Encouragement=Joy

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” – (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Ever hear the saying that goes something like this, Be kind to all you encounter, for you don’t know what battle they are facing? Whenever I see this, it causes me to step back and think. I try to smile or say something kind to the weary clerk behind the grocery counter, or the tattooed teenager with multi-colored hair sitting on a park bench.  I really don’t know what battles they are facing–only God knows.

Will they acknowledge my words or kind smile? Oftentimes, they do which never ceases to amaze me! A simple, “I love those shoes!” can go a long ways to cheering up another human soul. And, isn’t that what we are reminded to do in 1 Thessalonians?

.