…They sent out Barnabas …he was glad, and encouraged them all… he was a good man (Acts 11:22-24, NKJV).
The scriptures reserved this “good man” description for use only 10 times in the Bible. Barnabas was attributed with that description and for good reason as he exemplified the man of God who always encouraged the brethren. He was a great source of encouragement to Paul and to the early church. Is it any wonder that the brethren in Jerusalem chose Barnabas to go out and encourage all of those who were new in the faith?
Like Jerusalem, if we selected an encourager to send out to those in need would it be me, you or someone else? It is not possible to have too many encouragers in the church, so let’s all start today by encouraging someone. I know we can do it.
Often we may hear a mother telling her young child, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then, just say nothing at all.” As adults, we also need to be reminded to “say something nice.” We are often quick to make comments or point out our own preferences about things that others have done or should have done. We are all limited in our knowledge to the facts and circumstances which may have gone into someone else’s actions. James says, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19).
Paul admonishes us to be a blessing to one another. “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Let’s keep ourselves in check so that no one needs to tell us to “say something nice”. We should be doing so already.
It is easy to find fault or be critical of things you may observe, but remember that there may be much more to the matter than you will ever know. Trust that your fellow Christians only mean the best for you and be quick to be considerate and kind. How blessed we are to have each other for our church family.
For the elders, Gregg Woodall