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I'm going to finish up blogging about our work in Isaan, but to get myself back into the blogging routine I'm going to add a short thinking blog here. I read this quote on a friend's FB status: "How we view others is often a commentary on what we know is true about ourselves." I'm not sure where the quote came from, but it's actually something I've been thinking about lately.

Have you ever heard someone complain about somebody else and then thought that person does the exact same thing they were complaining about? I have, but it didn't just stop there. Contemplating that thought forced me to realize that others must think the same exact thing when I'm complaining about someone else. Ouch! That hurts, and it's not something that I can just think about and not do anything about it.

I recently read a study that was conducted by Wake Forest University that said people who viewed others positively had more positive personality traits themselves. They found associations between how enthusiastic, happy, kind-hearted, courteous, emotionally stable and capable the person describes oneself and is described by others. These positive thoughts also show how happy you are with your own life and how much you are liked by others. Conversely, the opposite is also true, but I won't go into these details now. I'll just let you imagine what those negative traits may be.

The researcher found that these traits are fairly stable as the college students were surveyed again a year later and maintained the same perceptions. That's not good news if you're someone who tends to be on the negative side but wants to change, but I believe God's Word gives us good news about the subject.

God's Word tells us in Philippians 2:3-4 "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing." God didn't tell us to do something that He can't enable us to do. He desires for us to change and to start loving others. So next time you want to complain about someone stop and do some thinking first. Are you thinking of that person as better than yourself? Are you complaining because you have that same problem--sometimes it's hard to see our own faults. But analyze what you complain about most, and you'll find what your own weaknesses are. Also, are you giving that person the mercy and love you would want someone to show to you?

I'll close with Psalm 19:14 "May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."