"Thanks"

Why are thanks so hard to give,

And we begrudge the gift,

That would bring such encouragement,

And then their spirits lift.

Is it because of jealousy,

Of what the other earned,

Have we forgotten lessons,

That long ago we learned,

That everything we give to them,

Comes back to bless us, too,

God loves a cheerful giver,

And it is always true.

Stingy with our compliments,

Cause they might swell with pride,

But that is not our job to say,

And in you I’ll confide,

If we catch them doing what is right,

And let them know out loud,

It shows appreciation,

And not flow with the crowd,

Who more than not are finding fault,

And have this attitude to boot,

For them to win the rest must lose,

And underneath the root,

Of selfishness and ego,

To which we ought to die,

So then we can build others up,

And that’s the truth, no lie.

Show to me a stingy man,

And I’ll guarantee that grace,

Is not a thing he understands,

You can see It on his face.

We freely got, so freely give,

And joyfully and glad,

And we’ll remember when we did,

As best times we ever had.

“And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds…” (Hebrews 10:24, NAS)

Trying to encourage, stimulate or spur one another on to love and good deeds is not as complicated as we may think. Speaking words that build or edify people costs nothing and simply is a matter of paying attention and being willing to help. If we become fountains of positive encouragement we will be exceptional in our impact on others and they will more likely want to know why. Then we can point them to Jesus. Followers of Jesus should be the most positive people on the planet.

Lord, help us encourage one another, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.