Several days ago a friend told me that she had been sharing my analogy with people all week. "My analogy?" I asked. "What did I say?" I couldn't remember telling her anything profound.
"About bags of gold," she said. I had forgotten that the week before we had been discussing our responsibilities in life, and as usual, I was struggling to maintain an attitude of thankfulness for my responsibilities. I told her it was like being given many bags of gold to carry; I tend to focus on their heaviness and not the fact that they are bags of gold.
Hearing my words echoed back to me lifted my spirits. Her mention of the analogy not only reminded me to have gratitude for my responsibilities but it also caused me to realize the influence my words and attitudes can have on others. In speaking about my life, I had not intended my description to act as a guiding principle for my friend. Knowing that she took to heart some words that I had forgotten cautions me to be attentive to my choice of speech and attitude. As Paul writes in Ephesians, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise . . ." (Eph. 5:15, ESV).
I've written previously about choosing a grateful attitude, and I hope that we can remember as we carry our bags of gold that they are bags of gold. Other gold-carriers will watch us and learn from our example. Let us aim to provide them with an example of walking in wisdom.
Image credit: Brett Hondow from Pixabay (image modified)