Words to Live By

 WORDS TO LIVE BY

    This picture was in the window of a bakery I stopped in recently.  Although I enjoyed the very sweet macaron I ate, this phrase made the biggest impression on me.  Imagine if everyone lived by these words and spoke kindly to those around them.  Imagine if we gave people the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to negative conclusions.  Imagine if we shared a spirit of encouragement with those we come in contact with -- especially those we live with.

    Think of all the people throughout history who spent their lives digging for gold.  In most cases, all they found was dirt and worthless rocks.  But, some of them actually found gold.  Finding gold usually brought good things into their lives.  Sometimes it takes a lot of digging through dirt to find the gold, but it's worth it -- especially when it comes to people.

    Here are some verses from God's Word to live by:

---"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers," Ephesians 4:29.

---"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you," Ephesians 4:32.

---Interestingly, this one is considered the Golden Rule:  "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise," Luke 6:31.

---Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another," John 13:34.

    Finding gold within another person is finding worth, and as we've often heard, "God doesn't create junk."  He created each person with a good purpose.  Now, that golden purpose might have fallen into the dirt at some point, but it's still there and if you can encourage that person by acknowledging that you see that gold shimmering below the surface, it can be a powerful motivator.  The famous poet Maya Angelou wrote, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

    Here are God's words that we can not only take to our own hearts, but we can share them with those who need to be reminded that they were created for a good and golden purpose: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future," Jeremiah 29:11 NIV.

    My words of encouragement for us to live by:  Go for the Gold - always!