accept, appreciate, affirm everybody…

so how do your treat people, especially in the church?

first of all accept everybody.  accept everybody.

then appreciate everybody.  appreciate everybody.

this goes a little bit further than acceptance.  philippians 2.3-5 (niv), do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also the interests of others.  accept everybody.  find something you can like, not just accept.  tell them so.

with some people this may require a little creativity.  you may have to look a little while.  maybe you just need to value them for their uniqueness.  like baskin robbins – 31 flavors.  what if the people in your church were all vanilla?  what a boring church that would be!  GOD has 31 flavors of personality and more than that.

affirm everybody.  affirm everybody.

one of the things that i really miss about my dad who is now in heaven is the fact that he was my greatest cheerleader.  he believed in me, he encouraged me, he always was there to give me a lift.

can you imagine what it would be like if your church was full of cheerleaders?  everybody would be given a lift whenever possible.  1 thessalonians 5.11 (niv), encourage one another and build each other up.

when people stumble, don’t criticize, sympathize.  be an encourager, not a complainer, not a condemner, a critical person, a judger. 

you can encourage people just by smiling at them.  put yourself on a committee of one to greet each other with a smile.  you really don’t know what that will mean to someone who may really be having a tough time.  don’t just do it to those you know but also to those you don’t know.  let them know you care by a welcome handshake and a smile.

just a thought from the front porch…

affirmation and expectation…

you bless others with your words when you affirm them expectantly.

show courtesy, offer mercy, express sympathy, speak honestly, affirm expectantly.  studies have shown that affirmation and expectation are tremendous tools to bring out the best in other people.  we tend to live up to what other people expect of us.  when people raise our value by expecting more of us we tend to do that.  by affirming and expecting you actually encourage. 

the bible says in 1 thessalonians 5.11 (niv), encourage one another and build each other up.  you never know when little simple word of encouragement is going to change somebody’s life.  it may just be throw away phrase to you but it can alter someone’s destiny.

let me give you four ways to bring out the best in people around you.  i don’t care if you’re a parent or you’re a coach or you’re a teacher or you’re an employee or you’re a student if you want to bring out the best in your friends, if you want to bring out the best in your children, in your loved ones you need to do these four things.

1.  admire their uniqueness.  i’m not just saying tolerate it.  i’m not just saying accept it.  i’m saying admire the fact that they are different from you.  they are not you and admire the differences. 

2.  appreciate their value.  that brings out the best in other people.  if you’ve ever bought a home in orange county you know the meaning of the word “appreciation.”  appreciation means to raise in value.  if you’ve ever bought a car you know the meaning of “depreciation.”  because the moment you bought it and drove it off the lot it lost value.  men, every time you appreciate your wife or your girlfriend, you raise her value.  parents, every time you appreciate your children, you raise their value.  to appreciate means to make them more valuable.  in your eyes and in everybody else’s eyes.  you bring out their best through appreciation. 

 3.  assign them a challenge.  i’ve learned this having been an employer and a staff manager for many, many years.  you give somebody a project that stretches their ability and forces them to grow.  we tend to only do the things we think we’re capable of doing.  when you assign somebody a project that is too big for them it stretches them and they grow and they realize, i can do this.  so you bring out the best in people by throwing them in the water and saying swim!  and by giving them a job that is way over their head so that they grow into that job.  you assign them a project.

4.  affirm their ability.  that’s how you bring out the best in other people.  you say, “you can do this.  i know you can do this.  you are empowered to do this.  i believe you can do this.”  you give them confidence.

just a thought from the front porch…

you will be rewarded…

compensation.  if i use my talent wisely i will be rewarded.  matthew 25.23 (niv), his master replied, “well done good and faithful servant! you have been faithful with a few things, i will put you in charge of many things.  come and share your master’s happiness!” look at the rewards you could have. 

1) affirmation.  well done good and faithful servant!  how would you like to get to heaven one day and have GOD say that to you?  “good job!  you did the best you could with what you had! good job!”  that’s what i’m living for.  not for anything else. i’m living my life for an audience of one.  i want to stand before JESUS CHRIST one day and have him say, “well done, bill you good and faithful servant.”

2) promotion.  you've been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.  I’ll give you greater responsibility.  you’ve used what you had, I’ll give you greater responsibility.  the bible teaches that earth is a testing ground.  the amount of time on this side of eternity is nothing compared to the amount you’re going to spend on the other side of eternity.  how you use your life during this time will determine what GOD entrusts to you later on.  if you’ve been faithful in a few things, you’ll be given much.  you’ll be given more or less responsibility. 

3) celebration.  come and share your master’s happiness!   it’s party time in heaven.  celebrate.

the fact is the happiest people in the world are those who are giving their lives for the purpose that GOD made them.  GOD made you for a ministry.  GOD has a ministry for you that is based on who you are.  we’re all part of the body of CHRIST and it’s all important.  it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. 

just a thought from the front porch…