“Son of Encouragement”

​Have you ever been at a party for work or even church and looked up to see a person coming towards you that you didn’t want to talk with because all they do is complain. I’m sure we can all say yes! I remember a few years ago I was sitting at the airport waiting on my flight to Atlanta. As I was sitting there, I saw this person who is the ultimate complainer. I was looking down hoping he would not see me because I had nowhere to run. Then I hear him call my name and I was like, dang! He walked over and said, “Hi how are you and can I sit here with you?” I wanted to say no, but of course I said yes. He had not been sitting by me more than 5 min and it started. Then he shared a story about how he was walking and saw some money crumbled up on the ground. I was thinking how can you find something to complain about when finding money? Well he went on to say that when he picked up the crumbled money and unwrapped it, he discovered it was only a $5 bill. He then said, “that just my luck, if someone else had found this, it would have been a $10 bill. I was thinking did they just really say this. Complainers look at the negative side of every situation. They don't give thanks for what they have, but gripe because it's not more. At this point I was acting like I was listening, but I wasn’t because I started to think about myself and wondered if I complain like this, I mean I know I have complained about things. But do people look at me as a complainer? Or do they look at me as some who encourages?
 
There are two types of people in the world. One type loves and seeks the best while the other drains and complains and seeks the worst. With some people, like I did in the story above you look for that place to hide when you see them coming because you know there will be plenty of criticism and complaints. But then there are other who, when you hear their name or better yet see them, your spirit is immediately lifted because you know they are such a blessing and encouragement to be around. This is the person I want to be, don’t you?
 
There is a guy in the Bible that was such a constant source of encouragement that the apostles gave him the name Mr. Encouragement! His name was Joseph, but the disciples of Jesus changes it to Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement” (Acts 4:36). WOW, what a way to be known! When you read about him throughout the book of Acts you see him loving, encouraging, building up and blessing many. Anybody can be a complainer, but it takes effort to be an encourager.
 
As we go through our day at home, work, or wherever you at, let’s practice being that of an encourager. Don’t we have enough people in the world that complain? All you have to do is turn on the news and people are complaining about everything. Again, I know I complain about things for sure, But, lets pray and practice to be a Barnabas.