If you think something good…

Steven Furtick, lead pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C. recently had a post on his blog, titled “If you think something good…”

I thought his thoughts excellent and worth repeating, so I have copied it and posted it here below… I especially don’t feel bad about it since he confesses to taking the whole idea from a message that he heard Craig Groeschel preach. So here it is…

“If you think something good…

I heard Craig Groeschel issue a challenge in a sermon on marriage:
“If you think something good, say it.”
I shamelessly ripped it off and used it in my recent marriage series at Elevation.

It’s a phenomenal principle for marriage, and now I’m trying to see just how far I can take it in every other relationship in my life.
I’m challenging my staff to relate to one another this way:
“If you think something encouraging…say it!”

We withhold encouragement from those we care about for lots of (bad) reasons:

• We think if we encourage sparingly, it will mean more when we do give it.  Then people will really appreciate it.

This works about as well as watering your lawn a couple times a year.  Or paying your bills every other month, so the vendors will really appreciate your contribution.

• We feel awkward when we do it and we’re not that good at it.  Tough.  Get over it.  Force the sentence out of your mouth: “You really handled that situation well yesterday…I was impressed!” There, it wasn’t that hard, was it?

• We honestly don’t think encouraging things because of our distorted self-image, jealousy, or insecurity.  We need to pray through these issues, asking God to turn our hearts to see the good in others.

If you think something good, say it!”