them, write them, e-mail them, speak to them, send them a card, leave them an encouraging post. Encourage, encourage, encourage!
"Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up." I Thessalonians 5:11
No comments:
Post a Comment