“Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (NIV – New International Version)
I grew up on an Iowa farm. There are three words you think of when you think of Iowa: corn, hogs, and corn. There’s so much corn that the hogs eat it. As a kid, I was always surrounded by cornfields. Every few years, though, we’d have a problem. A few stalks of corn would start to lean… then some more… and more… until my Dad got real concerned because he knew what was happening. It was something you couldn’t see above ground. But underneath, the roots of the cornstalks were getting eaten by root worms. Dad would yank up a stalk, and sure enough, those little buggers were chewing away on the roots – which is what made the stalks lean. They couldn’t stand up anymore without a good solid foundation.
When it comes to us, its pretty easy to start leaning when circumstances are rough. Trying to stay upright when something or someone is chewing on you is difficult. You won’t stand for long unless you have what the author of the New Testament book of Hebrews calls “encouragement.” In fact, and Bob wanted me to make sure and tell you this:
Encouragement is the insecticide that destroys the root worm of sin.
You see, when hard situations hit us like a big thick Iowa pork chop upside the head, it’s easy to begin losing heart and experience a failure of faith. But encouragement is the means of getting rid of those pesky pests that would seek to topple us. No matter what you’re going through, or will go through, encouragement is what you need.
Bob is going crazy right now howling at me to tell you what he tracked down on this word, “encouragement.” There are two important dimensions to this word. The New Testament was originally written in the Greek language. There are two Greek words smashed together which make up this one word, “encouragement.” One word has to do with speaking, the other with helping. In other words, to encourage another person means to tell them something they need to do, and then come alongside and help them do it.
For example, if I wanted to encourage someone to apply insecticide to their cornfield I tell them they need to do it because they have root worms. But then I would take the time and effort to go out there in the field with them and show them how to do it and work right alongside them. That’s what it means to encourage. If you see a couple struggling in their marriage, you might say something to them about the importance of going on a date. But then you would offer to take the kids for the evening, maybe even pay for their dinner. Now that’s real encouragement. It takes both speaking and acting.
Without encouragement, if it doesn’t happen, people just fail. They get hard and bitter because of the experience they’ve been through. And if their faith fails, well, the worms have won and there won’t be any harvest.
Its very important that all of us both give encouragement to others, and receive it because we all need it. I’ll bet you know someone who needs encouragement. What will you say to them, and do for them? I’m also willing to bet you need some encouragement. Who will you talk to? Will you put yourself out there to receive encouragement? The only way to keep going over the long haul is through encouraging one another. And the Bible says here that it’s supposed to happen “daily.” How will that happen for you today?
