After a rather long and stressful day, just before dinner, I decided to call those celebrating birthdays in our church as my custom is. My younger daughter responded; “Why do you call people every now and then?” She said this because in the past weeks, I was practically calling people almost every day, celebrating, encouraging, and counselling them. This was aside from what the pastoral care team in church would do. My response to her is the basis of this write-up; “Learn to celebrate people.”
Friend, you must learn to celebrate people. What you don’t appreciate will depreciate. People do better when they are celebrated (2 Timothy 1:5-6). Nobody thrives in an atmosphere of criticism. It is true that nobody is perfect, and people have flaws. But if you make up your mind to celebrate people, you would always have something to celebrate about them (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
The other day, one woman said this to her husband; “I see people eulogizing and celebrating their husbands, I don’t even know what to celebrate about you.” The problem of this woman is that of ignorance. Listen, no matter how bad you think your spouse is, there is always something to celebrate about him or her. You would always see what you are looking for.
If you are looking for fault, you would see plenty of them. But if you deliberately look for positives, you would be amazed at how wonderful people are. Have you ever wondered what God sees when He looks at us? Does He see our sin, or His righteousness in us? Does He see our struggle or the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross? God chooses to see the best in us (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 10:17). He knows we would get better by His grace. You should also do the same.
We often judge people by their actions but judge ourselves by our intentions. It should be the other way round. Judge people by their intention, not their action. Give them the benefit of the doubt (Luke 6:36-38). Asumme their innocence and naivity. This does not mean you are gullible. It only means you have learnt to master people-relationship. When you give people the benefit of the doubt, you have given them room to grow and get better (Hebrews 6:9).
When you choose to celebrate or appreciate people, you are sowing the right seeds. You cannot reap what you have not sown (Galatians 6:7-9). People would naturally rise to the level of your trust in them. Few people do better unless the most important voices in their lives believe in them. Make up your mind to be that important voice to your spouse, children, church members, staff, friends, and family. Learn to celebrate people. Is this clear enough?
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria