Easier Said Than Done: Three Ways to Live a Life of Encouragement
This past week, in our family devotional, one of the daily Scriptures was 1 Thessalonians 5:11, which states, " Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. " Over Christmas break, my darling children found this verse slightly difficult to live out to each other. As a family, we discussed ways in which we could uplift each other and make our family stronger. The following morning, I awoke to screams and tears. "This is not what the Bible means when it talks about encouraging one another," I groaned to my elementary-aged bandits. The day continued with a struggle for peace. As the week progressed, I experienced my own frustration with others in my Christian family. In those moments, I realized that it is so much easier to go for the jugular than to respond in kindness and humility. In our flesh, we want to "win" an argument rather than understand the person's point of view. We try to justify the r