Influencing Others
How do we motivate others? How did Jesus motivate others? Did He yell or point out mistakes? He didn’t with those who were open and teachable. He encouraged such individuals and rarely pointed out their mistakes in public. Indeed, His focus was on encouraging. Isn’t the Holy Spirit known as the Comforter (Jn 14:26, KJV)? And what of God the Father? As but one example, God said king David was a man after His own heart who would obey Him (Acts 13:22, Norlie). David was a murdered, adulterer, got a friend drunk and tried to deceive him, and let his own son go unpunished for raping David’s daughter by another wife. David ignored another son for two years after inviting him back to Jerusalem, shamed and was thankless to loyal troops who had saved his life, and brought disaster on the nation through his arrogant insistence on taking a census. David made many horrible mistakes but honestly confessed and repented of them (Prov 28:13). This is why the Lord was kind toward him, gentle when he did correct him, and emphasized the positive while barely mentioning the negative. There are lessons for us here.
Lincoln, Grant, Napoleon, and many other successful leaders learned this lesson. They were as kind as possible when correcting other people’s mistakes. In contrast, many have motivated others by creating fear of making a mistake. The result? Those individuals sought to avoid failure rather than seeking to succeed. An approach based on fear is not God’s preferred way.
As Christians, we should look at the larger picture. The kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). This is what we should be promoting in every activity. Instilling fear of making a mistake undermines faith (Heb 10:39) and, thus, undermines growth in right acting, peace, and joy. Let us see the bigger picture and motivate ourselves and others in ways that are pleasing to the Lord.
When God wants a couple or family to alter course, the revelation is normally clear.