Thursday thoughts: Reflect what you believe

Jill Johnson

I am responsible for my actions, and they can't be based on what someone else might have done or said to me.”

I’m about to show my age with this quote. Have you ever heard the saying, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never harm you?" My mother used to say that to me all the time, especially when my sisters and I would get into name-calling.

However, I have thought about this little phrase a lot lately. It really is not a true statement. I was thinking about it particularly in the context of our world today. There just seems to be so much division, backbiting, chaos, deception, and strife. It can be very unsettling.

You know when we break a bone, the bone can be set in a cast, and it will heal. When you get a bruise, it might look horrible, but it will go through the process of colors, and then it will go away. If you cut yourself or scrape a knee, it might bleed, but it will scab over and heal completely.

However, our words can be harmful. They can be a powerful weapon or a soothing balm, depending on how we use them. If you are called a name, someone speaks negatively about you, or even undeserved criticism, these things can be forgiven, but they tend to stay in the back of our mind and sometimes in our heart. I don’t know about you, but at times I struggle with the “forgetting” part.

There are countless things that I can “remember” that can hurt my heart and my feelings if I dwell on them. Honestly, most of the time, they are lies that Satan uses to try and bring me down, make me feel unworthy or bad about myself. I’m sure sometimes people don’t even know they have hurt my feelings and would never intentionally do so, but those are the things that Satan can place in my mind to remember.

The one thing I can say I have never been criticized or spoken negatively about is the color of my skin or my heritage. I can’t even imagine how deep those hurts could go. I feel as though those situations would be extremely hard to heal, forget, and sometimes even forgive. I can’t identify, but I can and must empathize. I have not walked in their shoes, but I can walk beside them.

I can’t solve the problem of this world, but I can show the love of Jesus to EVERYONE. The Bible instructs us to "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ forgave you." I read a quote the other day that struck the depths of my heart. It said "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about…Be Kind….ALWAYS." We don’t know everyone’s struggle, but we do know everyone has one. If we all could just keep this one thought in the forefront of our minds, it could change so very much about our world. Be Kind…ALWAYS.

So today I’m encouraging everyone to be kind. Kindness is free. Kindness is contagious. Kindness is a necessity to change the path our world is on. The kindest person you will ever meet is Jesus and sometimes the only way people will meet Jesus is through our ability to be kind and show kindness. I want to remember that my words can harm others, so I must be kind and careful with them.

I don’t have all the answers to the problems of this world, but I know my God does. I am responsible for my actions, and they can't be based on what someone else might have done or said to me. I don’t have to know the reasons behind the actions that "might" have hurt my feelings, but my response can always be KIND. I want to strive to reflect what I believe, and I totally believe Jesus is the only answer!

___

Jill Johnson finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, and Georgian. Jill is retired from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.