ESPECIALLY THE TIMID
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In the ministry of Jesus and the work of the church, there is always a special concern for the weakest and those most in need. It makes sense that this is particularly true in the ministry of encouragement. “Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14, NLT). Those who are most afraid are those who most need to hear “Do not be afraid”—not as a message of rebuke, but as a message of comfort and assurance. As with most human organizations and communities, the tendency in the church is to pay the most attention to the powerful, the loud, the beautiful, and the confident.
Those with apparent success—in whatever way that is measured—are often honored more. But the church must be different. Paul wrote about this principle when he described the church as the body of Christ. “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor” (1 Corinthians 12:22, 23). This means that the social relationships and dynamics in the community of believers should not mirror the society and culture around it but should be different in giving preference to those who are seen as weak and who are often overlooked or marginalized.
In ministry and service, we are to prioritize encouragement and care to those who most need them and who are least likely to receive them elsewhere.
In turn, this will change the nature of those relationships and will bring blessings to the church body as a whole. “But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12:24, 25).
