Reluctant Retiree

How many times per day are you the recipient of encouraging words? Personally, I cannot recall the last time someone gave me an encouraging word. Why do we hear so little encouragement? The opposite seems to be true. I hear a lot of criticism, not just directed toward me, but seemingly toward almost everyone. We have become a culture that likes to find fault.

Encouragement has to power to bless and heal. It can soften our hearts, while protecting us from words that harm. That’s why the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Notice that the writer says that we should encourage one another every day. We need this encouragement so that our hearts will not be hardened toward good and righteousness. If we are consistently criticized we can become attracted to deceitful means of protecting ourselves, further damaging our hearts. Thoughtful positive words of encouragement build strength in the recipient and inner joy and peace in the giver.

Find a way to encourage someone today. After you have succeeded in that, do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and every day thereafter. You will be blessed by the positive impact you will have upon those around you and you will be astonished by the impact this will have upon your attitudes.

Have you ever put your efforts into something you truly desired, only to find that this achievement was disappointing? Maybe you eagerly sought the perfect job, only to realize that this work was not fulfilling. Perhaps you sought a relationship with a specific person, only to discover that they were not the kind of person that you thought they were. Maybe you believed in some plan to make a lot of money quickly, only to suffer a significant financial setback. Or worse yet, you made the quick cash and then realized that this success did not satisfy your soul.

The world system makes many promises that it cannot fulfill. Riches, fame and personal satisfaction do not come without exacting a high cost at our expense. I Timothy 6:17 says, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” Placing our hopes on riches, fame, and worldly success will only serve to disappoint and frustrate us, as these things are temporary and ultimately not fulfilling. Only placing our trust in God’s provision will endure and satisfy our souls. Starting today, redirect your energies toward trusting God to show you what direction you should go.

When children are young, good parents teach their children to say “Thank you!” Saying “Thanks” for gifts and kindnesses received is considered a customary and polite response. Children should be taught this behavior as a matter of respect and gratitude. It is a taught behavior because it does not come naturally to us. Giving thanks requires that we first humble ourselves and acknowledge that we were given a gift. We naturally rebel against anything that requires that we put aside pride and self-centeredness.

So too, we naturally reject the idea of giving thanks to God for both the supernatural and routine gifts we receive from His hands. When was the last time that you thanked God for a sunny day, good health, a smile from a stranger, a kindness from a friend, rain to produce good crops, or any other of the good gifts that God has given you?

Psalm 50:23 says, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” When we remember to thank God for His gifts, He receives glory. It becomes a glimpse of His salvation to us. Take some time today to thank God for His gifts to you. It will change your attitudes and mindset.

When I look in a mirror, I am surprised by my appearance. Somehow I am older, more bald, frailer, and not nearly as good looking as I think that I am during the day. When I am interacting with people, I view myself a certain way and think that I am communicating certain things. However, the picture I have of myself is not always what is actually communicated. If my actions contradict my words, we call that hypocrisy.

Jesus confronted the great hypocrisy of His day. The Jewish leaders had burdened the people with a great many traditions and moral laws in the name of their religion. These laws did not usually draw people closer to God, but actually drove people away from God. Even worse was the fact that these same so called spiritual leaders did not keep the traditions and laws that they professed.

Jesus rebuked the leaders when He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

We all fail sometimes, but consistent failure in some area is a danger to ourselves and to those who we may influence. We all should look in a spiritual mirror, God’s Word, daily and evaluate whether we are living up to the words we speak and whether our actions conform to the truth of God’s Word. God’s Word is the mirror that reveals the truth about our hearts. It is only by the power of God’s Spirit that we can hope to eradicate hypocrisy from our lives and begin to live in truth.

This morning I had a minor surgery to remove squamous cell carcinoma from my ear. If caught early, this type of cancer can be removed without progressing into more dangerous conditions. So the doctor scraped off the bad stuff and stitched me back up to prevent complications and promote the growth of good cells.

The apostle Paul wrote about something even more dangerous within us. He said that sin dwells within each of us and seeks to rule over us, thus destroying our lives. We must deal with sin in the same way that the doctor dealt with my cancer cells. We must give sin no opportunity to rule over us by instead giving ourselves to God. Paul put it this way in Romans 6:12-12, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

We must not let sin continue to have its way with us so that we follow its passions. Instead we must surrender ourselves to God, so that we can walk in righteousness. Sin’s passions will destroy us like cancer destroys the body. Righteousness leads us in the lives we desire and provides healthy spiritual growth.