Words of Kindness

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body.

"Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

"Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!"

James 3:2-5 KJV

Working in customer service can be a difficult job. Many times you deal with people talking to you disrespectfully, taking out their frustrations on you when you had absolutely nothing to do with their problems. Often they are mad at the world because someone wronged them, and now here you are available for them to yell at. Or sometimes they simply feel entitled and they see you as a "commoner". Regardless of how they speak to you, we don't have to give it back.

Perhaps you don't work in customer service. You don't have one of those jobs where, "the customer/guest is always right". The truth is, your "customer"/"guest" extends to your family, friends, coworkers, even the cashier at the market. Everyone you interact with on a daily basis is also in a way your guest. Do you think Jesus talked to the multitude one way, and then his Disciples a completely different way? What then would give us the right to think that we can talk to anyone with spite? Just because the cashier at Walgreens can't file a complaint to your boss and get you fired, it doesn't make it right to lash out at them.

So today, when you are conversing with people, let your words be spoken in kindness and gentleness. Despite the attitude others may give to you. Reply no in malice or spite, but in grace and patience. For that is how Christ would wants us to speak. Just how the thin leather of a bridle is able to guide about a horse, or a helm able to turn about a whole ship, so is your tongue capable of uplifting someone or causing destruction. It only takes a single lit match to burn down a forest. Likewise, a few choice words can lead to ruin.

Suicidal Deer

I can hardly wait for school to start! I just picked up my books today, and am reminded how blessed I am to have received financial aid. The total was over $800! Truly God has helped me through all of this. I could not have done this without Him, and the people He has moved to support me.

I am reminded of my first semester of college and how scary yet exciting it was. One class in particular - public speaking - I was terrified to take. Yet in the end it was truly one of my favorites. Here is just one of the many speeches I had to give.

_________________

   It's 8:00 at night and the moon starts to rise just above the tree line. It's Christmas Eve and anxiously Billy heads home to his family. Over the frozen pavement his headlights beam, showing him the way. Intently he watches for black ice.

   Suddenly out of the middle of nowhere something leaps from the dense woods and onto the highway only several feet from his Dodge. It's a deer and steadfast it remains, its feet planted firmly in the middle of the road. Grabbing the wheel with both hands Billy steadies the vehicle and prepares for the collision. Of all days to hit a deer.

   We all experience a version of this sometime in our driving career. Perhaps we manage to swerve out of the way or break just in time. Perhaps we hit it instead and total our cars, sending us or a friend to the hospital. Living in a rural state such as Montana we are bound to find ourselves in some sort of wildlife accident.

   How can we stop this? How can we solve this ongoing issue? Every year, we spend $1 billion solely to vehicle damage. 10,000 people are seriously injured and 150 killed due to deer collisions in the US. Montana alone ranks #5 in the top states for such accidents.

   We need to put an end to this. The solution is simple. No deer near the highways, no more hits. As one sign posted along a back road, “Suicidal deer. Please drive slowly,” such cautions would no longer exist.

   Imagine how much safer we would feel driving down the roads at night. We wouldn't have to worry about our loved ones tangling with a buck leaping from the shadows. We wouldn't have to pay all those medical bills fixing our broken bodies because we swerved and flipped our car. We wouldn't have to spend $1 billion at the autobody and mechanic shop. We could drive confidently and at ease. Our only problem left would be drunk drivers!

   So let's take care of this! How? We all know deer hate the hunting season. They run at the crack of a shotgun. They hide deep in the forests, watching for the bright color of hunter orange. So send your cars for a paint job and upgrade your horn to the sound of a 30 out 6. Who says we have to stand for this nonsense?