Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF

Two different people were intentionally unkind to me recently. It’s okay, no worries, the encounters helped to title this blog.

I pray always for the leading of the Lord, in the direction of what the message is that He wants me to receive and then share.

The world is comprised of all different people, from all walks of life. The risk we run when we are intentionally unkind is, not knowing the state of a person’s life at the time, or how much further damage we are inflicting. How piercing is your behavior and what damage can you do without ever knowing. Believe it or not, many people are walking around with smiles on their faces ready at any moment to throw in the towel.

Many of us were shocked when we heard of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain’s suicide. As the news unfolded, some of the common themes were around how no one really saw this coming. Perhaps someone close to them noticed a change in behavior, but what about that casual encounter in their surroundings that could have further pushed them in their decision?

There have been times in my own life that I was hanging on by a thread and without knowing what I was going through; someone greeted me with a smile, or a kind word. I didn’t know their names, but their hearts dried my tears.

One of the recent encounters was actually with a first lady at a local church. I was fine, perhaps a little bit of a hurt feeling, however, and what about the person that attends church looking for a safe haven, spiritually, mentally or emotionally? How would they have faired? Actually, the person that accompanied me as my guest was excited about my invitation because they were in process of seeking a church home. Needless to say, after witnessing first-hand how I was treated, that particular church will not be considered. More importantly, at the end of the day how sad.

I learned a long time ago, that hurt people hurt people. We have all been through the storms of life; however, we have to remember that everyone that we encounter didn’t do it. Treating people disrespectfully without cause is wrong. At the very least, we owe each other basic respect. Again, even in the second scenario, I was fine, however, in this situation, I wanted to refer people to their business, and/or possibly partner in future endeavors. Much like the church home scenario, the proprietor also jeopardized new patroonship.

The moral of the story is, when we allow ourselves to walk in pride and selfishness, without consideration for the mere bystander, we run the risk of doing harm to a person that we may never know how deep. Our behavior has the power of making a life better, or tearing one down.

Proverbs 16:18, puts it like this, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Living a life of gratefulness, regardless of your stage in life, helps to prevent hurtful behavior. We have all heard, “treat people the way you want to be treated.” It’s true; it never feels good when someone is unkind. Live a consciences life, aware of the hearts of others.

Tanya Wilson