Look Like Love
BIBLICAL POINT OF REFERENCE:
"The ill-tempered stir up strife, and the hotheaded cause many sins. Haughtiness brings humiliation, but the humble of spirit acquire honor."
~Proverbs 29:22-23
You know how when you're laying awake in bed at night and your mind wonders to the embarrassing and stupid things you've done in your life? Or you start to think about all the things that went wrong during the day and how they couldn't possibly be better tomorrow?
I have those thoughts too, and I've done some seriously embarrassing and stupid things to merit great thought on those nights. Usually I tell myself that if I don't think about it, at least for a little while, it'll go away. It doesn't really go away, but I need to sleep at some point.
Well last night, I was thinking about how much I complain on a daily basis; I honestly realized that I complain about everything to pretty much everyone, and that's not easy to admit. Most times I'm not super upset about the thing I'm complaining about - I just need to say it and get it off my chest so that I can move forward with my day. But then I thought about how other people might feel about that method of relief. Other people don't need to be brought down by my woes and struggles in life. What's more, God doesn't want me bringing down other people when I should be spreading His Love to them instead.
So why do I just ramble on and on about my problems? I think it's because I'm angry and I never listened when my parents said, "Think before you speak." (Sorry Mom and Dad!) In some instances, it's perfectly okay and even healthy to vent about what is bothering you in life, but we shouldn't be doing it all the time.
That's when my thoughts led me to these questions: How does one contain one's anger appropriately? How do I keep my mouth shut long enough to think about the good things to tell people?
If you're like me in this way and complain a lot, then being aware of the problem is the first step to fixing it. The harder question is how to fix it.
Now here is where my thoughts on the subject went away as I feel asleep, but I woke up with a new thought in mind: Would it be harder to complain if I saw God in everyone first? If I were to look at one of my friends and see Jesus staring back at me, would I find it easier to say something good that is going on in my life than something bad? Because when I complain, I'm betting that no one sees God and His Love in me. All they probably see is a miserable twenty-year old with a sad outlook on life.
No way do I want people to see me like that! That is not the kind of legacy I want to leave on earth, nor is it the one I want leading me somewhere other than Heaven. I want to LOOK LIKE LOVE.
Start the power music and bring in the fireworks: I am going to start seeing God in everyone so that my message to them is not the complaints I drag myself down with, but the love that Jesus Christ alone can fill me with! It sounds easier than it probably is, but I'm willing to give it a try if it means I will start recognizing that Jesus saves all of us.
So think happy thoughts, my sisters, and start seeing the love in everyone.
Your Laughing Sister,
Callahan
Check out the song that inspired today's article, "Look Like Love" by Britt Nicole!
