Daily Hope May 18, 2011

Today’s Readings are:

• 2 Samuel 11-12
• Hebrews 7-9
• Proverbs 18
• Psalm 73

Yesterday in our readings we had Proverbs 17. One of the verses I quote most often is in Proverbs 17.

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.  (NKJV)

If you are around me any amount of time you will find out that I LOVE to laugh!

A lot of social media today really helps with that as folks are always sharing the funniest videos, songs and just general hilarious comments.

You will oft hear me say “Laughter is good medicine”. True, heart-felt laughter, (some call it belly laughter) comes from the heart. If you’ve ever heard a baby laugh, that is the type of laughter I mean. It comes from somewhere deep inside and you can’t help but laugh with them. It’s contagious! 🙂

Social media can also be very bad for this. Sadly, some folks feel the need to write every horrible thing that runs across their mind on their social media. The ones that do it the most are the ones that seem to have the most horrible things going on in their life every day. I call them “negative nancies”.

Now I am not talking about posting and asking for prayer. Nor am I talking about an occasional need to vent a little about a bad day or event or frustration.

You know the ones I am talking about. Every day some tragedy has struck, something bad has happened or they are expecting something bad to happen because it’s Monday… You know the ones….

I try really hard to not speak or type negative things. Doesn’t mean they don’t happen to all of us, but what we speak and share with the world is extremely important. Doesn’t mean I don’t vent some frustration now and then. But it means I think long and hard about what I put out into the air. The power of your words are greater than you can imagine.

Two verses in todays Proverb tell us why, in part, these folks keep having such horrible days.

Proverbs 18:20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; 
      From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.  (NKJV)

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, 
      And those who love it will eat its fruit. (NKJV)

These are two powerful verses. Read them a few times….

James also tells us about our words. So it isn’t just an Old Covenant issue. You can read about it yourself in James chapter 3 if you like.

So let’s take a look at our first verse again.

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. (NKJV)

Think long and hard before you speak, post or “tweet” the negative things in your life, because you are harvesting what you are sowing. This can and does have an effect on your physical body in many ways. Stress, illness, circumstances can all go bad quickly.

Only in the recent years has science caught up with what God already told us. Guard your “typing” today and share a little laughter instead! 🙂

Be blessed!

-Kath

Scripture quotations marked “NKJV” are taken from The New King James Version / Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers., Copyright � 1982. Used by permission. All rights reserved.