Seek Good In Your Relationships

Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor
    but evil comes to him who searches for it.—Proverbs 11:27

I was motivated by another man years ago to give attention to how my wife and I were interacting with each other. I came to realize that over time, I had developed bad behaviors that we inflicting unintended harm to my bride. I had developed a "critical spirit" that began as sarcasm but developed into scarcasm. The tiny wounds I inflicted led to bleeding in our relationship over time. And it spilled over into relationships with others—specifically my children, friends, and coworkers. I discovered one day that I had become an expert at only finding faults in others, and not seeking the good in each of them. It took me a long time to feel the effects of this bad behavior, but I found the opposite to be true when searching for the good in others. It had an immediate positive impact. The writer calls this favor. I love this term. Build some favor today by complimenting your spouse, friend, child, or coworker. Test it and see if favor doesn't result!

DO THIS: Compliment someone today and build favor.

PRAY THIS: God, turn my eyes from seeking bad to seeking good. Multiply my favor today.