Jump Start # 1376

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”

  I write this Jump Start from a hotel room in Alabama. I have been in a lectureship with three good friends at a congregation I have never been to before. It is always a bit scary going to a new place. In this lectureship I have been the only Yankee speaking. But something remarkable happened. It always does. It never fails. These wonderful people, who didn’t know me, took me in, shared their hearts, opened their ears and just made this one of the best weeks for me. It has been a mountain climbing experience spiritually.

In our verse today, Paul was expressing his experience with the Philippians. He had been received warmly. It was a delightful, encouraging and heartfelt experience. Paul was expressing his emotions two ways.

First, he thanked God. I do the same. Had it not been for God there would not have been an intersection with these people. God was to be thanked, not just for crossing lives, but for changing lives. God saved. God forgave. God made them better. Names were being written in the book of life. Great things were happening. Paul was thankful.

Second, Paul told the Philippians about it. This is where we can fumble the ball. Sometimes we fail to express our thankfulness to those who have been so kind to us. We may pray to God, and we should, but we may never let others know. We ought to. Encouragement is like blowing air into the soul. Even good folks get weary now and then. Even the best among us sometimes wonder if we are doing any good. A pat on the back, a shout out from the elders, a card in the mail, a gift, a hug are all the wonderful ways that we can let others know that they touched our lives and we are the better because of it.

This passage also reveals the two sides of encouragement.

First, there is the receiving side. We need to be able to appreciate the goodness of others. Some want to be the Lone Rangers in life. That’s not good. We need one another. It was God who declared that it was not good for man to be alone. We are a communal type of people. We need to be around others. Being a preacher and before people, I get a lot of flowery introductions and compliments. Sometimes it can be a bit much. Too much syrup isn’t good. But pancakes without any syrup isn’t good either. Don’t toot your own horn, but also, if someone has benefited from something you have done, let them compliment you. Let them say their “Thank you” to you. Don’t deflate their compliments. Be humble and give glory to God.

Second, there is the giving side of encouragement. That is equally important. We must learn to recognize the good that others are doing. One guy can’t do it all. He may think he can, but he can’t. He ought to recognize that the church is a team of wonderful helpers. Everyone does their own part. Everyone chips in. When that happens, good things will be praised. Folks will get discouraged when time after time they do things and no one even says thank you. The work isn’t done for the praise. The Lord wondered where were the nine were after He healed ten lepers. One returned to thank. One returned to bless Jesus. The others never said anything. Don’t be like those nine. Appreciate the hard work others are doing. Let them know that you know and that you appreciate it so much.

Mark Twain said he could go a whole month on one good compliment. There is a lot of truth to that.

Is there someone today that you can get a pat on the back? Is there someone that you can say, “Thank you, for what you do.” It may be someone at home. We tend to overlook those the most. It may be someone who is simply doing their job, but they’ve put their heart into it and are doing the best that they can. Letting them know that you appreciate can just make their day.

My thanks to the wonderful brethren in Alabama who encouraged me much more than I encouraged them.

Thank you,

Roger