People Talking

There is one thing that I have noticed about people, and that is that you can learn a lot about someone by the way in which they talk about other people.  Are they always cutting other people down?  Just don't be surprised when they do it to you because you are not an exception.  Do they talk about people from their past a lot and do not talk about recent friends?  If so, they are probably not the most social person and they could be dealing with hurts or a dry spell.  Are they talking about positive qualities that they see in people?  I hope so, and thats what I hope to do but I usually fall into the category of giving straight answers to straight questions and I do my best to be honest but not slandering.  I need to work on that.

I was talking to my friend Beth today and I think I gathered three or four ideas for blog posts (stay tuned!).  I was telling her about how when we talk positively about people, a few things happen.  One, you immediately want to become friends with this person.  Who wouldn't?  When you are really happy with someone and talk about them a lot, it is evident that the person must be of high character and you WANT to talk about your adventures with him or her. 

Secondly, you begin to feel like you know the person and you want to understand them better.  I find myself thinking, "I wonder how Beth's friend _____ is doing?" and I immediately want the best for them.

So now the question is, "AM I TALKING ABOUT GOD THIS WAY?"  I find that many Christians do not talk about their relationship with God.  In the business that I am in, I find that more people complain about what God doesn't do rather than what he does do.  I am guilty of that at times, again, I am working on that. 

I also find myself bugged when I talk about him, and all of my stories seem old.  That's when I realize that I need to get back to talking with him and get reconnected.  Not only does this keep me from living in the glory of the past, but it helps keep my relationship with God fresh and pursuing new horizons with him.

Most people think, "oh, well if I say that, then they will think I am some Bible-thumper!"  Well, if you tell people to get to know him because he will erase your problems or "make it all better", then yeah, it sounds like you drink the kool-aid.  Jesus is not ibuprofin, he is a little more than that!  Instead, what I learned to do is to talk about the changed lives that I have seen, the blessings that have been given, the love and compassion that was unwarrented, the encouragement given, or the peace that surpasses all understanding.  When you talk about God doing these things, whats there not to like?  Honestly, I would love to get to know a person who imbodies those qualities.

Too often it seems that people talk about Jesus as if they are the door to door salesman and he is a vacuum cleaner.  He does quite a bit more than that.  The fact is, if no one talks about what he really does, then no one will know.  We don't hear about the thousands of people getting saved in persecuted areas, instead we hear about "Christians" (if you want to call them that) blowing up abortion clinics.  We don't hear about the passionate church leaders that love the Lord and love others and are healing people mentally and spiritually, instead we hear about leaders falling from grace.

This week, my hope is that you can think about the amazing things that God is doing in your life and doing in the lives of others, and chat about it.  Use it as a means to encourage someone else, use it as a means to bring truth to a situation, use it to share love with someone else.  Let people know what your friend is doing in your life, because if you don't, then they won't get to know what he is doing in your life!  Plus, they might just get to know their friend a little better =)