Be An Encourager

I am at the core of who I am a child of God. I like that and most of the time I believe it and live that out. There are times that I get liquored up on my own press and fall into that "isn't God lucky to have me working for Him" mentality, but thankfully that happens less and less. (Lots of stories I could share here about how God has reminded me it is Him and not me.)

I enjoy encouraging people. I feel it is one of the gifts that God has allowed me to steward and I feel most of the time that I use it to His glory. I do have a confession to make too . . . sometimes I get so frustrated and annoyed with people in position of leadership who are "above encouragement" from others and choose to be self-reliant and in no need of others.

I find myself in a couple of those kinds of relationships periodically and run the gammut of backing off a little while and trying to encourage from another angle or just get judgmental and say, "to heck with them, let them figure it out themselves." I have to admit that in most of these circumstances it takes me a little while to get to the point of praying for my attitude and praying for the other person.

I find myself presently in a tough spot in a couple of relationships with leadership. It is not that I do not love the people, it may be that I do not agree with the direction or lack of direction they exhibit. I am choosing to pray and encourage. Not because that makes me right, but because it is the next step of obedience I feel God is calling me to take.

I ran across this blog post from Perry Noble about 5 Lies that Leaders Believe. It made sense to me and says some things that I cannot say to a couple of people right now because I feel as though I may not share it in the right spirit and/or they might not receive it as intended.