28 Jan The Power of a Positive Word by Brittany Nelson
I love getting together with my friends. We always have fun hanging out, eating together, or going to the movies. Usually we have happy and exciting conversations about what we are up to and how life is going. However, the other day I was out with a few of my friends and all of a sudden negative words started flying. Someone who was not even there to defend herself was being torn down and mocked. The woman being castigated was a friend of all the ladies at the gathering. This was very upsetting to me. For me, a group of friends is like a team. Every member of a team is important. If a team does not work together, it will not win the competition. When someone cuts down a member of his or her team, it creates division. Without every team member in the same mindset on game day, the team cannot work together as a unit and will not play to its highest standard.
A friendship is the same way. When there is a group of friends, it is important that they all lift each other up. When one friend is talked about in a negative way, it starts creating cliques and puts people against each other. It can break apart friendships and also spawns dishonesty and deceit. Just like in a sports team, it is necessary to trust your friends to support you when you are hurt or need encouragement. Your friend cannot be supported and helped if you are the one causing her injuries.
In a friendship, there is not one friend that is better than any other. Every friend is equal in importance. In this way, friendship is analogous to a team. Every member of a team is important. Someone ignorant about football might think that only the quarterback and the receiver are key players because they put the ball into the end zone. However, without the defensive line, the quarterback would not be protected and the ball would never move down the field. Every player is essential to the team, even if they are not highlighted as often. It is the same with friendship. It does not matter who might have a higher paying job or who is better at playing a sport or who has more friends. Every friend brings a unique talent or gift that adds to the friendship.
As friends, we need to learn to show love to each other and use positive and uplifting words. Wouldn’t you be upset if you found out people were talking bad about you behind your back? Our whole lives we always hear that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. If you really think about that phrase, it should make you check yourself before you talk bad about others. If you use negative words about others, it is likely someone will find it easier to cut down your character. It is definitely easy to get carried away without even realizing you are cutting someone down. This is not a time to get discouraged, but to learn from your mistake and remember to steer the conversation away from negativity next time. Think about how much better you will feel about yourself and how much positive conversation you will spur if you just remember to use kind words in your everyday speech.
The music group, Salvador, has a song that I believe sums this up very nicely in its song What Would it Be Like?:
What would it be like
If we learned to love each other
And what would it be like if we lived like we believe
That everybody matters
Cuz we’re all here together
And we all need each other
To make it through this life
What would it be like?
How would our friendships be different if we would just use loving words? How would our friendships be affected if instead of cutting our friends down, we built them up with our words and actions? I think our world would be a much better place if we could learn to cherish the friendships we have been blessed with and to celebrate each of our friend’s individual abilities and accomplishments.
Brittany Nelson is the co-founder of GWG. After many years of volunteering in international ministry, she became excited about helping other young women discover their passion. Brittany is a Jr. HR Generalist at a consulting firm in the DC area. She spends her free time exploring DC and going to Washington Wizards games with her husband, Paul.
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