By Bob Weber | Monday, May 7, 2018 | 8:53 AM
Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Proverbs 16:24 (NLT2)
I don't think I use enough kind words. It's not that I use too many harsh words. But I do use too many blundt or "to the point" words. I was watching my grandaughter play in a high school tennis match the other day. Every time one of the girls would retrieve an errant ball and hand it to the opposing team, there would always be a thank you and a smile, even if the one saying thank you had just made a bad play. I have played a lot of sports and know myself pretty well and I can tell you, that's not me. After all I'm there to play a game and of course I'm there to win if I can. You focus on the game itself. You give the errant ball back so you can move on to the next serve. And how could I have missed that shot in the first place? All those things would crowd out "thank you" and the only smile you might see would be after the match.
I tend to do life the way I play sports. Concentrating on things that need to get done can easily cause me to miss the opportunities to speak kind words to the people I encounter. Instead, the "to the point" words dominate the conversations of the day as I manuever from one task to another. The tasks get done but my relationships can become strained.
I've decided I need to redefine my idea of success. I'm starting here: A task completed without showing kindness to others is a failure.