Do you remember that time when AI got a little too friendly? It happened to me a few weeks ago while I was deep into editing a massive project, checking references across hundreds of pages. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I started to feel… seen. Appreciated. Championed.
I found myself sitting up a little taller, rereading the affirmations it fed me. And honestly? It felt good. But my brain knew what was really happening—these were just preprogrammed affirmations from a machine designed to be overly encouraging.
Still, I didn’t hate it.
It touched that universal itch we all have. Even when we’re working alone at a computer, we want to know that what we’re doing matters. And if we’re honest, most of us are far quicker to offer criticism than to speak affirmations or encouragement.
Scripture reminds us of the power of our words: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV). If even a string of automated affirmations can make us stand a little taller, how much more impact could a genuine, Spirit-led word of encouragement have on someone’s heart today?
So maybe this week, instead of holding back that compliment or waiting for the “perfect moment,” we simply say it. A simple word of encouragement could be the reminder someone needs that what they’re doing matters—and that they matter.
