NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS - OR NOT

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS – OR NOT

 Wow, how time has flown. It is the last day of January and although I have thought about this month’s blog since I wrote December’s, the days have gone by and it is now that I have been able to stop and put this on paper. This month’s blog has weighed on me, as you read this, I hope that you take what you will and apply it to your everyday life – as I try to do mine.

CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH

Truth – it is what you always want, or is it. I was raised that when you tell a lie, typically you will have to tell another lie to cover up that lie. I agree with this theory. I also agree that sometime the truth is to always be told. Sometimes when you tell the truth, people do not like you for it. That is okay.

Just because you (or they) do not like the truth, doesn’t mean you should change it to say what you “want” it to say. Sometimes the truth hurts. When you are telling the truth, sometimes it may seem to be “negative” to others, but that is okay – because as long as it is the truth, that is what it is. I have known and dealt with people that do not like to hear the truth, because it is simply something they do not “like” or “want” to hear.

My thoughts on the quote “You can’t handle the truth” from the movie “A Few Good Men” are that is you always tell the truth, then typically you have no problem handling the truth. You usually take it and deal with it, whether it is positive or negative, and keep pushing forward. Sometimes the truth may seem to be bad for you, personally, but in the end you will have no need to second guess it, as I am positive that you will be one that pushes forward and make the best of it, because you did not change the truth – you took it for what it is.

CONFESSION

Yes, this paragraph is title confession. The truth is that I fell to a point where I was utilizing language that I was not proud of. Although, I refuse to and did not lie, I did not refuse to use this language. The language that I speak is what some people would classify as “four letter words” or use symbols to spell. I was using these words and for the most part did not even realize I was using them. I am not proud about this, because I feel like I was a negative example and leader to my soldiers and to the people around me. I felt that I was a hypocrite by having told many of my soldiers and peers for so long that utilizing these words are useless and not necessary, but yet I found myself using them and it not affecting me.

One day when working I came across one of the soldiers on the base where I am located, I will call him Shelby. Why do I bring up Shelby – well on this day, I came across Shelby during our daily work and realized that he always has a smile on his face and seems to be happy and enjoy what he is doing, and I had never heard him use any of this bad language. At that point I realized that I had no excuse for using these terrible words. I also realized that by using this language did not cause a better result of what I was trying to get done – it would only place a bad light on the ordeal and I felt like a fool afterwards. In the end it was not pleasing to God, nor was it the Christ-like thing to do.

Thinking about this period of poor use of language, I realized that if I do not gain control of my tongue, that I would use this language around my daughter and wife, which would disappoint them. I also realized that by not using these words, it would not make me look like a fool around my fellow soldiers, friends, and peers. After seeing Shelby on that day and coming to the realization – my attitude has change (for the better) and I have felt better at the end of each day.

 CHANGING TIME – NOT A RESOLUTION

As I come to a conclusion on this month’s blog, I think about the title of this month’s blog. I titled it the way that I did, because I have never been one for New Year’s Resolutions, as these are things that most people make and usually brake and not felt bad about. Is it not a “resolution” that will make you the better person you are striving to be, but a permanent change that you must make that what will make you the person that you are striving for when you originally made resolution.

As this year kicks off, I challenge you to be like Shelby – always smile, have fun doing whatever you do, and do not use un-necessary language.

I finish up with this quote “If you ain’t making your momma and Jesus happy, you shouldn’t be doing it.” by Aaron Watson. This is one of my favorite quotes, and is something that I will continue to strive to live by. Always tell the truth, even if it hurts – and whatever you do, Glorify God, as He is who deserves the Glory.