I used to think I have the spiritual gift of encouragement. I was surprised this didn't rank as one of my highest the last time I took a gifts analysis test at my church (high, just not in the top 5). And now after last night I'm not sure I have it at all!
In our small group study last night we watched a speaker on video explain the Biblical meaning of encouragement. He said the original Hebrew word in the verse "encourage one another" is actually defined more closely as "exhort" or "teach." It's not that I don't do this, but I sure think it's tricky figuring out how to do this well! This entire lesson on encouragement was so different than I expected. I honestly felt confused as I heard intense discussion on the importance of the body of Christ holding each other accountable. "If not you, who" was referred to as the correct approach for ANYONE you observe to be in sin. I just don't know if I agree with that. There are certain people in other's lives that are better to tackle these issues with them than me! I realize the biggest factor of concern for me is fear of another's reaction when I step up to the plate and approach their weakness. But I think a certain level of fear may be healthy to keep me in check from intruding on other people's business!
Does abusing our physical health - our bodies, God's temples - count as sin? This is a difficult conversation with other Christ followers. But of course as I watched this video last night I wondered how this all applied to my ability to help others with certain health issues. I don't usually offer help, out of fear of negative reaction or producing conflict in our relationship. I had the guts to bring up this topic to my small group and was thankful to have Ben's vocal support as we tried to explain this complicated issue. They asked me what the response has been in the past. They said they would want to know my helpful ideas. They asked me to start giving them some, genuinely interested, and I just laughed. Ben said "let's see, do you have all night?" The truth is the response has been positive 9 times out of 10. But that doesn't seem to matter to my future considerations. 1 of 10 relationships distressed is a little hard for me to handle.
On another note, I am happy to announce I currently have only 55 messages in my inbox, only 4 unread, and I have created some email filters that are working great! Don't worry, if you are reading this blog your email is not filtered. :)
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1 comment:
I think in the biblical sense, encouragement should be to direct someone to get closer in their relationship with God. When this relationship improves, most things in a person's life fall in line. I heard a speaker in Texas last weekend that spoke about this: he said that we should not be concerned with providing earthly answers to people and their problems, but direct them to Jesus and teach them to how to get closer to Him. I really appreciated this message because I usually think that I have to figure out advice for everyone before I can bring up
God. It was a relief to find out that that isn't necessarly my job! I think sometimes "earthly advice" is necessary, but he taught that we should first direct them to our Maker.
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