Why we need to put down our paddles and pick up our pom-poms

I am a person who really does not like conflict. In fact I just ordered a pair of plain black glasses and was given a pair with black on the front and animal print (ick) on the sides.

Did I give them back, insisting they be fixed? No I just decided to live with them. And I have.

But there is one thing that I cannot live with anymore. Something that it eating away at me.

It is the way we as Christians encourage (or don’t encourage) each other.

We are supposed to be a people of faith who simply believe. We are supposed to have a childlike faith.

And yet when someone comes to us excitedly telling us what God just promised them, the usual reaction that we have is to take out our huge paddles, worn with use, and smack that idea down so hard as to shatter it in a million pieces.

We tell them all the reasons why it is not God, instead of believing that God does want to do miraculous things in and through His people.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are to discourage other Christians from believing God’s promises. In fact it says just the opposite;

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, … respect those who labor among you… esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11–15, ESV)

Look at that!! Paul is saying that to do nothing is not a good thing, so when did we as Christians have come to believe that passivity is the best option?

No, Gods words tells us to not tear down but “build each other up.”

If we are told an idea by a Christian that we find hard to believe, we need to just cheer them on, and then pray for them.

If they are believing sincerely that God is telling them something foolish, and we believe that God is a good God, then why on earth would we think that we have to stop them from some horrible ending. If God is a good God who loves us, wouldn’t He make sure that even if we mishear, He will get us to where we need to be.

The world bashes us enough, and that is ok because they do not believe in a powerful God who loves them, but we should not be bashing each other.

Families are supposed to be our soft spot to land, so let’s be determined to put down our paddles and pick up our pom-poms and make it our business to cheer each other on and believe that God has the best in store for them.

We are called “believers” after all!!