Sowing Into Others
By: Helen M. Mitchell
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)
Right from the beginning of creation, God said that it was not good for man to be alone. And because everything about God is good, he took a holy pause and created for Adam a helpmate, a partner, a coworker in the gardens of life.
God knows that humans need emotional and relational connection with one another. When that connection is missing in our lives, we often find ourselves feeling isolated and alone. Even in a busy work environment, we can be isolated physically, emotionally, or relationally. If our loneliness is deep enough, it can lead to depression.
While our workplaces are intended to function as teams, there are frequently barriers within the very structure of the organization that stand in the way of that teamwork. One department may function separately from another, hindering the collaboration required to better the organization and meet an individual's need for community. Any exclusion, whether intended or not, from the company information "loop" may challenge one's need to belong. A boss who fails to acknowledge your hard work and results achieved may cause an employee to question his or her value to their employer.
Sometimes those feelings of disconnectedness come as a result of our own choices. We may be on the lookout for ourselves, over-protective of our position, so driven and focused on getting the job done that we don't make time for people. We fail to reach out and get to know our coworkers in any way that leads to the genuine partnering God had in mind for us.
God never intended for you to go through life or do your work on your own. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NIV).
There are four vital relationships you must develop if you want to maximize the life God has given you.
- Models who inspire you
"I have given you an example to follow: do as I have done to you." - John 13:15 (TLB)
You became imitators of us and of the Lord . . . and so became a model to all the believers. - 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 (NIV)
- Mentors who advise you
Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.
- Proverbs 19:20 (NLT)
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.
- Proverbs 15:22 (NIV)
A model could be a person in history, but a mentor must be a contemporary-someone who is alive now and who can actively feed into your life. A model is someone you emulate; a mentor is a personal coach. While models give you ideals to follow, mentors give you perspective.
- Partners who assist you
Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone . . . there is no one to help him. - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (TEV)
These partners are your coworkers, teammates, and helpers, the network of people committed to a similar life mission. Even Jesus needed partners. They were called disciples.
- Friends who support you
A friend loves you all the time, and a brother helps in time of trouble. - Proverbs 17:17
(NCV)
- True friends give you emotional support
- True friends give you intellectual support
- True friends give you spiritual support
Don't be teamed up with those who do not love the Lord . . . How can a Christian be a partner with one who doesn't believe? - 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (TLB)
We rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God-all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins-making us friends of God. - Romans 5:11 (TLB)
Until next week...
Discussion Questions:
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To have a friend like the one described in point 4, we need to be that kind of friend. As you look at your relationships, what do you think your friends would say about you? What are you sowing into other people?
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As you invest in or sow into those around you, ask the Lord to show you the Christian mentors and friends who can encourage you and invest in you. What would you reap today from your investment into others?
- Who can you encourage this week in your workplace? And to whom can you be a mentor?