Cheerleaders

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1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

What it is speaking to me

It should not come as any surprise to you dear reader, that cheerleading is not in my background. Besides the outfits not suiting my style, I do not possess the proper demeanor—too few smiles, cheers, and pom-poms. While I don’t have an affinity for the "sport" of cheerleading, there is a place for it in the church—not the pom-pom version, but the spiritual one. And all of us are called to be on that team.

Our English word encourage comes from the Old French word encoragier, which roughly translates as “to put in heart.” I like that. That’s what I feel when I’m encouraged—like someone is putting a little heart into me, making mine a little bigger. There have been a few times someone gave me some encouragement at just the right moment, and it put heart into me. I hope you feel that way, too, when you are encouraged.

We live in a world that is constantly draining the heart out of us. This is why we are called to encourage one another. The world drains the heart; we put heart back into others. That is the ministry of encouragement. I can be that kind of cheerleader—no pom-poms, but plenty of heart to give.

What is it saying to you?

Are you a good encourager? If not, why do you find it difficult to do?

How do you feel when you encourage someone?

How do you feel when you are encouraged by someone?

What are we going to do about it?

Find one person at your workplace, in your family, or at church, and genuinely encourage their hard work today.