Wearing the Smell. . .

I spent most of yesterday in the kitchen cooking for Thanksgiving.  Around midday, however, Glen and I left for our usual Tuesday services at a local retirement community and nursing home.  I was sitting in the service as Glen was praying, and I noticed a very distinct aroma of garlic and onions emanating, not from the facility kitchen, but from my hair.  The very last thing I had cooked before we left was the vegetables for our cornbread dressing, which is composed of onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic sauteed in olive oil.  As I stood over the pan, my hair became infused with the fragrance of the vegetables.

What a simple lesson we can learn in this.  We pick up the attributes, the characteristics, sometimes even the actions of those persons, those things with which we immerse ourselves.  If those around us have bitter, complaining attitudes, before long we will find the words of bitterness and complaint pouring out of our mouths as well, even as much as we dislike them.  If those around us have mouths full of profanity, we may find those words popping into our brains to our dismay and for some it may be quite a struggle to keep them from popping out of our lips as well.  If we are around those who have cheerful, kind attitudes, we will find that they naturally sweeten our own attitude more.

While we cannot control everyone around us, it behooves us to choose our friends well, to seek those who love the Lord Jesus and seek His will in their lives.  We should also strive to be those that others would want to choose as their friends, having that sweet, spirit which evidences the residence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, 

be put away from you, with all malice: 

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, 

forgiving one another, 

even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." 

(Ephesians 4:31,32)   

"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: 

and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." 

(Proverbs 18:24)