You know, Lisa, I have been thinking about this over the past couple of days. I like the aspect of even having the thought should be a red flag; when I do head down an ugly or judgmental road in my thoughts about someone, I consider whether I want that thought to be public knowledge, because eventually if I coddle it, it will be. Better to make that correction while it still lives in my mind!

Oh, yes, that ripple effect. Even if we think we sneak something by, the ripples from it go out and we can’t control those even when we try. It’s better to just let God work with us from the inside out and not have to deal with so many negative after-effects.

lol. That’s a great analogy, Theresa. I think about my 3-year-old granddaughter hiding behind the couch, then telling me to come find her behind the couch. 🙂 We’re not as invisible either as we think we are.

“She did not hear the exact words but she knew where I was at in my heart.” This can happen more often than we know! Your friend was courageous in talking to you about it. I’m thankful for friends who know us from the inside out, and love us anyway. 🙂

Thanks, Paula. I love how God can download lessons to us in the simplest of situations.

For better or worse, right? 🙂 We’re not always immediately found out, but then again, the thing we try to hide may be the first aspect of our character that someone else notices.

Ouch! We’ve all had “foot in mouth” syndrome at various times. Along those lines, I know I’m in a danger zone if I’m having to really watch who I’m sending a text to, lest it be sent to the wrong person. Perhaps I didn’t need to be saying that thing to start off with? Thanks for this great example, Anita.

Excellent scripture to add to the conversation, Donna. You’re right that deceiving ourselves is a danger we create when we think we can ‘get by’ with living two lives, an internal one and an external one. Granted, we don’t need to spew out every ugly thought we have about a person, but having the thought itself should be our trigger that we have internal work to do.