ENCOURAGEMENT REQUIRES ALTRUISM
Philippians 2:1-5
Encouragement requires altruism and to have altruism we must be
concerned, cooperative and helpful with each other.
The good thing about altruism is that it's contagious. One good deed
prompts another and another and another. One community leader said, “Our
epidemic has become known as “The Random Acts of Kindness Movement.”
Though no one is really sure where it began, there are those who trace
it to a woman paying her toll at a busy bridge crossing. They say she
handed the toll-taker a five-dollar bill and awaited her change. But,
suddenly, she had an inspiration. ‘Keep it,' she said. ‘I want to pay
for the next four cars behind me. Tell them to pass it on.'
The toll-taker informed the following drivers that their tolls had been
paid by a driver in front of them. They were dumbfounded. ‘Why?' they
wanted to know.
‘All she said was to pass it on,' he replied. And apparently they did,
because her one random act has been multiplied thousands of times.
To join the movement, there are no application cards to fill out or
membership fees to pay. All you have to do is perform some act of
kindness. Let someone go ahead of you in line, or help someone with a
heavy package, or pick up litter thrown in your neighbor's yard. But to
be in good standing you have to render at least one kindness every day.
A poet wrote:
There are two kinds of people on earth today.
Just two kinds of people. No more I say.
Not the good and the bad, for 'tis well understood
The good are half bad and the bad are half good.
Not the happy and sad, for the swift-flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.
Not the rich and the poor, for to count a man's wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.
Not the humble and proud, for in life's busy span
Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.
No! the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
As Christians, we need to exemplify altruism.
To have altruism:
I. WE MUST BE CONCERNED.
A woman said, “Dr. Hoffman is an excellent eye surgeon. His entire staff
radiates a genuine kindness that makes us patients feel cared about.
After about a year of regular visits to his office, I finally asked him,
‘How do you maintain such a caring attitude here?'
To my surprise, he answered, ‘When I hire people, my main concern is how
they treat people. An impressive résumé means nothing to me—I can train
them myself.'
An impressive résumé means nothing? I pondered this all the way home,
this system that seemed so incongruous in today's competitive,
career-climbing world. And yet going through my Bible, I see this
unlikely system again. Look at the strange conglomerate of disciples:
fishermen, tax collector, bystanders. If an impressive résumé in
religion were to be taken into account, wouldn't the disciple candidates
have been filled with the Pharisees and Sadducees? But, no! Jesus chose
the former. Resumés meant nothing.
I'm curious now: What if the Lord said to me, ‘Kathie, I don't want to
talk about your artistic achievements, or about the writing you've done,
or the church activities you've helped with. What I'm wondering is, how
are you treating ‘the least of these my brethren' these days?'”
We can show concern by thoughtfulness and tact. A woman said, “I was
having coffee with a friend when a neighbor came by, bringing her a
lovely pink rose. Jenny thanked her, admired the flower and put it in a
place of honor in her prettiest vase.
‘But you have so many beautiful roses in your backyard,' I remarked when
the friend had gone. ‘Why didn't you show them to her?'
‘Don't take away her song,' Jenny smiled. ‘She was so proud of her rose.'
Don't take away her song! Someone tells me her grand-baby just said a
word—I'm wild to tell how mine speaks in sentences. Someone tells me
what a wonderful trip she's just come back from—I long to describe in
great detail the even longer trip we took last summer. But, a true
Christian doesn't do that. A Christian has the grace to help others feel
good about themselves”
As Christians, we must show concern for each other. Paul said, “Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only
to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:2-4);
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together
in perfect unity” (Col. 3:14).
To show concern is to be altruistic!
Then, to have altruism:
II. WE MUST BE COOPERATIVE.
Nature teaches us about the importance of cooperation. The ratel, a
badger-like animal with tough skin and powerful claws, lives in Africa.
It wanders around the bush country, living on snakes, beetles, and small
mammals. But its favorite food is wild honey.
Now, a small brown bird that lives in that area also has a passion for
honey. The wild bees that produce this delicacy build their nests in
tree trunks and crevices. The bird has no trouble finding these nests,
but it can't get inside them. On the other hand, the ratel has
difficulty finding the nests, but with its strong claws it can easily
rip them open to get at the sweet delicacy.
So the bird and the ratel join forces. When the bird discovers a wild
bees' nest, it searches out a ratel and chatters loudly and
persistently. The ratel answers by moving toward the bird, with
chuckling and hissing sounds. This bird, also known as the honey guide,
leads the ratel directly to the nest. After the animal breaks it open
and eats its fill, the honey guide joins the feast. That's cooperation!
We could hardly find two more different creatures working together.
We can learn from that. There are many different people in our churches,
different races, temperaments and educational levels. Surely, if God can
make the ratel and the honey guide bird work together, He can help
various Christians to do the same. Jesus said, “I in them and you in me.
May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you
sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23).
Cooperation is essential. When it gets too hot in a hive, a group of
worker bees all face in one direction, anchor themselves to the floor
and begin to fan their wings rapidly. One bee alone wouldn't make much
difference but a lot of bees can produce an air current strong enough to
draw fresh cool air into the hive.
If a group of bees working together can activate a healing current that
changes everything for the better, surely a group of people can do the
same thing."
We can't always rely solely on our own efforts. Sometimes we must seek
"where two or three are gathered together. . ."
As Christians, we must cooperate with each other. Paul said, “Carry each
other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”
(Gal. 6:2);
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of
peace” (Eph. 4:3);
“Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up”
(Rom. 15:2).
To be cooperative is to be altruistic!
Finally, to have altruism:
III. WE MUST BE HELPFUL.
A busy housewife said, “It had been one of those long afternoons at the
store. Now, fumbling with two large bags of groceries and the car keys,
I felt some loose change slip from my hand. A nickel hit the concrete
and rolled beneath the car. For five cents, it's just not worth the
effort, I thought as I loaded the bags in the car.
But, as I got in, I heard some fast-scampering tennis shoes stop right
behind my car. A small boy ducked under the bumper and bobbed back up
with a shiny silver prize. ‘Mama, I found a nickel,' he yelled. ‘Now I
have just enough for the gum machine. Can we go back inside a minute?
Can we? Please?'
I have to admit I was a bit surprised at his excitement—but also
touched. While I'd dismissed the nickel as too small to matter, he'd
grabbed it with pleasure as just enough.
Can something that small really make a difference? Well, it can! Many so
called “little things”, apparently unimportant actions can have
tremendous consequences in the area of human relationships. A quickly
jotted note on a postcard to a friend whose mother is ill may be just
enough to lift her spirits. Complimenting the cleaners on the good job
done on my stained suit may be just enough to make their day.
A poet put it this way:
I have decided to do something.
I may help save the earth or raise one person's worth.
I may have great success, or really make a mess.
But with God's help, I have decided to do something.
I have decided to do something.
I may be eulogized—more likely criticized.
I'll do all that it takes and I'll make some mistakes;
But with God's help, I have decided to do something.
As Christians we must be helpful toward each other. Paul said, “Do not
use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another
in love” (Gal. 5:13);
“Therefore, as We have opportunity, let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal.6:10).
To be helpful is to be altruistic!
CONCLUSION:
Encouragement includes being concerned, being cooperative and being
helpful. Remember, great opportunities for heroism may come once in a
lifetime, but small opportunities for service surround us every day. As
Christians we are here to serve. We serve God by serving others. Legend
explains it this way:
A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out.
A SUBJECTIVE person came along and said: "I feel for you, down there."
An OBJECTIVE person came along and said: "It's logical that someone
would fall down there.
A PHARISEE said: "Only bad people fall into a pit.”
A MATHEMATICIAN calculated how he fell into the pit.
A NEWS REPORTER wanted the exclusive story on his pit.
A JUDGMENTAL PERSON said: “You deserve your pit.
An I.R.S. agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.
A SELF-PITYING person said: "You haven't seen anything until you've seen
MY PIT!"
A NEW AGER said: "Just imagine that you're not in a pit.”
An OPTIMIST said: "Things could be worse."
A PESSIMIST said: "Things will get worse!”
Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him out!
Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play major league baseball.
While breaking the “color barrier,” he faced jeering crowds in every
stadium. Then, one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an
error. His own fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base,
humiliated, while the fans jeered. Then shortstop, "Pee Wee" Reese, came
over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and
faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm
around his shoulder saved his career.
Can you be a lifter of spirits through concern, cooperation and
helpfulness? The Scripture says, “Let us consider and give attentive,
continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may
simulate to love and helpful deeds and noble activities; Not forsaking
or neglecting to assemble together, as is the habit of some people, but
. . . encouraging—one another . . .” (Heb. 10:24,25a).
**
(Word Count 1978)
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