Get the appWiser and Happier: Special Military Edition from Time of GraceSample
Talking and Listening: Build up
I think I know why I am so stingy with compliments. Half the time I am so aware of my own failings and shortcomings that I can’t waste any energy on lifting up anybody else. I convince myself that it will take all my strength to cope with my own troubles. I think maybe if I brag enough about myself I can talk other people (and myself) into thinking that I am important.
Ever feel like that? Like nobody’s going to pay any attention to you unless you build yourself up somehow? I’ve talked to guys who’ve been passed over for promotion, and some confessed feeling like they should’ve done more to “sell’ themselves.
As usual in God’s world, his reality is the exact opposite (you know, that “last shall be first” stuff). Here’s another wonderful secret from God’s vault: the best way to deal with your own insecurity is to praise somebody else. Seriously! “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up” (Proverbs 12:25).
Are you ready to dare to be a servant (instead of trying to pretend you are a lord)? All around you are broken and dispirited people who are running on fumes. Yeah, you might not want to be where you are, but they might want to be there even less. A few words of appreciation and praise cost you even less than what you put into a soda machine.
By the way, I sincerely wanted to pass this on to you as you read this: I’m proud of you. I give thanks to God for you. You’re doing a great job. Thanks for your service.
(Works, huh?)
I think I know why I am so stingy with compliments. Half the time I am so aware of my own failings and shortcomings that I can’t waste any energy on lifting up anybody else. I convince myself that it will take all my strength to cope with my own troubles. I think maybe if I brag enough about myself I can talk other people (and myself) into thinking that I am important.
Ever feel like that? Like nobody’s going to pay any attention to you unless you build yourself up somehow? I’ve talked to guys who’ve been passed over for promotion, and some confessed feeling like they should’ve done more to “sell’ themselves.
As usual in God’s world, his reality is the exact opposite (you know, that “last shall be first” stuff). Here’s another wonderful secret from God’s vault: the best way to deal with your own insecurity is to praise somebody else. Seriously! “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up” (Proverbs 12:25).
Are you ready to dare to be a servant (instead of trying to pretend you are a lord)? All around you are broken and dispirited people who are running on fumes. Yeah, you might not want to be where you are, but they might want to be there even less. A few words of appreciation and praise cost you even less than what you put into a soda machine.
By the way, I sincerely wanted to pass this on to you as you read this: I’m proud of you. I give thanks to God for you. You’re doing a great job. Thanks for your service.
(Works, huh?)
Scripture
About this Plan
The experience of serving your country overseas--and sometimes seeing firsthand man’s inhumanity to man--may teach you important lessons about life while turning your stomach at the same time. But recognize that God has an even better way for us to learn life wisdom, a way that continually draws us closer to him no matter how far from family or church we might be. Because of his great love for us, he would much rather make us wiser through words. In this way we wouldn’t be sadder but wiser; we would be wiser and happier. The Bible’s book of Proverbs is an absolute gold mine of wisdom for the daily decisions you must make. It will help you develop your personal values and tune your life’s agenda more closely to resemble God’s.
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We would like to thank Time of Grace Ministry for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.timeofgrace.org
