Give Everyone 3 Gifts
I thank
God, that here in central Texas; we are finally coming into a season of “slightly”
cooler temperatures. It is also the time
of year when we start to begin thinking about the holidays and gift-giving. It is along those lines that I
would like to encourage you to give three gifts, right now, to people in your
life. It is gifts that I have learned to
give generously to people around me, but often do not get in return. I think it is because of the Spirit of Christ
within me that I am able to do things proactively, regardless of the attitude,
response, or demeanor of the other person.
Don’t you agree? Is the Lord
helping you to respond to others kindly?
Sometimes it is easy to tell if a person is growing in their faith, by
how they conduct themselves in general conversation. In your daily conversations, please try and
give these gifts. They are the gifts of a listening ear, an inquiring heart, and a word of
encouragement.
The first
gift that I am encouraging you to give is a listening ear. I have found that the vast majority of the
time that I share something with somebody else – they seem to be more concerned
about what they want to say after I am done, rather than actually listening to
what I am saying. If I am not careful, I
may do the same thing. Sometimes I think
that most conversations seem like a contest of who can recall the most from
their past and I don’t think that most conversations should be so competitive. The Bible actually encourages us in James
1:19 to be quick… to listen, not quick to speak.
“Remember this, my dear brothers and
sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get
angry easily.”
(James 1:19 GW)
I
think that with God’s help, we can be more interested in listening intently to
what someone is saying, without having to worry about how we can share
something even better. One way to show
that we are truly listening is to ask a follow-up question that is directly
related to what they have just said.
Marriage counselors often suggest that to improve marital conversation –
it may also be healthy to try and repeat back to your spouse what you have
heard them say. You could say something
like “let’s see if I am hearing you correctly… did you say that… (whatever they
just said). When you ask a follow-up
question, it gives you a chance to demonstrate that you have an empathetic
heart and care about what they have shared with you. I know with God’s help and a desire in our
hearts to do better, we can become better listeners. We can give people that gift.
The next
gift that I would like to encourage you to give is an inquiring heart. This is a follow-up to the previous
gift. This is when you take the chance
to show interest in the person’s life.
When I was much younger and going through the school ages – I was very
shy and very introverted in how I expressed myself. It is because of this, that
I am a little more sensitive to people around me that are quiet. Whenever I am in a small group, I tend to
notice the individuals that are not talking as much, and I will ask them a
question to try and get them into the conversation. I do not push the issue, but just casually
try and give them an opening. You could
go into almost any social setting and if everyone is being quiet and awkward – you
could start asking people questions to try and get the conversation going. You would be surprised what will happen once
one person starts talking! Don’t just ask questions but be genuinely interested
in learning about others and hearing about their life experiences. They say that when you get older you are very
much wanting to share your life experiences, but there seem to be fewer people
around that show interest to hear it.
Please have an inquiring heart to know people and come up with some
creative questions to get the conversation going. I know that God will bless you when you do.
“And we beseech (urge) you, brethren,
to know them which labor among you.
(1 Thes. 5:12)
The
last gift that I would like to motivate you to give is a word of
encouragement.
Our world can be so full of challenges,
difficulties, and negativity. It can be
very draining on all of us. I think that it would be very refreshing to give
people a word of encouragement.
“And so, encourage
one another and help one another, just as you are now doing.”
(1 Thes. 5:11 GNB)
“Let us encourage one another all the more since
you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.”
(Heb. 10:25b GNB)
“May God, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow
you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ
Jesus.”
(Rom.15:5 GW)
There are a lot of ways to be encouraging to
others. You could compliment something
about them (their looks, their accomplishments, their character strengths,
their family, etc.). When you introduce
them to someone else, you could add a word about their accomplishments. You could send a quick note to your children’s
teachers. You could give a short note to
someone who is serving at your Church.
You would be surprised how much good it would do. It might be a great gift to someone who is struggling.
So, even before the holidays begin, be a blessing
to someone and give them 3 cool gifts. Give
them a listening ear, give them an inquiring heart, and give them a word of
encouragement. You will definitely be
blessed in the process.
Written by Lee Malden 2022
For more information: email lmalden@hotmail.com
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