Articles
Tell Me Something Good
It is not unusual to hear complaints. It's too cold. Too hot. The preaching is too soft. The preaching is too hard. The elders aren’t approachable. The elders will not listen. He said…, she said…. He is too old. He is too young. She didn’t invite me. On and on it goes. It seems like we are not happy if we do not have someone with whom we can find fault, or against whom we can complain. It doesn’t take a tremendously intelligent person--or even a long look--to find a great many things wrong with others. Most faults are readily apparent. A person does not have to look too long or too hard. It just seems like people will not be happy unless there is something to complain about.
Instead of complaining and finding fault, why not try telling something good? The next time someone starts complaining, stop them and say, “Tell me something good.” Wouldn’t it be just as easy to look for good and tell something good? See, for lack of wood, the fire goes out. Rather than feed the fire of complaints ask, “What is good?” Asking this question lets people know you are interested, but it also allows you to turn the conversation to something good instead of dwelling on the bad.
That leads to a second question, “How can we make it good?” “What will you do to make it good?” It is one thing to vent; another thing to vent and offer solutions, with actions to follow. Often the one complaining just wants to complain without offering a solution, and certainly doesn't want to invest themselves in any action that may help solve the issue.
Our environment rubs off on us. Everything in the world seems to be in chaos. Conspiracies abound. Shortages, high prices, gas prices inflated, and on and on it goes. The President is bad. The church is bad. My mate is bad. My children are bad. Really, is everything that bad? What is good? God is good. God’s grace is good. His forgiveness is good. His people are good. His word is good. Spiritual blessings that He gives according to His will are good. His love is good. We live in a free country: that is good. God made marriage for companionship: that is good. God blessed us with children: that is good. If things are bad today, we can make them good by being like Him. We change the bad into the good.
Looking for the good and turning bad into good can help others see past the moment. When we really back off and look at all God has blessed us with, we can see God really has provided a beautiful life. So let’s feed the good. Let’s tell something good. Let’s quit the complaining, fault-finding, hypercritical mindset. When people ask, “How are you doing?”, tell them something good. Then ask them to tell you something good.
Rickie Jenkins
