I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

There must be a godly way to encourage others – to acknowledge their giftedness; a way which glorifies God while at the same time honouring and affirming the individual concerned. It seems to me that Paul points the way in his letters. We have much to learn from him.

Alistair Begg told a lovely story. He said when he was a young boy in Scotland, he was in the local sweet shop one day when a lady came in and complimented him about something. (It may have been a comment about how he looked). When she left the shop, the owner looked at him and said, “Flattery is like perfume sonny. You can sniff the bottle, but you mustn’t swallow the contents.”