A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers  

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (Message Bible), “So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.” Outside of Sacred Scripture, my favorite quote is from Theodore Roosevelt who said:  “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”  Criticism is an ever-present part of the human condition.  Sometimes it is constructive from a source who truly wishes to aide us in becoming better.  My experience, though, is that most criticism has the intention of tearing someone down, rather than building them up.  Frankly, we all have critics.  There are those who attempt to distract from their own inadequacies by pointing out ours.  I have an ample supply of faults, of which I am already aware.  The truth about negative criticism is that it assumes the critic has perfect knowledge of the object of their reproach.  When in fact, none of us have perfect knowledge about another person—only God does.  Since we are greatly limited in our knowledge of one another, we should refrain in speaking about another person in a negative light, but always focus on the areas of our own life that need improvement.  That process is a lifetime endeavor.  By praying for one another and building one another up, we can promote grace, and live as an encouragement to all we encounter, with each new day.