When I was younger, one of my favorite times was coming off the school bus and going into the house to the smell of baked goods. Mmmm, mmmm! There's nothing like the smell of chocolate chip cookies filtering through the air.
On the contrary, there's nothing quite like getting a good whiff of something that smells so gross, it makes you feel sick to your stomach. You know what I mean, when you open the fridge and smell that overwhelming odor of something that's been in the fridge way too long." Yuk!
In similar ways, you and I can give off an invisible odor that is linked to the display of our attitude everywhere we go. It will either draw people to us or repel them from us.
It is so refreshing to be around people who speak positively, have a great attitude, and have a smile on their face. They are like a magnet, that you are drawn to. Each time you are in their company, they focus in on how you're doing and not on themselves. Even when they're going through difficult circumstances in life, they seem to see the lighter side of things. Could it be that they have learned to understand the power of the words they speak?
"What comes out of our mouth reveals the condition of our heart."
None of us intentionally want to put off an odor that repels people, and yet without a thought, we can sometimes use our mouth to criticize and find fault with those around us, our family, friends and co-workers and even those we don't even know. None of us know the battles that others are fighting.
Proverbs 18:21 says "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."
1 Peter 3:10 "Let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile."
It's amazing how quickly our thoughts and words can change our moods. Negative thinking and negative talking steals our joy. When we are negative and gloomy, other people don't enjoy being with us.
Let's be intentional in our thinking and our speaking by choosing to exercise self-control and "on-purpose" speak words of life and leave a sweet smelling fragrance behind us everywhere we go!
