So far Not so good

So far Not so good

Hmmmmm!!!! So those of you that read Tuesdays entry will know that i am currently embarking on a mission to positively affect people with my words. Wednesday started out well.....i decided to practice as soon as i got up and immediately enveloped the dog in a cloud of positive and genuine words regarding his general loveliness, my affection for him, his secure place in the family etc etc. It was a good start. My next encounter was with the car (lindon was still asleep, he would have to wait for his moment to be inspired to greatness with the subtle yet impressive power of words). Now unfortunately it all went down hill from here.....the car was not inspiring me in my endeavour with it's clunks and rattles and unfortunately i resorted to calling it heap of junk....at this point it's only 8 in the morning!! Not such a good start.

I consoled myself that the car didn't really count since it had no feelings and resolved not to be put off. Unfortunately the day continued as normal and while i was encouraging to the participants in my fitness class and friendly to the customers at the cafe (apart from one old lady who was particularly annoying and stirred up a little rudeness in me) i didn't really get the opportunity i was looking for to spectacularly make someone's day.

But who knows....maybe i did. Sometimes people have said things to me that probably didn't seem like a big deal to them and yet they affected me, for better or worse, and i remember them. It's often the little things you say over and over and the way you treat people day to day that conveys a message about your perceptions and expectations of a person.

The following extract is from The Message version of the Bible, the book of James chapter 3:

A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!

My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?

The writer makes a really interesting point at the end there.......we have to be consistent with the words that come out of our mouths. We cannot go around being selfish and unkind and angry with people generally and then say something nice on a special occasion or write an impressive message in a card and expect that to produce good results in a person's life. We have to be consistent with our encouragement if we want to help people succeed. Consistent with our words of affection if we want people to feel loved. Consistent with our praise if we want people to feel worthy and valued.

And out of the heart........the mouth speaks!!!!