Category: Encouragement
Encouragement. We all need it; we all need to give it. It is a command. And in a world in which bad means good and cool describes anything and everything, it is necessary to state precisely what we mean when we say encouragement.
We gain a clue to the meaning by simply looking at the word itself. The root is courage. A person of courage is a person who is brave in the face of opposition. He displays a dauntless spirit in the face of adversity. Danger and oppression do not cause a courageous person to run away, rather, he stays the course no matter what looms ahead. Like David taking on Goliath (or the lions and bears, for that matter), a man or woman of courage will meet the enemy head on, expecting to finish on top.
To en-courage is to in-courage, that is, to provoke courage in someone. The idea is to help a person who is up against it to be able to stand firm and move forward.
This is in stark contrast to the colloquial understanding in which people equate encouragement with making others feel good. Complimenting a woman's new hair style is a long way from the biblical concept of encouragement. Expressing flattery to others is easy; finding words which truly inspire valor is another matter.
Christians encounter fierce winds around virtually every corner and are in constant need of encouragement from those who understand the struggle to persevere in faith and righteousness. Every believer is called to make it part of his or her ambition to instill strength of mind, heart, and will in his fellows.