Have you ever noticed that our mouths can either lead us into great situations or into a lot of trouble? I’m working through Proverbs and Proverbs 10:32 says…

The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.

It all depends on the paradigm that you operate from. The ordinary way to approach each day is to be asking what you can get out of it. To have a self-centered perspective. Having that perspective obviously has a huge impact on what we say and how we view the people around us. That mindset may seem harmless enough but it gets us into all kinds of trouble.

Those that find favor with their words approach the day with a different mindset. They are more preoccupied with what they can give than what they can get. They are thinking about how to add value to the people around them. They understand that greatness and blessing are tied to servitude. They don’t do it as some smarmy way to get ahead, but rather out of a passion to serve God and his people.

Having this type of servant mindset is the hardest with the people we are closest with. We tend to let our guard down and show those people who we really are. My hope is that my family would not get my worst but rather my best. If you want to find favor in your life, changing your mindset from a self-centered orientation to an others-centered orientation will be extremely important.

What lens do you approach each day with? Are you thinking mostly about what you can get or what you can give?