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Growing up my Mother was also my music teacher. Mama started teaching at my school the year that I began first grade. It was a small private school in a small MS Delta town so Mama taught everyone from Kindergarten to High School. She spent years pouring into the lives of her students. Mama had a gift of encouragement which was her call to action. Many students would say that they learned so much more than a love for music while under her teaching.
Mama saw the best in people and encouragement was her call to action.
The time and energy she poured into the lives of her students went beyond the hours in the classroom. If a new student to her show choir did not read music or know how to sing, she would give her lunch break to work with them. Many evenings our family of four would sit down for dinner and we would hear a car door shut in our driveway. Immediately Mama would scoot her chair away from the table, remove her plate to divide the meat so that there was plenty for our guest. Our door was always open for students.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
God calls his people to edify one another which means to build each other up. The Thessalonians  were good at comforting and edifying one another, but they were being reminded in these verses to do it more and more. It makes me reflect am I encouraging others as I go?
We live in a world  full of criticism.
If you follow social media of any type then you do not have to look far to find one person or group criticizing another. As parents we are quick to point to our children, “how not to” do something. We criticize our bosses, our church leaders, our politicians, our spouses, our friends, our foes… you name it we easily criticize.
But what if…what if we chose to live a 1 Thessalonians 5:11 life. In her book, Silver Boxes, Florence Littauer  would call the encouragement of others a gift of a silver box.  Do you have a Silver Box to give away today? Who could use a little encouragement? Start at home because that is where we easily throw our most critical words then move to your next circle of influence.
The Thessalonians were in the habit of encouraging. My Mother leaves a legacy of encouragement in the lives of many students and family. Will you be known as an encourager?