Think Before You ...

See no evil.  Hear no evil.  Speak no evil.

Translation:  Do no harm. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Think about what you see, what you hear and before you speak.  Consider everything that comes in and goes out, and make it worthy.  Make it kind.  Make it useful, constructive and helpful.  What would your grandmother think if you saw, heard, said that?  

What would God think?

"But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person."  Matthew 15:18

 

Looking out for others as you would yourself.  This covers a lot of territory.  It's the Golden Rule, it exists in our laws and our statutes.  It exists in our schools and public places.  And, if everyone actually followed it, I don't even have to explain what we would experience in this life.  Do I?

"So in everything, do unto others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."   Matthew 7:12

Let's go out and do this, and do it all the time.  Why don't we?  Why do we choose otherwise?  Why do we have so little self-control?

We will stop doing harm when we stop requiring that we love ourselves so much.  When we look out our windows (eyes) and see who else lives out there, many of them in worse circumstances than our own, we will see.  When we look at those who live in our homes, our husbands, wives, children, parents, siblings, and other family, we see how they affect us. 

How do we affect them?  How perfect am I in my relationships with those I love?  Would someone looking in on me see love?  Or, would the see irritation, annoyance and self-centered outbursts?  Would I look like a giver or a taker?  Would I sound like a nurturing person or a self-esteem wrecker? 

No one can behave perfectly all the time.  We have our moments of glory, where everything feels right with the world and we bestow our good graces on everyone in sight, and love our families, our spouses  and our friends with a ferocity known only to those who live selflessly and justly.  The rest of the time, we not only speak evil, we look for it to a certain degree, and we hear it, in small ways, in everything.  It taints our brains.  

We turn phrases that come out of other people's mouths to match our own negative viewpoint when the world isn't going our way.  "Don't you look nice today?"  sounds an awful lot like a snide comment on my wardrobe choice. 

We hear something meant in kindness that we perceive as hurtful.  "Do you need any help?" suddenly means I do not have the capability to handle it myself.

We see something done in our best interest and interpret it as an infringement on our independence.  "Are you all right?  Where are you?" sounds to me like someone wants to control my every move.

Every one of those examples comes from real life.  My attitude made the difference turning caring words into hurtful ones.  I need an attitude adjustment, which I think would benefit most people.  I'm always willing to adjust everyone else's view.  I need to focus on my own.  

When I turn on the Light, I can see the good.  When I meander through the Dark, I get the worst.

I'm determined to carry a flashlight in the darkness.