A man was invited to the home of some friends for dinner. The food was superb—except for the apple pie. Even so, he found something good to say about the pie.

Several weeks later, the man visited the friends again for dinner. This time they had a cherry pie that was absolutely delicious. But the visitor didn't say one word about it. This bothered the hostess, so she finally blurted out, "The last time you were here, I served a pie that I was ashamed of, yet you were complimentary. Tonight I've served what I think is the best pie I've ever made, and you haven't said a word. Why?"

The man smiled and replied, "The cherry pie tonight was fantastic, and the apple pie you served last time was not as good as this one. So you see, the apple pie needed more praise!"

Our relationships with people are like that—some need more encouragement than others. No matter how imperfect a person may seem or how poorly he performs, we should always try to find something to commend. All around us are discouraged people, perhaps even in our homes, who need "a good word" from us to cheer them up (Proverbs 12:25). Let's look for ways to give them that needed encouragement!  —RWD  — Richard De Haan