In my role as president of Focus on the Family, I have the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people – from heads of state to ordinary people who’ve achieved extraordinary things.
Over the years, one thing has been affirmed again and again in my mind – people are what life is all about.
Dr. John Maxwell puts it this way: “God is in the people business, so we should be in the people business.”
Here at Focus, we take that directive seriously. We come to work each day seeking to strengthen marriages and to be available for moms and dads who are struggling. Woven through it all is our desire to point families toward a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Regardless of whether each of our circles of influence is large or small, God has a role for all of us. If you can help other people understand that they’re significant, there’s virtually no end to the good you can do in the world around you.
As Christians, we should be striving to remind each other of our inherent value in Christ. The apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing” (1 Thess. 5:11).
Very few can communicate how to do that as well as Dr. Maxwell. He’s an accomplished speaker, a leadership expert, and was a pastor for a number of years. That’s why on our radio program today and tomorrow, we’re re-airing a classic Focus broadcast that’s as memorable as the day it first aired.
With a mixture of humor, wisdom, and great story telling, Dr. Maxwell teaches people how to be a cheerleader for others by explaining the “five things he knows about people.”
The five things he wants us to know are these:
- Everybody wants to be somebody. No matter how old or young people are, everybody wants to be somebody.
- Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. People won’t be interested in what you believe until they know the answer to this question: “Does that person really love me?”
- Everybody who belongs to the body of Christ belongs to everybody that belongs to the body of Christ. Too many Christians try to go it alone in life. We were designed to live in and support each other in community.
- Anybody who helps somebody influences a lot of bodies. It’s amazing how much we can encourage and influence other people if we are willing to invest ourselves in them.
- God loves everybody. The most important thing on earth is people because that’s who Jesus died for.
I hope you’ll join us for the next couple of days. You’ll laugh and, most of all, be encouraged to make a difference in the lives of the people in your sphere of influence. You can hear the program on your local radio station, online, or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app.
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