Sing Someone’s Praises

In the musical Cats, the plot takes a back seat to the spectacular choreography. Simplifying a simple story even further, cats are competing against each other through song. Sometimes a cat sings about their own positive qualities, but more notable are the songs in which a cat sings about another cat’s worthiness. And that’s what we encourage you to try – this week, sing someone else’s praises!

The singing can be metaphorical, of course, though if you’d like to sing, we won’t try to discourage you. But what really matters is that you gather with those in one of your circles – perhaps with your family over dinner, perhaps with your friends over lunch – and talk each other up. To begin, choose a person to talk about, then select one of their positive qualities and explain how it impacts the people around them. You might tell a story about a specific thing they’ve done, or talk more broadly about how they demonstrate that quality from day to day. If you don’t know where to start, consider the fruits of the spirit (read more about them here): how do they exemplify love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control?

Take turns until each person has spoken, and each person has been spoken about. You are likely to encounter some embarrassment, as the world conditions many of us to be uncomfortable being complimented or praised. Push through it! The fullness you’ll create in each other’s hearts will be well worth the discomfort.

If you have someone in mind who you’d like to talk about, but you don’t have the opportunity to be with them anytime soon, you can compose a letter, an email, a text, or a social media post that talks about how wonderful they are. You might not get to see them smile and blush, but you will have brought some much-needed kindness and positivity into the world nonetheless.

If you’d like to sing someone’s praises on our social media channels, connect with us on Facebook or Instagram and leave your thoughts in the comments!