Could You Please Be Cheerful?

Can I be really, really honest?  I enjoy being around people who are usually cheerful.

I like to be with people who are smiling and who like to laugh and who have a good sense of humor.  I like to be with people who I would describe as generally happy.

So when you come up to me often all dark cloud of crabbiness or all pity party or all sad and gloomy, it makes me want to walk away.  (Does that make me sound mean or uncaring?)

Let me ask you this:  What kind of people do you like to hang out with?  Are you drawn to people who are in a bad mood?  Do you really enjoy the teacher who seems crabby all the time?  Do you look forward to hanging out with friends who feel sorry for themselves and complain on most days?

Jesus says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  (Luke 6:31  NIV)

What mood do you want people to bring to you?

According to Jesus…

If you don’t want people to be crabby to you, then you don’t be crabby to them.
If you don’t want people to act moody around you all the time, then don’t act moody around them all the time.
If you want people to smile and be cheerful to you, then you smile and be cheerful to them.
If you don’t want people to complain to you every day, then don’t complain to them every day.

When I get dressed in the morning I stand in front of the closet for a long time.  I choose clothes based on my mood.  I have a raggedy old sweatshirt for blah days.  I have fancy clothes for when I’m feeling beautiful and like I have it all together.

My mood shows by what I wear.

It shows on my face, too, and it comes out of my mouth.

 

Maybe we should change the order of things in the morning.  Maybe we should choose our mood before we walk to the closet.  Instead of getting dressed based on how we feel, we should get dressed based on how we want other people to feel.