Every person, every day has something to offer to make the world around them a better place. Whether as a student or teacher, an employee or employer, a parent or a grandparent.
Each one of us have a unique contribution that we alone can be or do to change the world around us.
However, there’s one thing that every single person possesses that has the positive power to influence for good… if they’ll simply choose to put it to use.
- No one has a corner on the market for this item.
- Everyone can use it as often and as effectively as anyone else.
- There’s no excuse for not putting it to good use, and there’s no expiration date to tapping into it’s benefits.
I’m talking about your most contagious asset – Your SMILE!
James Dobson said “One of the most important responsibilities in the Christian life is to care about others, smile at them, and be a friend to the friendless.”
Some people naturally smile and do so beautifully, others of us sometimes have to be a bit more intentional to make our smile shine. But either way, our smile is a big factor in determining both who we are and who we become in the eyes of other people.
A regular smile can make the difference between whether others see you as:
- Positive or Negative
- Energizing or Draining
- Motivational or Taxing to be around
Here are a few important reasons to leverage your smile for your good and the good of those around you:
1. Your Smile is a Free, God-Given Resource – Use It!
Not only does it take less muscles to smile than it does to frown, God, in His all-knowing design, gave every person this natural source of happiness, joy, and comfort, in a place so visible and easily shown as their face. So make your life easier… and smile awhile.
A smile is a great way to start a day, communicate acceptance, enhance a friendship, and speak without ever saying a word. It’s easy, because God meant it to be.
Phyllis Diller – “A smile is a curve that makes everything straight.”
No matter what kind of day I’ve had or how I feel when I get home, there’s always something specific that lifts my spirits without fail – the genuine, unique, and warm smile of my 7 year old, Seth. There’s just something magical about his smile. (pictured above)
Don’t overlook the simplicity of God’s gift in your smile – Use it!
2. Your Smile is Someone Else’s Need – Give It!
The world around us is a tough place to live, and for many people we meet on a daily basis, it shows.
God has given each of us the opportunity to brighten the day of people we don’t even know with something as simple and free as a smile. It may be a store cashier, someone you pass on the street, or even someone who speaks a different language, yet a warm, unexpected smile can communicate exactly what they need to get them through the day.
And even if it doesn’t, it won’t hurt them, and will always benefit you.
William Arthur Ward said “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo said “Smile, it’s the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart.”
Someone else needs your smile today – Give it!
3. Your Smile is a Window to Your Heart – Show It!
Denis Waitley said “A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a sharing, caring person inside.”
It’s amazing what you can learn from watching people’s eyes, from observing how they use their hands, and even from paying attention to their posture, but nothing else is as revealing as a person’s smile or lack thereof.
A smile rarely lies. It exposes the innermost part of a person. Certainly, a smile can also be what some try to hide behind to cover up what’s in their heart, yet a true, genuine smile isn’t hard to detect to an observant eye.
A person who rarely smiles is a person who’s lacking enough of some of life’s most important ingredients – proper perspective, true gratitude, and a consistent walk with God.
Proverbs 28:14 “Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
Jesus said in John 10:10 “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Life was never meant to be endured; it was meant to be enjoyed. A “smile lifestyle” can play a big role in that.
Nhat Hanh once said it this way “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
Nothing can warm the heart, show God’s love, and reach the world as effectively as your warm, sincere, and purposeful smile – Show it!
You know that person that you always enjoy being around? The one who seems to brighten every room they walk into? I’m going to take a guess that they’re a person who knows how to leverage their God-given smile.
Let me encourage you today – Be that person that others look forward to seeing by having and leveraging your most contagious asset – Your Smile!
