Validation
My colleague was very worried. She was constantly checking her pedometer watch, which she wears regularly to monitor her daily steps.
“It’s not showing the correct results”, she kept saying. I asked, “why, what happened”? She replied, “yesterday, I walked 2km with my nephew, pushing his stroller in the park, but for that time it just says 500 meters – my all steps wasted. Maybe they were not counted on the pedometer, as I was not swinging my hands”.
After a pause, I reminded her, “you know, you are still maintaining good physical health”. “Yeah”, she laughed. This made me feel how important it was for her that her steps should be counted; as often, working towards something without immediate results is disheartening.
Why we wait for acknowledgement and appreciation at work, home or even from machines is simple - it’s human nature. We need to validate whether we are doing right, or if it is beneficial, or is it worth doing, or will it give expected results, etc.
Are we passionately working towards getting Christ validation? Is he happy for what we are doing? Our we following Bible? Our we sharing faith (Word Of God) to the people we work with?
The Great Commission
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Being eager about Christ will help others see that there’s something different about you, and they will want to know what it is.
It’s not that you open the Gospel and start preaching; you can use kind words, be patient with gentle temperament, choosing to love even when people plot against you, monitor what you saying, doing so, as you are representing Christ through you, and very importantly, treating all with respect.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal”(1st Corinthians 13:1).
Prayer for people around you
The Gospel has very clear instructions in Old and New Testaments -God wants us to go forth and spread the Word to the world. As Christians, part of our responsibility to try to reach as many people as possible.
If you talk about growing, we need to have connections; like roots that spread and connect, a single root cannot perform the function efficiently. The same happens with us, when we don’t connect with people during the majority of our day spent at work; the cost of not connecting with those around us poses significant threats to personal health, as well as organisational performance.
For most of us, we can connect to them by praying for them. If your friend is jobless, you can assure them about miracles prayers can do and do a small prayer, “Lord, provide my friend with a job, a car that runs, good health and safety”. There is nothing wrong with praying for problems; in fact, the Bible encourages us to pray for everything that is giving us anxieties.
“It is right to pray for health and for good things to happen” (3rd John 1:2).
Jennifer Javed Khan is a PSI young writer from Pakistan.