Message
Everyone loves to be appreciated and valued. In fact, one of the ways to encourage people to do better is to appreciate them for the things they have done in the past. Nobody likes being castigated at all times. If you are to point out what someone did wrong, it is important to first appreciate that person for what he or she did right. That way, it would be easier for the person to take your corrections.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
I remember when I was a younger preacher; whenever I delivered a sermon that wasn’t very good, my wife would lovingly say, “Darling, what happened?” However, when I preached well, she would come to me after the service, smile, and say, “That was good.” I always took her criticisms seriously and worked to improve my preaching because she never failed to appreciate me whenever I did well. In fact, I was always looking forward to what she would say after every sermon.
It is rare to see a wife who does not smile when her husband tells her, “You look good.” If you are married, you must appreciate your spouse at all times. Appreciating your spouse will put a smile on his or her face. When you appreciate your spouse, he or she will love you more and take your corrections easily. Also, parents should show appreciation to their children. They should take time to point out their good qualities and praise them when they do the right things. They should also correct them when they do the wrong things. Oftentimes, parents are quicker to notice the negative things their children do than the positive things, so they scold and castigate them at all times. When they do this, they are provoking their children to anger, and says that children should not be provoked to anger, lest they be discouraged.
In today’s Bible reading, Apostle Paul expressed his appreciation towards Philemon for his faith and love towards Jesus Christ and the saints, then expressed his confidence in Philemon’s ability to do even more than he had previously done. When you appreciate people, you are encouraging them to do more.
Beloved, cultivate the habit of appreciating people. When you appreciate the people around you, they become more willing to open up to you because they know that you genuinely love and value them.