Tuesday, May 6, 2014

It Ain't Rocket Science 5/6/2014

10 Love one another with brotherly affection. 
Romans 12:10a (ESV)

26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Proverbs 31:26 (ESV)  

Sometimes the scripture is deep, heavy, and unfathomable.  However, there are certain verses/passages that are pretty straightforward and simple. 

Today's verses from Daily Strength for Daily Needs are in that straightforward category.  

Just be nice.  Plain, simple, basic.  No hidden meaning.  No parable to interpret.  No pondering necessary.  Just be nice.

Albert Barnes writes, "All usefulness and all comfort may be prevented by an unkind, a sour, crabbed temper of mind,—a mind that can bear with no difference of opinion or temperament. A spirit of fault-finding; an unsatisfied temper; a constant irritability; little inequalities in the look, the temper, or the manner; a brow cloudy and dissatisfied—your husband or your wife cannot tell why—will more than neutralize all the good you can do, and render life anything but a blessing."

How painfully personal are his two sentences.  I can recall far too many times when I have tarnished an evening, outing, or weekend with an "unsatisfied temper", "constant irritability", or "cloudy brow".  No matter how kind I try to be after that, the cloud I have created still lingers.  All compliments and niceties offered up and fall just a bit short.

Be nice.  Be kind.  What a great place to start each day.

 

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