Arvon mekin ansaitsemme — We are valuable
Stand-up comedian Ismo Leikola has often made his audience laugh by making comparisons of Finnish and American culture. For example, how in America compliments are part of everyday life and in Finland they are shared less often. The scarcity of praise and encouragement is sometimes justified by saying that a person can think too much of oneself and become proud. However, it seems that positive feedback at the right time is rather encouraging, and not giving good feedback again discouraging.
The Holy Spirit is used as a name in the Greek New Testament encourager, companion, helper, comforter, and defender. The Bible also talks about the spiritual gift of encouragement (Romans 12:8). From this, we can conclude that God himself wants to lift up people who have lost hope and help everyone find their own place and inspiration.
There are people who feel they are left out or they don’t get proper appreciation. That’s why it’s good to be on the lookout for whether I could be of help or encourage someone else. Lack of a sense of one’s own worth can easily lead to the wrong kind of people pleasing to get attention. The most important thing is therefore to be clear about how God relates to me.
To God, every person is so precious that he gave his own son Jesus to die for our sins so that we might live forever. God’s love does not change with our success or failure. We are precious to God.
Blessings,
Pastor Timo
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