Lincoln’s Pockets / 口袋里装的

[Dexu Xia]

Lincoln’s Pockets

Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. Romans 15:2

The night US president Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater in 1865, his pockets contained the following: two spectacles, a lens polisher, a pocketknife, a watch fob, a handkerchief, a leather wallet containing a five-dollar Confederate bill, and eight newspaper clippings, including several that praised him and his policies.

I wonder what the Confederate money was doing in the president’s pocket, but I have little doubt about the glowing news stories. Everyone needs encouragement, even a great leader like Lincoln! Can you see him, in the moments before the fateful play, perhaps reading them to his wife?

Who do you know who needs encouragement? Everyone! Look around you. There isn’t one person in your line of vision who is as confident as they seem. We’re all one failure, snide comment, or bad hair day away from self-doubt.

What if we all obeyed God’s command to “please our neighbors for their good, to build them up”? (Romans 15:2). What if we determined only to speak “gracious words” that are “sweet to the soul and healing to the bones”? (Proverbs 16:24). What if we wrote these words down, so friends could reread and savor them? Then we’d all have notes in our pockets (or on our phones!). And we’d be more like Jesus, who “did not please himself” but lived for others (Romans 15:3).

Reflect & Pray

Whose words have most encouraged you? Who might need encouragement that you’ve been overlooking?

Loving God, help me to encourage others with my words, actions, and presence

 

口袋里装的

我们各人务要叫邻舍喜悦，使他得益处，建立德行。-罗马书15章2节

在1865年，美国总统亚伯拉罕·林肯在福特剧院遭人暗杀。那晚，他的口袋里装的是两副眼镜、拭镜布、小刀、挂表、手帕、一个内有一张南方邦联5元纸钞的皮夹，以及8张剪报，其中几张是赞扬他个人或政策的报导。

我不知道林肯口袋里的那张邦联纸钞是作何之用，但却不怀疑剪报的必要性。因为每个人都需要鼓励，即使像林肯这样伟大的领导者也不例外！我们可以想像，或许在遭到暗杀之前，他正将剪报的内容读给他的夫人听呢！

你认为谁需要鼓励呢？答案是，每一个人！若你细心观察周遭的人，没有任何人是像外表所呈现地那样有信心。只需一次失败、一个恶意的批评，或不如意的一天，就足以令人失去信心。

你想，如果你我都遵照上帝的命令，“叫邻舍喜悦，使他得益处，建立德行”（罗马书15章2节）；如果我们决意只说“使心觉甘甜，使骨得医治”的“良言”（箴言16章24节）；如果我们把鼓励的话写给朋友，让他细细品味。如果这样会如何呢？若是如此，我们的口袋里（或手机里）装的就是鼓励人的字条或短句，我们也会更像耶稣，像祂一样“不求自己的喜悦”，而是使众人得益处（罗马书15章2-3节）。

谁的话语最能激励你？
你一直疏于对谁予以鼓励呢？

当时时藉着话语、行动及陪伴来鼓励他人。