“I love you”, “I’m sorry”, “I forgive you”, and
“Thank-you”. The author of a book I read a while back argued that those are
the four most important phrases we should use in our lives. I agree: we should say
them regularly and frequently.
But after reading the book, I wanted to add one more
phrase: “I’m proud of you”. Growing up, as I did, in the 1950s and 60s, it was
a phrase I rarely heard spoken, not only within my own family, but in most of
my friends’ families, even in school and in church.
There always seemed to be a Protestant hesitancy to using
those words, as though speaking them might lead to conceit and arrogance. It
was as though the Proverb hung over our heads like the sword of Damocles: “Pride
goeth before the fall”, or, as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message, “First pride, then the crash – the bigger the ego, the
harder the fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
But we all hunger to hear those words. We should not hesitate
to say we are proud of family members and friends. We should joyfully say, “I am
proud of you”, especially this month as we celebrate all of our graduates: high
school, college, graduate school; this year we even celebrate a Ph.D.
We are proud of all our graduates: of all their hard
work, all their accomplishments, all their determination and dedication. Congratulations
and well-done! And we will continue to be proud of you as you move on to the
next chapter in your lives, following the call of the Spirit wherever the
Spirit leads you.
June also marks the end of our program year and we’ll
celebrate and thank all those many wonderful folks who sang in the choir,
played an instrument, or helped our Music Ministry in others ways. To all of
you, we say “Thank You” and we also say, “We are proud of you” for having
served and shared your talents, your gifts, your time and your faith enhancing
our worship and our lives.
We will also thank all of our teachers this month as we
conclude a year of Sunday School. To all those who helped out in Sunday School
classrooms, including the ETC and Nursery; all those who helped with Youth
Group activities; and all those who led Adult Education classes, including
Circles and Bible Study groups: We thank
you and we are proud of you!
Make those five phrases a regular part of your lexicon.
Say, “I love you”, “I am sorry”, “I forgive you”, “Thank you”, and “I am proud
of you” regularly and frequently. Do that, and I’m sure our Lord would say, “I am
proud of you!”
Grace & peace,
Pastor
Skip
