The Hope QuotientSample

We need all the help we can get. Some people turn you on spiritually and some people turn you off spiritually. Hang around with those who turn you on. Here are three types of people you need:

Models and mentors enrich every area of your life. I saw a pattern in my parents’ broken, alcoholic home that I did not want to repeat. Later, I had neighbors with PhDs in marriage and family counseling. They became models and mentors to me about what a marriage looked like, what commitment looked like, what parenting looked like, what a family looked like. 

The Apostle Paul told young Christians to follow his example as a model. Oswald Chambers said we grow in holiness by being around people more holy than ourselves. (I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s easy to find!)

Models and mentors have an invaluable place in our lives. I like to have between three and six mentors at all times.

Heart Healers help their friends get in better emotional shape. Dr. Paul Tournier said we cannot develop into a full life without being understood by at least one person. That’s what David and Jonathan were to each other. 

We all suffer at times from broken, cynical, hard or discouraged hearts. But people of hope work to bring Heart Healers into their circle of friends. 

Tail Kickers love us enough to tell us the truth. You recognize tail-kicking kinds of people by the gigantic boot mark they leave on the seat of your pants.

The task of some people is to comfort the afflicted. The task of Tail Kickers is to afflict the comfortable. God uses Tail Kickers to move us forward, to stay faithful, and to make us get after it. 

We need all three in our lives to challenge us to aim high, stop settling, and keep getting back up.

Think Up:

Which of the three kinds of friends do you have—models and mentors, heart healers, tail kickers?

How do you respond to each of them? (Read on).