We Have A Choice

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having had a great Monday on this beautiful evening in my Sweet Home Alabama!

Well, this is a first. I have written Happy Friday's on Saturday and sometimes on Sunday...I don't think I have ever gotten to the following Monday! Between recovery from my knee replacement surgery, trying to get back in the flow of things...well, here we are! :) Just the same, the burden on my heart is strong and though it is a few days late, I need to share my heart.

I want to start off by sharing several quotes I shared on Facebook last week.

"Faithful servants never retire. You can retire from your career, but you will never retire from serving God." - Rick Warren O.k, this quote really doesn't have anything to do with the Happy Friday but I love the quote! :)

"People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"To heal requires that we begin to see things from more than just our perspective. Profound empathy is required in a marriage, family, business and nation. Empathy never excuses poor behavior. It seeks to understand it and strives to redeem it." - John O'Leary

"Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it. No destructive lies. No ridiculous fears. No debilitating anger." - Bill Bradley

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered - Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind people may accuse you of ulterior motives - Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies - Succeed anyway.

If you are honest people may cheat you - Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building someone could destroy overnight - Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous - Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow - Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough - Give your best anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God - It was never between you and them anyway." - Mother Teresa

"When words are both true and kind, they can change the world." - Unknown

"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." - Saint Basil

"Don't wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly...lead the way!" - Steve Maraboli

"Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness." - R. J. Palacio

"We are exceptionally good at seeing the faults in others and exceptionally adept at ignoring the faults in ourselves." - Robert Barron

"Make finding the good in others a priority." - Zig Ziglar

"Your observations and subsequent conclusions about others often reveals more about yourself than those whom you observe." - Unknown

"Search out, look for, and recognize the good in others." - Billy Cox

"We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to the shining - they just shine." - Dwight L. Moody

"The reason why some people are so kind is because the world has been so unkind to them that they don't want other people to feel the way they did." - Vex King

"If I try to understand what it means to be a Christian, I look at the two instructions that were given in the Bible that are paramount, and those are to love God with all your heart and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. That's it." - Bruce Cockburn

"The only way we will love our neighbor as ourselves is by getting to know our neighbors, even in the midst of our differences. The only way to truly know someone is by being with them, by conversation." - Eric Overby

We have a choice! You (the one reading this right now!) and I...we have a choice. We choose to listen to people, or not. We choose to try to understand them, or not. We choose to be kind to them, or not. We have a choice!

I have made a commitment in my heart and mind, affirmed and strengthened by my Spirit; I will choose to listen to people, to genuinely seek to understand them, and regardless of how they act or what they say, to be kind to them. I absolutely refuse to contribute to a world that does not want to listen to the thoughts, feeling, and ideas of another! I absolutely refuse to contribute to a world that does not seek to understand an opposing thought or idea! I absolutely refuse to not be kind to anyone! I have a choice! And so do you!

I understand that my commitment might not change the entire world however it will change the world I live in! It will change the world of the people I have the privilege of doing life with, if only to a small degree because of me!

Early last week I was listening to Focus on the Family during my quiet time. The speaker was talking about kindness. She said two things that stuck with me; 1) Do you know how many times being nice to someone is mentioned in the Bible? Zero. Kindness is mentioned repeatedly. 2) She stated that genuine kindness is not being kind to the person that is kind to you...that is easy and anyone can do it. Genuine kindness is being kind to the unkind. Being kind to the person who won't listen to you. Being kind to the person who has no desire to understand you, your thoughts, or your feelings. These are the true litmus tests of kindness...this is the kindness that I seek to give. I am very aware that I am far to flawed to walk this out in my own strength and courage...I will daily ask God to help me be all that he has called and created me to be. And to be clear, He quite clearly called us to love our neighbors as ourselves....not just the one's we like, agree with, who think like we think, who do what we do, etc. No Friends, He has called us to love ALL of them.

We have a choice and each of us will choose. What Will Your Influence Be...?

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great evening, a wonderful week, please cherish your precious families, please be kind, and please stay well.

Kev