I watched Joel Osteen this past Sunday morning, and his sermon basically delivered the message of always being nice and/or positive to people with all interactions since we never know what's going on in their lives on a day to day basis. Being a more positive person...it can't hurt right? It seems like such a simple thing to do, yet, I don't do it every day with people. Even most days...to be perfectly honest. Saying one positive or nice thing to someone in an interaction that you probably don't think even matters can change someone's whole day. If God has given us the opportunity to help people along in their daily struggles just by being nice or having a positive thing to say to them, why wouldn't we do it?
For example, Joel talked about when he used to go to the gym every morning like 20 years ago to play basketball. He said that there was a guy who showed up to play with him and his friends daily, but the guy never really spoke to any of them. Joel said that he used to say "Hi" and welcome him to the game every day, and the guy never responded other than continuing to play basketball with them. Of course, Joel said that he ran into him about 6 months ago, and the man remembered him...greeted him with a good ol' "Hi Joel" amongst some other things. Joel said it took him awhile to realize who the man was, especially since he wasn't used to hearing the man talk. He reminded Joel of who he was, and the man thanked him for the warm welcome he received every morning from Joel way back then. It turns out that the man was going through a very rough time in his life, and even though he didn't respond to Joel's kind words at the time, he greatly appreciated them. He even remembered Joel's niceness after all this time. (Even in all my nice new thinking, though, I can't help but think who wouldn't remember Joel Osteen? I mean he is a world-famous speaker, and he preaches at the biggest church in the U.S. here in Houston. Just saying though...)
So...I have decided to work on becoming a nicer and more positive person to the outside world at large. From the store clerk to the mail lady, from family and friends to acquaintances. Everyone. I am going to try really hard to pass out positivity to all. Even though there are going to be instances where I know it will be hard, I am going to swallow my annoyance and keep going forward. It can, and will, be done. :) The world can only become a better place with more positivity so wish me luck.
No comments:
Post a Comment