A Writer's Heart

Happy New Year to all of my beautiful supporters and readers. I hope you all had a spectacular holiday season.

Keeping it 100 (Being inconsiderate) has been on my mind for some time now because I recently received a new perspective of it. When I was younger, I used to think it was cute or appropriate for me to say whatever came to my mind for the sake of me “keeping it 100.” No matter how rude, disrespectful, disturbing, or detrimental it was to the person on the receiving end or to those who were in my vicinity – I was going to speak my mind. Sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Welp, that was my life. However, when I started getting older, becoming wiser, and most importantly allowing God to reconstruct me (make me a new creature in Him) I began to realize that it was imperative that I tamed my tongue, and did not allow my opinions, thoughts (negative/positive), and emotions to just flow from my mouth without ensuring that the recipient of my words was comfortable with it. What God was teaching and training me to do was to be considerate of others, and that is honestly what I desire for this blog to serve as a reminder for you; to be considerate of others. Also, I wanted to shine some light on how “keeping it 100” can disguise itself as one being real when in reality they are being extremely inconsiderate and entitled to opinions that no one asked for.

Sadly, we see this frequently on social media. That is why I fast (take time away) from social media periodically. Though, other people’s opinions do not matter, seeing them can become overbearing sometimes. Having the knowledge that others have access to constantly judge you is draining (my opinion).

I learned throughout my six month fast (being hidden) last year that being considerate of others does not equate to us being people pleasers (because that is what I used to think), but it actually prepares us to genuinely love our brothers and sisters unconditionally and become loveable people. Also, it teaches us how to put others before ourselves; selflessness. In Proverbs 13:3 NKJV it says, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction,” and what this scripture delineates to me is that the person who does not speak everything that comes to their mind protects their reputation, but the one who does the opposite causes ruckus in their life and those who are connected to them.

You may ask, so how does “keeping it 100” disguise itself as one being real when in reality they are being extremely inconsiderate? I am so glad you asked. To answer the question, I believe it delineates that one is being extremely inconsiderate because when perceiving it from a light of a person who is in the midst of doing something grandiose for themselves like: launching a business, releasing an album/single, publishing a book, or producing anything that will catapult them into their life purpose, I believe (my opinion) that everyone should have positive words for that person simply because growth is evident in their life. However, like mentioned above we see the complete opposite on social media because people are “keeping it 100,” “speaking their mind because they can,” and “just being honest.” At least that is what they say. By all means, I am not implying that constructive criticism is being inconsiderate. Absolutely not, but I am implying that providing it when it is not asked for is extremely rude, and can really push a person into a place of second guessing whether or not what they created was valuable.

When God showed me that perspective of “keeping it 100” I made a promise to myself that I would be cautious with the words that I allowed to flow out of my mouth not for my sake, but for everyone else’s. I never want to be the reason someone quits pursuing their dream or becomes too insecure to produce effectively. I told myself that if I did not have anything nice to say that I would not say it at all. Also, I made a vow to God that instead of me speaking my unwanted negative opinions – that I would pray about them and ask Him to cleanse my heart from all negative thinking, so I could support people with a pure heart, mind, and soul. In Matthew 5:8 NKJV it says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God,” and whole heartedly speaking, I do not desire to be a product of the social media madness because one day I desire to be with God. That is why I choose not to conform to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2).

Truly, I can say that this principle has blessed my life. I have become an efficient and loving wife, daughter, friend, mentor, mentee, and most importantly representation of Jesus Christ because of it. I am definitely still a work in progress, but I am grateful for the growth that is evident today.

Now, I leave you with the question: what are some principles you can implement in your life in order to become a better version of yourself in your relationships/friendships/marriage?

Thank you all for reading, and I pray that this blog reaches whoever needs it. Please feel free to leave your answers and thoughts in the comment section. I would love to read them.

Terran Z. Brodie