nag or brag, pokes or strokes…

do you appreciate people’s efforts?

1 thessalonians 1.2-3 (gnt), we always thank GOD for you how you put your faith into practice and how your love made you work so hard.  notice it says, “work so hard” – their effort. 

don’t take people’s efforts for granted, regardless of the results.  don’t take their efforts for granted.  those of you who have preschoolers at home – do you ever have “little helpers” around the house?  maybe when they are helping clean up the house they get the windex on the wood and the wood polish on the windows.  they vacuum the wrong things – the drapes.  they don’t always get it right.  but you appreciate the fact that they’re making the effort. 

too often we think things have to be perfect in order to be appreciated.  too often we nag instead of brag.  we give pokes instead of strokes.  if you wait until things are perfect in your house to appreciate your wife or your husband or your children or the people you work with or whatever, you’re never going to appreciate anybody because nobody’s perfect. 

have you ever thought about how much you need to appreciate your parents?  have you ever thought about the fact of how much easier it would have been for your parents if they had not had you?  the vacations they could have taken, the extra clothes they could have had, the less hastles.  do you realize what grief you gave your parents?  no parent is perfect.  you’re not perfect.  i’m not perfect.  you’re parents weren’t perfect.  but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t appreciate them.  you should.  they put up with all kinds of stuff. 

just a thought from the front porch…