“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

I get so spend a lot of time in those who have experiences in theater at some point in their lives, now or in the past.  I was spending time with an executive who was telling me that early in his career his extra time away from work was spent in an improvisation group.  He said he wasn’t all that good at it, but he learned the principle there of “plus that”.  To “plus that” was to always be building on the others who were improvising with him.  If he didn’t, then the improve would stall, the actors around him would falter and the skit would come to a close.  So, he was always watching, listening, being intent to what others were doing so he could be ready to build on what they were doing, to be “plus that” for them.  He told me that the lesson he learned in that theater program was the best business lesson he ever learned.

Why does God call us to be encouragers of others?  It’s because He is the God of “plus that”.  He expands the possibilities for each of us.  And, He calls on us to “plus that” for others by being the encouragers.  And to encourage others in a way that they are inspired and better, we must listen, care, and be authentic so that we are there for them at the right time and in our most genuine way. So, ask Him today, what we can do to “plus that”?

Reference: 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (New Living Translation)