Faucets and Drains
Watching TV a while ago and not paying much attention, I was brought back to the moment when I overheard, "Surround yourself with faucets, not drains."
That made me think of my normal circle of friends and workmates. I do enjoy plenty of faucet-folks and not many people who drain. The truth for a follower of Jesus is that we benefit from both in our lives. I'll get to that later.
Faucets fill what lacks just a little, or a lot. They pour lavishly without a concern for cost or inconvenience. Faucet-people are those who both naturally and by practice seek to build others up. The Bible is full of them, like:
Aaron and Hur holding up Moses' arms when he prayed during battle
Jonathan in his friendship with David while pursued by Saul
Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego in the face of danger in exile
The women who used their own funds to support Jesus' ministry
Joseph, who earned the nickname Barnabas, the son of encouragement
The many women and men whom Paul references at the end of of his letters
Part of our calling turns us into faucets where we fill, encourage, challenge, help along those we rub up against. Certainly, it is what we are to do, and the bonus to us is that over time faucet-living becomes who we are. Everyone wins! And everyone benefits, especially in times like these when becoming a drain looks like an easy enough off-ramp to any of us. It appears tempting to follow the growing crowd who see dark clouds inside any silver lining ... but you are called to something much different, more important, truly powerful.
You might be thinking, "That's simple for extroverts, but not for me!" Hogwash. Some of the most encouraging words and deeds have come to me from the quietest of folks in the simplest of ways. Faucet-living is looking for opportunities to genuinely compliment, or linger over coffee, or fix a stuck drawer, or hear a hurt heart of whomever you happen to be with. It has little to do with personality and much to do with willingness to look outside of your own bubble.
A wise move for us is moving to living more of a faucet-life and seeking out faucet-people to hang with. Drain-people ... drain.
Here might be a simple way to help grow in your faucetness: Purpose to extend to others you meet 20 genuine compliments or positive comments each day. Make it a game for yourself. Create a card that reads 20 C/D (compliments per day) and stick it in your pocket or tape it to your phone, then go on the hunt for opportunities to be a faucet. Faucet-living is really fun and the folks who come near you will be refreshed and better set to face their life. Practice at home, in the checkout line at the store, roll down your window and call out in traffic, at the gym, floating the river, just about anywhere. That's the beauty of faucet-living; you don't have to wait for the right time. Now! is the right time.
The writer of Hebrews, when addressing how easy it is to grow discouraged and ditch a faith walk, challenges readers to:
Encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Resist thinking that "the deceitfulness of sin" is just some bad list you have stuck in your head. Broadly speaking, the deceitfulness of sin is anything in you or around you that you put in a higher place than God, then convincing yourself that what you are pursuing, or dreading, or anxious about is worth your time. Still, it is a deceit. We can get hoodwinked into thinking in wrong ways about God's world. This leads to a hollowed out life that can often be hard, dry, and dusty, drained of the stuff of life and then drain others around them. Then along comes a faucet to refresh, encourage, fill.
The deceit of sin becomes a drain. It drains strength, hope, positivity, possibility, and energy to face up to life. Drain-folks suck the life out of relationships, and they easily produce plenty of reasons on the "con" side of the ledger. Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh is a drain and hard to handle. If you think for a moment, you can picture a drain in your arena who always brings you down. What they need are regular splashes from a faucet to soften the hardness and tamp down the dust. Over time with drinks from the faucet the hardest of soil can soften and a new faucet can emerge. Redirecting a drain-person into a faucet is worthy work. They might really benefit from us. Clearly, a win-win.
The quote I heard brings up an obvious question: Am I more of a faucet or a drain? That is worth pondering, or asking a trusted friend. If a drain-identity latches on to you, maybe it is time for some assessment and change. If you live more like a faucet, let it pour!
I believe in the wisdom of surrounding myself with faucets and not drains. But once you and I get a glimpse of living the Jesus life, who is the ultimate Faucet, we can continue to be encouraged by other faucets as we seek out drains to change for the better. Let's go!
And...music!
...and a couple of funnies (or groaners)...
I told my boss that three companies were after me and I need a raise.
My boss asked, "What companies?"
Gas, water, and electricity.
_________
When my grandmother was in her late eighties, she decided to move to Israel.
As part of the preparations, she went to see her doctor and get all her charts.
The doctor asked her how she was doing, so she gave him the litany of complaints -- this hurts, that's stiff, I'm tired and slower, etc., etc., etc.
He responded with, "Mrs. Siegel, you have to expect things to start deteriorating. After all, who wants to live to 100?"
My grandmother looked him straight in the eye and replied, "Anyone who's 99."