STAY OPEN AND APPROACHABLE

"Consider careful how you listen." Lk 8:18 NIV

STAY OPEN AND APPROACHABLE

Some people seem to go through life with a "closed" sign on their foreheads. Whether through fearfulness, selfishness, callousness, busyness, they're not open to the thoughts of others. And it can cost you dearly. Take a moment and ponder these Scriptures: "He who disdains instruction despises his own soul. But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding" (Pr 15;32 NKJV). "When I saw it, I consider: It well; I looked on it and received instructions" (Pr 24:32 NKJV). "Give instruction to wise man, and he will be still wiser: teach a just man and he will increase in learning" (Pr 9:9 NKJV). People who are receptive and approachable generally display three qualities (1) They show sensitivity towards people’s feelings. And here’s something interesting: Although they themselves are emotionally steady, that doesn’t mean they expect others to always be that way. They recognize that good people sometimes have bad days, so they attune their approach to the feelings of others and adjust how they relate to them. (2) They understand other people’s weakness because they’re aware of Their Own. Novelist Edgar Howe said, "Express a mean opinion of yourself occasionally; it will show your friends that you know how to tell the truth." Open and receptive people are honest about their abilities--and their shortcomings. (3) They have the ability to forgive others and to ask for forgiveness. It takes humility. Author David Augsburger wrote: "Since nothing we intend is ever faultless, nothing we attempt ever without error, and nothing we achieve without some measure of finitude to and fallibility we call humaneness; we are saved by forgiveness." So, the word for you today is--stay open and approachable.


This Message Was Taken From: Daily Devotional - A Word For You Today.

Recent

Archive

 2025

Categories

no categories

Tags

no tags