At a Noah’s Ark themed Vacation Bible School my son attended a couple years ago, I heard a very interesting conversation. A parent came in the door and saw her teenage daughter dressed in a costume. The first words out of her mouth were, “What are you?” Her daughter answered, “A towns person.” The mother retorted, “I thought you were going to be a pig.” I believe that was a big case of mistaken identity.
I hate to admit it, but I waited for years to have a girl fall in love with me. I always had bad experiences with girls. In 5th grade Andrea really acted as if she liked me. We were going on a field trip to Brookfield Zoo near Chicago. She gave off all those 5th grade signals of affection. Of course, receiving those signals loud and clear, I offered Andrea some of my M&M’s.
God gave us good hearts. If we understand that truth, the logical conclusion is that we should speak good words, encouraging words, helpful words and words that demonstrate Christ’s love in our life. How often do we do this?
Gossip is a killer. I know I partake in it in some way because, like most people, I don’t know where the fine line between fact and gossip exists. Over the years, people have come up to me and said, “You know about so and so, don’t you?” More often than not, my reply has been, “No, I don’t know.”
Sometimes things become so piled up that a person can’t find their way through life. Demands from the office, school, friends, church, and family sometimes look like mountains of commitments. There are times when we barely have enough energy to climb up a small hill, more less a mountain.