Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
1Thessalonians 5:15b, MSG*
Most translations render this verse as “always do good to one another” or “always follow after the good for one another.” I’m not entirely sure looking for and bringing out the best in one another is the same thing, but it’s definitely one way of doing good to another or working for his or her good.
Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
This begins with a Christian’s responsibility to pray for open eyes and ears to see and hear what God wants to reveal.
Look for the best… for God-given potential, even if faintly visible. For spiritual gifts and natural talents. For signs of Jesus living inside.
Bringing it out in the best way starts with prayer: asking God what to say (or what to pray without even approaching the person). Asking God what He wants to do, and waiting for His timing.
Then, maybe pointing out the ability or potential we see, and encouraging the person to volunteer at the level of his or her ability. Maybe introducing a beginner to someone experienced in that area.
Beginner or seasoned worker, everyone is still a work in progress. How do we bring out the best? We celebrate the good, we are careful in correction, we encourage growth.
“The best” here doesn’t mean perfection in performance; God is more interested in the heart. Quality of work matters, but a genuine and God-serving heart is an essential part of “the best”. So let’s encourage one another’s hearts, spiritual lives and attitudes as well as the outward working of one another’s potential.
Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
In our relationships with non-Christians, this would also include being alert to signs of spiritual seeking or longing for truth. The best way to bring it out will be by living our own faith authentically and sharing a word or two as God makes a way.
Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
What better way to follow Jesus in our daily lives?
God who formed each one of us and who planned a good purpose for us, who gives talents and gifts according to Your own wisdom and for Your glory in building up of the body of believers, thank You for what You want to do in and through each of Your children. Open us to recognize the best in one another, and show us how to best bring that out. Forgive us for the times we look at one another through human eyes, short-sighted and biased – and sometimes grumpy. Help us to see what You see, and to desire what You desire.
∞
Russ Taff‘s song, “We Will Stand,” celebrates the unity of believers working together.
*The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson