“Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.” (Robert Brault) – as seen on the Jack’s Winning Words blog.
Some people take great pride in always being “truthful”, even it it may be unkind, such as truthfully answering the question, “Do these pants make me look fat?” What value is there in your truthfulness in that situation, if it is unkind or causes pain.
From WikiPedia comes this definition of kindness – “Kindness is a behavior marked by ethical characteristics, a pleasant disposition, and concern for others. It is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions.” There are no downsides in that definition of kindness as there might be in always being truthful with others. After all, as the opening quote points out, how sure are you that what you might be saying is the “truth?” In many cases, such as in the case of the question above, what you might say is the “truth” is really just your opinion. If that is true, why render an opinion that might hurt the feelings of someone else. What’s the upside in that?
Aesop, the well-known and respected Greek author, said “No act of kindness, no matter 
how small, is ever wasted.” The same cannot be said about the truth, which often falls upon deaf ears. So, perhaps today you will have one of those choices to make – to tell “the truth” to someone or to be kind. What will you do? Why did you make that choice? Do you think that telling the truth will somehow make the situation better, make the other person feel better or just make you feel better?
Perhaps we should all head the advice of Colossians 3:12 – Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. So, as you put on your clothes to start a new day, also 
cloth yourself with those virtues before you begin encountering people and situations that will challenge you for a response. You’ll feel much better that the end of the day if you have responded with kindness, rather than smugly responding to all questions and situations with what you perceive to be “the truth.” So, the best answer to the question in paragraph 2 is that “those are really nice looking pants and they look great on you.”
Have a kinder, gentler day.
Posted by Norm Werner 
Like, Jack, I first knew Muhammad Ali as Cassius Clay. I remember listing to that fight on the radio with my dad. No one thought that the brash young fighter stood a chance against the hulking Sonny Liston. Clay soon converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali and began the strange journey of a fighter who preached love and peace to all who would listen.
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suspicion, to those that you meet. Be open and attentive to their needs, not withdrawn and concerned about your own safety. You will be pleasantly surprised how much better life can feel when you show love to others and get their love in return.
best listener that I’ve ever met.
inner child-like being that was once so blissfully happy playing with its own toes you may come to realize that everything that you have stripped away to get back to that state is basically meaningless. You can be at peace with yourself. Once you get to that state of having a peaceful heart, the rest of today’s quote takes over and you can begin to really enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
So, to be complete, today’s post headline should say, “Don’t sleep on the problem, sleep on the solution.”
pray about it. When you pray about a problem you aren’t really asking God to make the problem go away, but rather to give you the strength, courage and wisdom to deal with the issues that constitute the problem. You are also asking God to be with you through the problem resolution. Sleep will come easier when you drift off knowing that you can now say “We’ve got this” instead of feeling alone in the thought that “I’ve got this.” After all, what problem stands a chance when you have God in your corner?
on your side. Maybe that will make jotting down three things that you are going to do tomorrow a lot easier.
That’s why we put our money in the Red Salvation Army kettles at Christmas or maybe we join a prayer circle at church and pray for people that we don’t even know who have been through some natural disaster in some foreign place. Both actions have a positive impact that we don’t get to see directly.
show that you cared enough to take the time to pray for those in need and for solutions to the big, seemingly impossible problems that plague the world, such as hunger or diseases or discrimination. After all, where are you going to take those big problems and find someone who has a proven track record of doing the impossible and performing miracles? People of faith know that somewhere, somehow, someone will benefit from those prayers. You may not see the results, but you know that there are always results when you ask God for help.
So, if you care, do something about it. Maybe you can take some direct action, maybe not; but, you can always pray. Maybe Mead’s little quote should be slightly changed to read – “Never believe that a few praying people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.”
There are certainly plenty of stories in the Bible of God providing when called upon, some of them even involving food or drink. The Bible is also full of references of mankind “hungering or thirsting” for religious signs or reinforcement of beliefs. It’s as if we can only go so long on one serving of faith before we need another “meal”, another helping of God’s love. That new helping of faith comes through prayer. We ask God and He provides. We need no spoon for the nourishment for our souls that comes looking upward and opening our mouths in prayer.
always get more of as they need it. For many (if not most) of the elderly, time becomes the most important thing, but concerns about money constantly loom, since most no longer have the ability to get more, if needed. Running out of money, however, doesn’t carry quite the drastic consequences as does running out of time. Both should be spent wisely.
One could start by asking what it is that you might be stressing about. For most that might be something left undone at work or at home, some possession that you don’t have or can’t afford, some bills that you don’t know how you are going to pay, some person that you haven’t met yet, something new that you’ve never tried before, or maybe a decision that you have to make that you just aren’t sure about. All of those things have something in common – they are about the unknown (one might say for many about the unknowable). We all tend to stress when we get outside of our comfort zone and face the unknown.
to make it what we want it to be. The foundation of that approach to life it to first be happy with what you have, with where you are and with who you are – to remember and be thankful how blessed you already are.
The ELCA church has an annual day of service called “God’s Work, Our Hands”, which is coming up soon. On that day congregations around across America find special ways to give back to the communities in which they are located, through service projects.
God to fix the problem for you. The path to resolution of all problems still involves our hands, even if they are doing the work that God has directed us to do.
Many times we may be saying “Thank You” for surviving things that we should have been praying “Help me” for in the first place. The free will that God gave mankind oft turns to a curse when it becomes an ego too big to ask for help. Sometimes it is our own insecurities
that hold us back or make us afraid to even try to solve our own problems.
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