Look For The Good

Read: 1 Thessalonians 1

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. --- 1 Thessalonians 1:2

The Bible In One Year:
Mark 14-16

I read about a young boy who had been naughty. During family devotions the father prayed for his son and mentioned a number of bad things the boy had done. Soon afterward the mother heard the 6-year-old sobbing. When she asked what was wrong, the boy cried out, "Daddy always tells God the bad things about me. He never tells Him the good things I do!"

What happened to that child underscores a shortcoming that is common to many of us. Instead of recognizing the good in people, we tend to notice their faults. We could learn from the example of the apostle Paul. In his letter to his spiritual sons and daughters in Thessalonica, he wrote, "We give thanks to God always for you all" [v.2]. He remembered their "work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope" [v.3]. He told them that because they "received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit," they were an example to others [vv.6-7]. He said that from them "the word of the Lord has sounded forth ... in every place" [v.8]. Paul's words must have encouraged them and spurred them on to even greater service for the Lord.

Let's be more ready to commend than to condemn. When we see good in others, let's tell them. It will encourage them, and that's exactly what they need. --- Richard De Haan

Could we only see the goodness
Of the ones we meet each day,
We would overlook their failures
As we greet them on life's way. --- Anon.

CORRECTION DOES MUCH, BUT ENCOURAGEMENT DOES MORE.