A Skill You Can Use to Help Others (and Anyone Can Do It)

Are you a parent who has a desire for your children to have a good life (however you define that term)? If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement?

Maybe you are married and have no children. Maybe you are married and your children are no longer in the house. In either case, your desire is for you and your spouse to have a fulfilling relationship. If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement?

Perhaps you have some sort of supervisory role where you work. You may, in fact, own the company or be at the top of the organizational chart. You, of course, want to see the company flourish. You may also want those under your supervision to make a positive contribution to that effort. If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement?

It may be that, like me, you serve as an elder in a local congregation of God’s people. You want the congregation where you serve to be pleasing to the Lord. You also want there to be an atmosphere of unity and harmony among the members. You desire for every member to be an involved and fulfilled part of the local body. If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement? 

Maybe you are the preacher for a local congregation. You want your lessons to be scripturally sound. That should go without saying. Along with that, you want what you present to be helpful in the spiritual growth of individual members and of the congregation as a whole. If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement?

Do you have a friend, family member, or brother or sister in the Lord who has asked for advice? If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement?

Are you interested in helping people spend eternity in heaven? Would you like to be helpful in helping them get there? If that is the case, what do you think would be one essential skill you need to implement?

Are you getting tired of the last sentence in each of the paragraphs above yet? I could go on and on with a variety of scenarios, but I will stop here and suggest that each of these that I’ve already presented have the same answer to that (admittedly redundant) question. In fact, there are almost a limitless number of times when a very important skill needs to be implemented.

I was reminded of that recently when I saw an advertisement for TD Ameritrade. The purpose of this company is to help people meet their financial goals. I’m sure that, if I had demonstrated an interest in using their services, they could overwhelm me with more information than I can even imagine. 

However, the brief advertisement was not loaded with tons of information. Instead, what it said in letters that were large and all capitalized was:

GUIDANCE STARTS WITH HEARING YOU OUT

Then, in smaller, but still prominent, lettering the reader is informed:

Our Financial Consultants listen before they help you plan

So – what is it that I need to learn to do if I really want to help people in any walk of life? I need to learn from an ad. I need to learn to listen!

Better yet – I need to learn from Jesus when He was only twelve years old. As you may remember, Mary and Joseph…

…found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers,

both hearing them and asking them questions (Luke 2:46, NKJV).

Are you listening?

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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn