importance of encouragement, thoughtfulness, and consideration.
Here is a short story to illustrate Thoughtfulness;
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10
year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a
glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?”
“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his
pocket and studied a number of coins in it. “How much is a dish of plain ice
cream?” he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress
was a bit impatient. “Thirty-five cents,” she said brusquely. The little boy
again counted the coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress
brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy
finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came
back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw.
There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies –
her tip.
Romans 16:1-16
"I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant a of the church in
Cenchreae. So you should welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in
whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor
of many—and of me also.
Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus,
who risked their own necks for my life.
Not only do I thank them, but so do all the Gentile churches.
Greet also the church that meets in their home.
Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.
Greet Mary,who has worked very hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners.
They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me.
Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ.
Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
Greet Herodion, my fellow countryman.
Greet those who belong to the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard in the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord.
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother—and mine.
Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ send you greetings."
In these verses,
Paul was thoughtful and considerate of many fellow Christians by recognizing
them. He even remebered many of them by name.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
14 My friends, we beg you to warn anyone who isn't living right.
Encourage anyone who feels left out, help all who are weak, and be patient with everyone.
15 Don't be hateful to people, just because they are hateful to you.
Rather, be good to each other and to everyone else.
16 Always be joyful
17 and never stop praying.
18 Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ.
This is what God wants you to do.
Matthew 14:13-21
Feeding the 5,000
13 When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew
from there by boat to a remote place to be alone.
When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns.
14 As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.
15 When evening came, the disciples approached Him and said,
“This place is a wilderness, and it is already late.
Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them.
“You give them something to eat.”
17 “But we only have five loaves and two
fish here,” they said to Him.
18 “Bring them here to Me,” He said.
19 Then He commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass.
He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
He blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave
them to the crowds.
20 Everyone ate and was filled.
Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces!
21 Now those who ate were about 5,000 men, besides women and children.
Yeshua was thoughtful toward the needs of the people who wanted to learn from Him.
Don't forget to be thoughtful and pray for others.
In Acts 12:6-17, Peter's friends prayed for him in prison with amazing results.
So, we can be thoughtful of others in person, and through prayer.
Psalms 115:12
Yahweh has been mindful of us: He will bless us; He will
bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron.
Yahweh blesses us with his thoughtfulness, so shouldn’t we strive to bless others
through our acts of thoughtfulness?
Here is a passage from a book I have read by Sarah Bryant of KBR ministries titled “The Family Daughter” this
passage’s title is “Acts of Thoughtfulness”
“My younger siblings, Mom, and I attended a monthly science class for homeschool
families a few years ago, and most of the children in the class were under ten
years old. The second month we attended class, I was having a rough day. As I
stood in the shade of a tree watching the children eagerly catch butterflies, a
little girl shyly walked up to me. She reached for my hand and said, “You look
beautiful!”
Immediately my day was brightened by this girl who did
not even know me, who was a fraction of my age. I smiled and replied, “Thank
you!” She happily told me her name was Emma. At seven years of age, she was the
oldest of four siblings. I can only imagine what a blessing her thoughtfulness
is to her family and others around her. How often does a seven-year-old go out
of her way to bless others? For that matter, how often does anyone
joyfully reach out to everyone
around?
During the rest of the class, little Emma tagged along
beside me. She was so happy and full of life. I noticed that when the other
children needed something, Emma considerately helped and encouraged them. Once,
another child made a guess about a chemical reaction. When his answer turned out
to be correct, Emma exclaimed, “You’re a genius!” I had to laugh. The next month
as we arrived at class, I heard a joyful shout as Emma came running toward me,
arms open to embrace me.
When we look around for ways to bless others we know-even if they are just
acquaintances- what a light for Jesus we can be! The little acts of
thoughtfulness can mean so much to someone-a happy smile, a kind word, a
birthday card, bouquet of wild flowers, Scripture bookmark, just a hug- these
seemingly “little” acts of thoughtfulness cost us little or nothing, but can go
a long way in witnessing to others of Christ’s love in our life. Let us ask
Jesus to make us a more selfless image of Himself, looking for the need of
others, giving to others who are hurting.”
So we can see that there are many ways to be thoughtful to others.
In our family, thoughtfulness can range from asking a younger brother what kind of iced tea he would like for supper,
to freezing in the car for the sake of car sick family members (no experience here, I am one of the car sick ones :) ).
Naomi