What about the Wrapping Paper?
Well Christmas has come and gone. The packages have been unwrapped. But we're still left with that one nagging question, "What do we do with all this wrapping paper?"
It's truly amazing how much we spend each year on ribbons, bows, boxes, and wrapping paper for the holiday season, especially since it's thrown away when we're through. Wouldn't it just be easier not to wrap presents? Wouldn't it save a lot of time, effort, and money not to decorate our gifts? How do we justify this expense for something so temporary?
Now I'm kidding, of course. There's something very special about seeing a gift wrapped up for us under the tree. The crude wrapping job of a child means so much to a parent or grandparent. The neatly wrapped and sometimes disguised gifts add to the color, anticipation, and joy of the season. We wouldn't want to give that up -- why its almost as important as the gift itself!
Isn't it a shame we don't value the way we package our comments and conversation as much as we do the Christmas wrapping paper. Some people feel its a waste of time to be careful what they say and how they say it. "Let me be brutally honest," they'll say. "Let's cut through the fluff and get down to brass tacks," is their motto.
Now I'm not for beating around the bush when there is something to say, but brutal honesty is often more brutal than it is honest. Our choice of words, their tone and timing, and their emotional intensity, all dramatically effect how we are heard. This packaging of our conversation, however, is much more important than the packaging on our Christmas presents because it is not thrown away. In fact, the packaging we choose for our words is often remembered longer than the words themselves. So take time to be kind, and package your words with as much care as you did this year's Christmas presents.
"When you talk, don't say any bad things. But say things that people need -- things that will help other people become stronger." (Ephesians 4:29)
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