"Just For Today"


In case anyone is interested, I thought you might like to know how I decide what I'm going to write at any given moment. Contrary to what you may have thought, whether you're reading this as a blog or an article, I do not sit and ponder for days before I put fingers to keys........not even hours before, but rather open myself up to whatever I feel is resonating inside of me. I don't take it lightly, and always make sure that it's not about me, but how I can be used by God in whatever way he sees fit. When I come from that stance, it flows effortlessly across the screen, with no struggle, no searching for words, no trying to paint it a pretty color so someone will like it........it just reveals itself and I go with it, whatever the topic might be.

This morning......quite early one at that, I felt led to talk about what comes out of our mouths at any given moment. Now we are fortunate enough, and of course free enough in this day and time, to say whatever we have a mind to say, to anyone, about anything. And I truly believe that we all have good intentions, meaning we all want to be of good use while we're here, practicing things like love, forgiveness, grace, compassion, truth, etc. However, with that being said, we also have the freedom to think or say things that are not so nice, especially about other people, whether it's true or not.

Now we can absolutely say there are plenty of mean spirited people in the world, who have one goal in life, and that is to hurt someone else, whether physically or emotionally, with no good intent at all.....but I'm going to set those aside in this particular situation and allow God to deal with them. So......what's left over are simple everyday people who get up in the morning and go about their day doing whatever it is they do, but have one little thing about them that most of us think is just normal everyday chit chat that happens in our homes, workplaces, on the street, or having lunch. And I'm hoping by the time you reach the end of this, you'll discover something interesting about yourself, that if you changed, it would make a huge impact on not only yourself, but more importantly those around you.

Now keep in mind, we all do this to a degree......it's very common and most of us pay no attention to how it makes us look to the outside world. As I said....just harmless and pointless banter.  But, when does it become more than that, and what does it say about your character even more so than the person you've chosen to chit chat about? Yes....I could call is gossip, or people bashing, or the scoop about someone, but for now, I'll let you try and figure out what you call it. Believe me, when asking any one person what they call it, they can come up with something they deem perfectly harmless, and wonder why I even ask. And yes. of course I am guilty as the next person, but once I started to really pay attention to what was coming out of my mouth, not realizing what I was doing, it became clear to me that changes needed to be made.

Are there varying degrees of this harmless banter? Yes, of course......but bottom line, if the person you were talking about were standing behind you in the midst of your seemingly harmless banter, I would venture to say you'd be mortified. And I'm talking anything from someone's new hairdo, to the clothes they wear, to their personal life....you name it.....whatever you have no business in talking about. I guess you have to stop for a moment and see what it would feel like to have someone talk about you or your personal life or character in a not so flattering way. To actually bear witness to a table of people you thought were your friends toss you around like a ball of yarn that which each toss becomes unraveled and frayed.

But of course before you undergo that exercise, you have to stop for a second and go look in the mirror. Ah yes....there it is. If you're wondering about the phrase, "don't even think about plucking the splinter out of someone elses eye until you've tackled your own"...........the mirror will get the job done real quick. Isn't it interesting how we spend so much time making sure how good we look in the mirror each day, but never stop long enough to really SEE who we are, or how we put ourselves out there in the world.

So.......hence my title.....Just For Today...........I would like to challenge you just for today, while having your morning break, see if you can go through the day without speaking about someone you know, or even someone you don't know, in an unkind, judgemental, or unforgiving way. And to think about what it would feel like if you were the topic of someone else's banter. And we can just call it what it is ok.......bashing, tearing down, redicule, or flat out gossip.

Does this mean we are bad people, or that we must seek perfection? Well no...not exactly......but I think  if we all stop for a moment, we all know what is right and what is wrong.......and there is nothing right about talking about someone in an unkind way, especially if it's a friend or family member. We are all coming from a different place in life, with different upbringing, families, friends, environment....whatever the case may be, but as well....we are all just people trying to survive in the world, to find peace and happiness in a very hard place to live these days. Wouldn't it be nice if we all just tried to make it easier on each other with thoughts and words that build up, instead of tear down......even if Just For Today?