Why it’s important to be an encourager

Encouragement is one of the most valuable, and often most underestimated aspects of human life. We have all at one time or another felt it’s effects and yet it is something which can be hard to give out and to most of us it really does not come naturally.

I have no idea why but giving out encouragement and positive affirmation to another person can often feel slightly awkward and is something we can tend to avoid. Yet we will all have positive thoughts and feelings for people, the reasons why they are our friends and why we like spending time with them are two such examples. But what good is it just keeping those things to ourselves? 

Encouragement can be related to who we are as people but also can relate to things that we do or want to get involved in. In my experience it has often been encouragement that has helped me to step out into opportunities that my own fear, doubt and insecurities may have held me back from. 

One big example of this is presenting radio shows on Cross Rhythms Plymouth. Anyone who knew me growing up would know that public speaking, presenting and being on stage was much more of my brothers’ domain and something that I shied away from.  

Yet I was given the opportunity to be involved in the radio station and to present on air and it was encouraging words from friends and colleagues that helped me to step out of my comfort zone. Encouragement has continued to build my confidence in something that I know wasn’t completely natural to me!

As well as knowing what it feels like to receive encouragement we all know, often all too well, what it is like not to receive it and to have self-doubt creep in to our minds about our value and worth. Without encouragement we can also lose confidence in the things we do and it can become all too easy to give up. 

An ancient proverb in the bible says that ‘the tongue has the power of life and death’. In other words with the things we say we can either build people up or tear them down. 

We live in a society which is quick to tear down and discourage. The media is mostly critical of people in authority and anyone who is in the public eye. A large part of this is vital as it keeps politicians and public figures accountable but how often is it balanced with encouraging comment on those who use their authority effectively and for the common good? It can seem quite rare.  

This culture of criticism and discouragement can rub off on us and if we’re honest it is often much easier to speak negatively about someone than positively. 

A close friend of mine recently said something that challenged me deeply about giving out words of encouragement. He told me that he would rarely tell people he loved what he really thought of them and was known in his family for giving out very short birthday and Christmas cards with little more content than signing his name. However when one of his family was diagnosed with a terminal illness he realized every opportunity he had to tell people he loved them and to encourage them was precious and he didn’t know how many more chances he would get. He told me how he now regularly texts friends and family with an encouraging word and if he thinks it, he tells them.

I was very blessed to grow up with two very supportive parents who would often encourage me in who I was as a child and also in terms of things I did and wanted to get involved in.

 This helped to form in me a positive sense of my own value and identity but I know for many people this wasn’t their experience and for some of you reading this your upbringing may well have been quite the opposite. 

This need not leave you feeling left out and without hope though as the biggest encourager that any of us can know is the perfect parent for all of us, that is God. 

No one knows us better than the one who created us and it has been my experience that knowing God’s love and affirmation personally is stronger than anything we can receive from another person.