The power of the tongue is life and death— those who love to talk will eat what it produces. Proverbs 18:21 ISV
Can I just tell you- the things you speak to people have the power to build them up or tear them down…. and you have the most power over people who you care about, or care about you.
I remember when Joey and Jennifer were still in elementary school- they had a program at LES called “Caught You Doing Good” or something like that. When they caught a kid being kind, or polite, or walking quietly in the hall, or whatever, they got a little prize. They could turn that prize in and be in a drawing for a bigger prize. Mine got caught several times and I was always proud to hear about what they did to earn it.
By no means am I claiming to be a perfect parent. God knows the truth about that. But I did learn a long time ago, that how I spoke to my kids going out the door to school affected them all day long, and it affected others too- because if I put my bad mood on them, they just naturally passed it on to someone else.
So I’m telling you- if you’ve got folks in your life who aren’t so great at something (and who isn’t?), look for all the things they ARE good at, and brag on them about it. Build them up in front of other folks – and brag on them TO them. Let them know you think they’re good people.
If you’ll just give it two weeks, it will change your life. Because you see, it won’t change them- it will change YOU.
If you’re always looking for the bad, you’ll find it- but I’d lot rather look for good everywhere and find it.