Bring Out the Best in Others (3)

Scarlet fever left Helen Keller blind and deaf when she was only 19 months old. She was seven when Anne Sullivan became her teacher and worked tirelessly to draw out of Helen the treasures buried deep inside her. She literally ‘willed’ Helen to succeed. Watching this relationship in the powerful play The Miracle Worker, you see Helen begin to blossom and develop gifts that would inspire the world for generations to come. Understand this: God uses the encouraging words, actions and attitudes we direct at each other to strengthen our inner resolve to succeed. But to be effective, your praise should be immediate, specific and genuine. Dr William Mayo, co-founder of the famous Mayo Clinic, used praise to encourage young doctors. One of them said, ‘You’d read a paper at a staff meeting and afterwards he’d see you in the lift or the hall, and would shake your hand and put his hand on your shoulder with a quiet “Good work,” and a straight, warm look that made you think he meant it. Or perhaps a day or two later you’d get a note from him, just a short one, saying something like, “Dear _______, I learned more about _______ from that paper of yours the other night than I ever knew before. It was a good job.” Believe me, a fellow prized those notes.’ Praise, practical help, encouragement—all of these flow out of us naturally and genuinely when we begin to see the untapped potential buried inside each individual. That’s why the Bible says, ‘Let everything you say be… helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.’ (Ephesians 4:29 NLT)