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The Sin of Being a Discourager
Numbers 32:9 “..For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them..”No one truly loves a party poo-per, these you will find them sat by them selves. May be I can try and shine some light on this subject, you see these types of people look upon the ‘dark-side-of-life’. (It may to no fault oif their own). Sadly they do find all the shadows in life, and persist walking in them. They can bring the brightest happiest of days, down to gloomy, and spread their own ‘discouragement’, like confetti at a wedding, thus making all life harder for those they can influence. One thing that we need to careful of is that they don;t steel away Gods light from your life. Thie would the greatest of sin’s surely? Don’t be like thoes children of Isreal did, all because of thoes discouraging gloom artists.
Numbers 32:7 “..Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them..”
God tells us it’s a sin to discourage others. From your first of days till your last days at school. Some will go through a torturous time, with constant bullying; being told you’re usless; you’ll not amount to much; that they become so with drawn after 10 years or more of being put down & discouraged, their lives are now but a shadow of what they should have been.
We all need to be strengthened and inspired for all of life’s experiences, never weakened and disheartened. If we meet others down cast and discouraged, it is our duty, as humans and friends, not to make their cares and trials seem as large as they can, but rather point out to them the bright light in their clouds, and put new hope & courage in their hearts.
So many people would say ‘I am your friend’, but never really understand what they are saying….
Friend… A person known well to others and regarded with liking (or highly
thought of) affection, staunchly loyal.They will tell you the truth,
good or bad, an ally in a fight. Are you a friend to someone?
It costs us nothing, that when we find others in sorrow, the worst thing to do is to tell them more sorrow. Instead we need to come along side them with love & encouragement.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “..Therefore comfort each other and edify one another..”
Acts 11:23 “..When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord..”
Romans 1:12 “..I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me..”
Next time we find others in the midst of difficulties and struggling ready to faint under it all, surly if we continue bemoan the severity and hardness of their battles, and then we leave them, as my wife has said on many occasions, it’s even worse than we found them, they will be even more crushed than if we had walked pass them. What we do need to do is to stimulate & encourage & inspire them to be brave and victorious in all they do.
It is of vital importance that we learn this if you want to be helpers of others in their lives. Another foot note is that we just point out someone’s short comings and walk away. If this is you just stay at home, lock the door and throw away the key, because your worst to them than NO help at all. Again if all we have to offer is sadness to give out, we have no right to go among them. This is the truth, and some times the truth hurts.
It is only when we have something that will bless them and lift their hearts and give them glimpses of bright and beautiful things to live for, that we are truly commanded to go forth with them.
“ A singer sang a song of tears, and the great World heard and
wept,for he sang the sorrows of floating years, and the
hopes which the dead past kept, and souls in anguish their
burdens bore, and the World was sadder than ever before.
A singer sang a song of cheer, and the great World heard
and smiled, for he sang of love of a father dear, and souls
that had forgotten to pray, looked up and went singing
along their way.”
Let me ask this question … ‘Is it better that we should not sing of sadness if our song ends there’?
Unfortunately there are so many sad notes swirling around in the Worlds air, making sad sad notes in our ears, continually. To be able to sing and hear only songs of hope ~ joy and good cheer. Jesus Christ had every right to sit on the Mount of Olives, because He could not get people to open their eyes to see of the impending doom coming over His people, whom He loved dearly. Jesus tried to avert this doom, because all the sin and disbelief was dragging them down. It is our mission, just as Jesus did to become preachers of hope. So our mission should we choose, must be to carry to everyone, to bring ‘good tidings’ and none of ill, but only joy.
# Give us your joys, your hope, your sunshine,
your life, your up lifting truths. We have too many
sorrows-tears-clouds, ill chains, and enough
doubts of our own. #
1 John 4:4 “..You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world..”
This is why it is so wonderful to have Jesus in our lives, spreading the news, the Good news. It follows that there can never be a loss in a Christians life, out of which a gain may NOT become a platform for a buried seed. There can never be a sorrow, out of which a blessing may not be born. There can never be discouragement which may NOT be made to yield some fruit of strength.
Finally … if there for, we are true and loyal messengers of Christ, we can never be profits of gloom, discouragement and despair. We must be forever be heralds of hope. We must always be the bearer of good news. In Christ our Lord, there is always hope, with victory, a power to transmit loss into gain, and to breath life into death. We are living worthily, only when we are living victoriously with Christ within ourselves at every point, we are to be inspiring and helping others to live victoriously, and when our life is a song of hope and gladness, even though we sing out through tears & pain.
