When I was a child, I remember learning about the Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I recently read a children's book that put a new twist on that old saying. The premise of the story was that everyone carries an invisible bucket. It's an emotional bucket, and when your bucket is full, you feel happy, satisfied, and encouraged. When your bucket is empty, you feel down and discouraged.
In this world there are "bucket fillers" and "bucket dippers." A bucket filler is a person who adds to other people by encouraging them and investing in them with kind words and actions. When bucket fillers pour into others, they find that their own buckets are filled up, too. Bucket dippers, on the other hand, are those who take away from people by using harsh, critical, or negative words. They not only deplete other people's buckets, but they also diminish the contents of their own.
God intends for us to be bucket fillers. He wants us to use our lives and resources to help people be the very best they can be. I think about Peter, one of Jesus' disciples. Peter was impulsive; he said things he shouldn't have, and he needed to grow in a lot of areas. In spite of Peter's personality drawbacks, Jesus referred to him in surprisingly positive terms. He said, "Peter, you are a rock." Peter's very name actually meant "pebble," and I wonder if he felt like a tiny pebble at times, especially after some of his foolish blunders. Nevertheless, Jesus reminded Peter of what he was becoming—a solid, stable rock. He spoke potential and confidence into Peter's life, and we should follow that example in our relationships.
Today, let's look for ways to be bucket fillers not bucket dippers. Instead of reminding people of their failures and faults; let's see the solid rock in them and speak positively about what they are becoming. Let's pour into others the way God has called us to.
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today (Hebrews 3:13, NIV).
