GANDHI: Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”
Many people can say the right things. They may be able to preach about the right thing to do, share wonderful values, give others impeccable advice, and in essence be wonderful at having the relationally healthy answers to many of life’s difficult moral dilemmas. They may even be adamant about attending church every Sunday and be devout…Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.
Where they falter however, is in living out their spoken values. Many people have a difficult time practicing what they preach.
Here are some real life examples:
• A preacher preaches about the importance of faithfulness within a marriage…while he is actively having an affair.
• A wife speaks about the importance of respect and having a loving family…while she continually screams at her husband and children and calls them names when she gets angry.
• A husband talks about the importance of family…yet is seldom home to spend time with his wife and children.
• A person speaks about the importance of forgiving…yet has been making his/her partner pay endlessly for a mistake made eight years ago.
• A person who talks about the importance of helping others and donating time and money…yet hasn’t had the time or money to donate in any meaningful way.
The list could go on and on. The truth is, we are often great advisors to others yet we often forget to heed our own advice. We are very skilled at talking the talk, as they say, yet when it comes to walking the walk we are often greatly slacking.
Life is hard. I get that. I also know that if we take our eye off our values and how WE apply them in OUR lives, we will be greatly missing the mark.
Change begins with you…not your partner, neighbor, mother, or children. It begins with you. If you believe in respect, live respectfully. If you believe in faithfulness, be faithful. If you believe loved ones should be treated lovingly, treat your loved ones lovingly. And, if you believe in forgiveness, then forgive.
Stop preaching advice and start living it.
CHALLENGE: pay attention to all the advice you give to others then take some time to grade yourself on that same advice. If there’s any area that isn’t matching up…work on it. Commit to having your actions match your words. If you’re not doing it–don’t tell others to.