Encourage One Another

I Timothy 4

“Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scriptures, to exhortation and teaching” (I Tim. 4:13, NASB).

People need to be encouraged; especially when things are not going well in their life. I was reminded of this truth while watching the World Little League Baseball Championship games. In one game one of the coaches quietly talked to his son who was having a difficult time. The coach was the player’s father, and he was telling his son how much he loved him. What a way for a coach to encourage his player! The Goodlettsville All Stars were playing in this series. Goodlettsville is just north of Nashville, Tennessee. This team came in second place in 2012 losing to a team from Japan. This year I watched as the coach Joey Hale talked to his players giving them encouragement regardless of the circumstances in the game. For example, I noticed how Coach Hale talked to his pitchers when they were not pitching as well as they needed to. I noticed that Coach would calmly ask questions about what was going wrong. He would tell them what they were doing wrong and tell them what they needed to do so that they could pitch better. He would point out the strategy for pitching to the batters coming up. He encouraged the pitchers by telling them that they were fine and that the team was there to support him. Coach Hale never showed irritation or disapproval of his players. This article is about Christians encouraging one another. I thought about two situations that I have observed in the church. Before we begin, let us agree on what we mean when we use the word “encourage.”

In the New Testament there are different Greek words that have to do with encouragement. Depending on the translation the Greek may be translated to the English words “exhort” or “encouragement.” Since each Greek word has a different nuance I want to give my own definition of the various Greek and English words that help us to understand how I am using the word “encourage” in this article. The word “encourage” means to say something or do something that helps another person to strive to reach and maintain a standard or reach a higher level of achievement as they mature in their faith.

“Well, everybody sins.” “We all sin.” I cannot count the number of times that I have heard these two statements and similar statements. I am deeply concerned about what I consider to be the overuse of statements like these. “But why,” you might ask. It is true that the bible plainly states that all people sin. In his theological treatise to the Romans Paul demonstrates that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty of sin. The Gentiles are guilty of sin because they know nothing about the law of God, and they live according to their own desires (chapter 1)The Jews have the Law, but they are guilty of sin because they fail to live up to the requirements in the law (chapter 2). In chapter three Paul concludes that everyone is lost in their sins. He says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23-24, NASB). So, we cannot deny that these two statements are true. Why then do they cause me to have concerns? It is a matter of the attitudes behind the statements. Let me explain.

“Well, everybody sins.” Now, this is just an excuse, and Christians have reasons, but we do not have an excuse because God gives us His Holy Spirit to come along beside us to help us to overcome our temptation to sin. I have often heard this statement when someone does not want to hear someone point out a particular sin that they are guilty of. This is using the ego defense mechanism that Sigmund Freud called “rationalization.” Rationalization is justifying one’s own behavior on the grounds that others have behaviors that are wrong too. It is alright for me to steal because Rev. Myles is guilty of lying. Rationalization allows a person to not feel guilty about their own faults because everyone has their faults. There is the problem with this sort of thinking. It fails to admit that we need to change our behavior. The refusal to change one’s behavior can cause us to be stuck in the mud of our life. It prevents us from being motivated to do better. “I’ll just drop out of school and get a job. After all a lot of people drop out of school.” Such thinking weakens our will to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We give in and we give up. When we do, we need someone to encourage us to make the needed changes in our life. This brings me to the second statement.

“We all sin.” This is a truth that we should never forget. We should never forget that we are saved simply by the grace and mercy of God. Now, we can use this statement to encourage someone who is distraught, depressed, and overwhelmed with guilt when they have done something wrong. We need to be reminded of the words of John. John writes: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I John 1:8-2:1, NASB). Let us consider how these four verses can encourage us as travel this Christian journey.

Remember Coach Hale? He would help the pitcher to admit that there is a flaw in his pitching mechanism. We cannot be encouraged if we do not admit the truth about our sins. Coach Hale looked for reasons, but he never made excuses. John says that we must first admit that we sin. Coach Hale helped his players to know what they needed to do so that they would be effective. John points out that we need to confess our sins. So, encouraging someone is not criticizing or ridiculing the person, it is giving an honest critique of the behavior. When we criticize the person we are being aggressive and aggression is something that we use when we intend to harm someone. On the other hand, honest constructive criticism is being assertive. When we are assertive we are pointing out the behavior; helping the other person to know or be reminded of what they are doing wrong. The goal is to help the person do better and this will lead them to feel better about themselves and their relationship to Jesus Christ. When we encourage someone we remind them that although they have done wrong Jesus is our Advocate with the Father, and His blood cleanses us from all sins.

In the book of 1 Timothy Paul writes to encourage his protégé Timothy. He encourages him to stand firm in his ministry. In chapter four Paul gives Timothy advice on how to deal with those who oppose him and his message and his ministry. It is in the areas of ministry that we most need encouragement. The opposition is strong. The challenges are many. People can try your nerves and if we are not careful we will allow our flesh to speak and our spirits to be silent. So, Paul encourages Timothy to be disciplined; to be reminded of the purpose for his ministry. Paul writes these words of encouragement: “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you” (I Timothy 4:16, NASB). How can we encourage one another?

A Bible study group is a good way for Christians to encourage each other. We can learn together what God desires for us to be. Knowing the truth of God helps us to know what God expects of us and the changes we need to make in our life. The bible contains numerous examples of people who overcame great odds by how they exercised their faith in God. The group is therapy for the members because members support one another. We can support each other through prayer. We can support others by our examples instead of criticizing others. Sometimes it is not necessary to say anything. We can just do what God commands us to do and we can be sure somebody is watching to see what we do. This short list is not exhaustive. The main thing is that our attitude toward others when we see their need. When a brother or sister sins, don’t criticize the person; rather encouraged the brother or sister. So, let us be encouraged and let us encourage one another.