As a pastor, I have a great job. The only way it could be better is if I didn’t have to work with people. (I guess then I would be a veterinarian.)
I live in Cincinnati…and yes, I am a Bengals fan. Who-dey! But it’s not easy being a fan…often I am very disappointed. But I still believe that any given week we can beat anyone…as long as our defense isn’t on the field.
Everyone loves a winning team. It’s easy to have faith in a team that has already proven themselves. It’s much tougher to believe in a team before they have proven themselves.
It’s the same with people. The key to motivating people to reach their potential is to believe in them first, sometimes even before they believe in themselves.
Some people desperately want to believe in themselves but have very little hope. Marshal Ferdinand Foch (a World War I hero) once said: “There are no hopeless situations; there are only men and women who have grown hopeless about them.”
Often the greatness inside of a person is disguised by their circumstances. But when you believe in people, you begin to see past the disguise and discover the real person inside of them. People’s instincts are pretty good at knowing when others have faith in them. They can sense if your belief is genuine or phony. But truly believing in people will change their lives.
When you believe in people, they begin to do the impossible.
