God Of All Encouragement

From January 1 to July 1, as my 2010 New Year's Resolution, I kept another blog called "Betraying Bitter Betty." I was testing a hypothesis of mine that if we began doing something as simple as encouraging each other, the world would be a little more likable. My goal was to "betray the Bitter Betty inside all of us" and truthfully encourage at least one person per day for 6 months.

This turned out to be a hard but exciting challenge that literally changed the way I live. I do not feel as though this challenge has "finished" or "resolved," but rather it has led me to a greater realization of just how important and significant that challenge is.

Now, according to the NAB version, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement flow. If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement.

For Lent, our household gave up sarcasm and complaining, resulting in probably one of the hardest yet fruitful Lents in my lifetime. Fortunately for me, this coincided within my New Year's Resolution time frame, thus giving me extra encouragement (and accountability) to encourage...and not be negative.

Coming home for the summer has been really difficult. If there's one big difference that has come from my resolution, it's that I feel almost hypersensitive to negativity. I find myself being dragged against my will back into old behaviors and habits of slicing sarcasm and frustrated arguments with the family. Of course, though it's against my will, I do have the choice not to give in...I just feel the negative environment seems to weaken my will.

To be honest, I don't really know what to do. Trying to stay positive is an obvious effort, but what about practical ways to do that? Still working on it...

If I come up with something, I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, I encourage you to be encouraging. It really does more than we might think on the surface...After all, if God is the God of all encouragement, it necessarily follows that we would strive to imitate that and be God's people of encouragement -- not of judgment, hatred, condescension, or despair.