i want
to mention one word that will transform your relationships. the word is appreciation. why should we express appreciation to other
people? the answer is because it raises
their value. that’s what the word
means. every time you appreciate your
wife, your husband, your children, your family, your church, your friends, the
people you work with you raise their value.
the
bible says we’re supposed to do that. 1
thessalonians 5.11(niv), encourage one
another and build each other up. ephesians
4.29 (nirv), say only what will help to
build others up and meet their needs.
what
are their needs? the deepest need in
human beings according to william james is their need to be appreciated. i think there are many other needs but that
is one of the deepest. the need to be
appreciated. i read about a place in england where they
have “dial a compliment”. if you’re
down, you dial that, and somebody on the phone will talk with you and build you
up. people are hungry, they’re starving
for appreciation.
so what
do you need to appreciate in people around you?
for one, we need to appreciate
people’s loyalty
those
people who hang in there with you, when they’ve stuck with you, when they’ve
been faithful through thick and thin, when they could have walked out on you
but they’ve stayed. you can count on
them. paul appreciated this in the
philippians. philippians 1.3-5, 7 (nlt), every time i think of you, i give thanks to my GOD… because you have been my partners in spreading the good
news about CHRIST from the time you first heard it until now… both when i was in prison and when i
was out. these people were paul’s booster club, they
supported him, they stood with him for years.
now he’s at the end of his life and he’s in prison and they’re rooting
for him, cheering him, saying “go for it paul!”
the
point is, behind-the-scenes people deserve your appreciation. they may not be
spectacular, they may not be the superstars, they may not do anything really
out of the ordinary, but if they just stick with you, you need to appreciate
that. some of you have had a marriage
partner who has stuck with you through a lot of junk. maybe a bankruptcy, maybe a mid-life crisis,
maybe a health problem, maybe you've stumbled and had an affair, maybe you were
just being a jerk but they were quietly supportive. and you need to appreciate their loyalty.
just a
thought from the front porch…
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