Skip to main content

“People tend to be too choosy about who they help and who they encourage.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2017-03-07) from his book, Encouragement Changes Everything: Bless and Be Blessed (Kindle Location 487). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I get that.  It is so easy to be so choosy, isn’t it?

John says, “People tend to be too choosy about who they help and who they encourage. They look for people like themselves. And some people even believe that they should help only individuals who believe what they believe and think as they do. That’s not the way it should be.”

He goes on, “Years ago I came across a piece about someone who fell into a pit and couldn’t get out—and how others treated that person:

 “A subjective person came along and said, ‘I feel for you down there.’
An objective person came along and said, ‘Well, it’s logical that someone would fall down there.’
A Pharisee said, ‘Only bad people fall into pits.’
A mathematician calculated how the individual fell into the pit.
A news reporter wanted an exclusive story on the person in the pit.
A fundamentalist said, ‘You deserve your pit.’
A Calvinist said, ‘If you’d been saved, you’d never fallen in that pit.’
An Armenian said, “You were saved and still fell in that pit.’
A charismatic said, ‘Just confess that you’re not in that pit.’
A realist came along and said; ‘Now that’s a pit.’
A geologist told him to appreciate the rock strata in the pit.
An IRS worker asked if he was paying taxes on this pit.
The county inspector asked if he had a permit to dig the pit.
A self–pitying person said, ‘You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit.’
An optimist said, ‘Things could be worse.’
A pessimist said, ‘Things will get worse.’
Jesus, seeing the man, reached down and took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit.”

John then said, “We should always keep in mind that God loves everybody, and to treat others the way Jesus would treat them. Do that and others will always feel encouraged.

I am so glad God loves me.  And I’m so glad he loves you.  And I don’t want to be so choosy in who to help and who to encourage.  And I hope you won’t be either.  OK?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more