Today is Say Something Nice Day. Seriously. I looked it up. Here's what I found out about Say Something Nice Day.
Say Something Nice Day began in Charleston, South Carolina, when the Mayors of North Charleston and Charleston came together with members of the Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery and the South Carolina Baptist Convention to create a day to be kind to the special people in our lives, like our children. It’s also a day to remember and celebrate people, who provide us with a variety of services, such as bus drivers, healthcare workers and teachers. And, it’s a great opportunity to apologize to people that we might have wronged or hurt through our behavior. The aim of this special day is to fight against unkindness, bullying and the lack of politeness that dominates society today. The creators hope that this one day of pleasantness will grow, until people are nice to each other everyday.
Set an example and encourage your children to be nice to each other on this day.
I would encourage participation in the promotion of saying kind words to people. When I first saw #SaySomethingNiceDay, I thought it was cool, but then I wondered is this a day or just a hashtag that gets thrown out there regularly like #ThrowbackThursday or #WednesdayWisdom? So I checked, and it's a day. June 1. When I realized that and found the above information, I almost laughed, and to be honest I felt a little disgusted. I mean, I realize the world seems to be be going crazy and coming apart of the seams and that the Blackeyed Peas song from fourteen years ago, Where Is The Love, is more relevant all these years later, not less. But have we really reached such a low point in human compassion, concern and common courtesy that we have to set aside a special day to tell people to be kind to the special people in our lives, especially our children?
Last night I preached on joy overcoming anxiety, but I didn't think to talk about speaking kind words to people to combat anxiety. Maybe that's why it's gotten so bad, because we are all so drowning in stress and anxiety that we lost the practice of polite speech, much less being kind with our tongue and typing. But we are told in Proverbs 12:25 that anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Our kind words are an act of service that can help someone overcome anxiety. And Proverbs 16:24 reminds us that gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
We help people recover and heal and find relief with gracious and kind words, and maybe it's not such a new problem after all, since it was something that Solomon had to tell people. It's not cliche. It's truth that one kind word can change someone's entire day. But repetition or regular encouragement can change a life. Mother Theresa was so right when she said kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
Sadly, the opposite is also true. We've most likely all heard, and perhaps even repeated, the lie that sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. That is just as bogus as the Easter Bunny and Santa, and we seriously need to quit teaching that crap to our children. We need to stop teaching each other that we need to pretend that words don't hurt. Also, when I tell you that words don't hurt, for you to say that words can't hurt you, then you first start lying and pretending and hiding because you feel wrong and abnormal by being hurt by words, and then second you have no reason not to be unkind with your words. Why are you getting on my case for speaking unkind or bullying with my words? I'm not hurting anyone. It's not like I hit him with a stick or threw a stone. Words don't hurt, right? But the truth is that bones heal, but a broken soul can destroy a life in a way that only the miraculous love of God can restore.
So yes, be kind to the people who are special to you. Especially children. And seriously, show some uncommon courtesy and be kind to the people who provide services for you, such as bus drivers, healthcare workers and teachers....and waiters and cashiers and people who open the door for you and the janitor who makes it where you don't want to run screaming from that gas station restroom and can get some relief on that road trip and.... We should be of service when and where we can, expecting nothing and demanding nothing in return, out of love. If we are being paid to serve, we should do it well and with a gracious heart, as though we were serving Jesus and not some rude, inconsiderate ingrate. But isn't it always nice when our service is acknowledge and appreciated, when someone returns our kindness and or service with a smile and or a kind word? When did someone simply saying a sincere thank you become epic?
But if the aim of this special day is to fight against unkindness, bullying and the lack of politeness that dominates society today, then let's take it further. Say something kind to that person that isn't special to you, and isn't doing something for you, that stranger in the aisle of the grocery store. That frazzled and stressed person at the pump next to you. If you can't say it with words, send a kind smile someone's way.
Perhaps my mother's favorite verse, in relation to teens, anyway, is Ephesians 4:29. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. There's not a one of us she raised or taught in youth group who didn't hear her simple 4:29 spoken to remind us of that verse and to stop saying whatever we were saying that wasn't acceptable. If it wasn't edifying or gracious cut it out. We are called to express in our lives, and that includes our facial expressions and words, the love and compassion and kindness of Christ. THINK.
Is it True? We practice rigorous honesty, so let's stop and ask ourselves is what we're about to say true. Is it Helpful? Are we going to build up, heal, restore, comfort, or otherwise be of service with what we want to say? Is it Inspiring? Will what we want to say cause someone to hope, believe and try? Will it encourage them? Is it Necessary? Sometimes it may be better just to let it go. Part of wisdom is knowing when to hold back and keep silent. We are to be honest, but not to use that honesty to try to manage and control others. And finally, is it Kind? We can be honest and kind at the same time. Brutal honesty is an excuse to strike someone. Stop already. There is a kind and compassionate way to express truth.
So, today let us think before we speak and let us go through the day anticipating, looking for opportunities and being quick to speak kindness and compassion, with our words, our smiles and our eyes...with our hearts, into the lives of all we encounter. Yes, say something nice today. Do it a lot. And then let's do it tomorrow. And the next day. Let's make #saysomethingniceday #EveryDay.
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