The Qualities Of Honest Individuals

The truth can sting, but it’s bitter medicine that could save your life.

Honestly is a valuable trait in a world full of false promises. Today we’re exploring five qualities of honest individuals.

They’re Not Concerned About Popularity Contests.

Honest people don’t obsess over what peers think of them. They simply are who they are, and other people can take it or leave it.

They Stand Up For Their Beliefs.

Honest people don’t go looking for fights, but they also aren’t afraid to speak their mind. Honest people will state their opinions even when their beliefs are against the majority. While this may irk individuals concerned with bureaucracy, most people will respect honesty and be impressed with those willing to stand out against the hive mind.

They Are Thick Skinned.

Honest requires thick skin. Not all people love hearing the truth, and when you dish out a fresh dose of reality some might be inclined to toss it back in your face (plus a little venom).

Honest people may fall victim to the insecure defensiveness of others, requiring them to be thick skinned.

They Have Close Friendships.

People who are honest often have rich, meaningful friendships. Others know that their honest friend won’t complain about the behind their back, and will instead face any issues head on. This level of trust allows for deeper, healthier relationships.

They Are Trusted By Peers.

Peers will seek the aid of honest people, knowing they can count on them for true, objective advice. Many others will lie and tell you the story you want to hear. They do this to avoid any injured feelings, but there are many times with the difficult truth is what people really need to hear. Others trust honest people to tell them how it really is, without sugar coating the truth.

What’s The Difference Between Karma and Reaping What You Sow?

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked for whatever one sows, that will he also reap,” Galatians 6:7.

For many people, the word ‘karma’ is used interchangeably with this biblical concept of reaping what you sow. And that’s understandable, given how these two principles sound like the same exact thing. However, they are two different concepts.

If we aren’t careful, we can easily mistake karma and reaping what we sow as being one in the same. We souls be mindful of the difference, or we run the danger of erring in our understanding of what Christ did on the cross, what the Holy is currently working out in us, and the truth about eternity.

Here are some differences between karma and reaping what you sow:

The Meaning Of Karma

The word karma was in my vocabulary before I ever understood the biblical principle of sowing and reaping. Before I ever knew Jesus as my personal savior, I knew what karma was. When I came to the knowledge of Christ and His Word, I knew something didn’t Lin up between what karma taught and what the Bible tells us.

The definition of karma is the belief that good and bad experiences in this life are the sum result of deeds done in both current, previous, lives. Karma is supposed to help us make sense of why we may be going through certain situations it also give us rationalization for the cycles of birth and death.

On the surface level perspective, karma bridges the gap between good action and good results as well as bad actions and bad results in this life in their previous lives. What a person sows now, they reap in a future life. And karma can accumulate, giving you a chance to balance out positive or negative consequences.

Sowing and reaping in a faithful life relates to the eternal implications that faith has on the Kingdom of God.

In the Hebrew language ‘sow’ means to conceive, to bear, or to yield, “To reap means to harvest.” Sowing and reaping can both be applied to a persons life on earth as we,k as in eternity. However m it’s different from karma in the faith in Christ is a major component.

Isn’t it interesting how similar in verbiage and basic understanding these two concepts seem to be. Without the knowledge of Christ and the discernment of the Holy Spirit, it can easily be mistaken one for the other. However, both of these principles have very different effects on our beliefs and ways of thinking.

The Source Of Karma

One primary and biblical concept of sowing and reaping in their source. Knowing where certain practices and concepts originate help give us discernment in recognizing what is Godly and and what is ungodly. We can sift through the gray areas and look at the historical truths of these to principals to get a clearer picture of what we here should be doing, saying, and believing.

Karma originates from the Hindu tradition. The mention of karma appeared in a text called Rigveda, which is known as the oldest Hindu text.

As time passed, different cultures and traditions have taken the concept of karma and have added different details to it, so the law of karma ranges depending on geographical areas.

The Source Of Reaping And Sowing

The prior sowing and reaping is a biblical concept found throughout the Word of God.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever ones sows, the Will he also will reap. For the one who sows in his own flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit Will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, firing due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6-7-9.

We are too stand on the Word of God as the highest authority, and God wants us to live in accordance with what is written in the Bible. The word of God is our sword. It is sharp enough to decide truth from non-truth, but on,y when we don’t dilute it.

When we mix the biblical concept of sowing and reaping with karmic beliefs, we run the risk of diluting God’s Word. And we become more lenient and accepting of the things of this world. Whether we mean to do so or not, we can actually find ourselves comprising the Word of God in our lives. This is why it’s important to test all things against scripture. Karma, from the basis of it’s foundation, is something that speaks against what the word teaches us.

The Discipline Of Prayer

The discipline of prayer is the intimate pursuit and practice of the personal communication we have available between God and Us.

It is spoken and unspoken confession of Christian faith by engaging and proclaiming our complete dependence on Christ as Lord over our lives. Prayer is not just a selfish wish list to get God to cater to our needs and whims; rather, it’s true purpose and the reason is also a perseverance, and maturity.

Prayer is meant to line us up in Christ and to confirm us to Him, so it builds us up in Him. It’s makes us willing and able to express praise, worship, seek forgiveness from God, become more sensitive, confess sins, make petitions for one another, and help others to be shaped too.

How To Think Outside The Box?

Unless you have been living in a cave away from civilization for decades, you have no doubt heard the phrase “think outside the box.”

It could have been a teacher saying it to you in a classroom or your boss instructing you to do so in a meeting.

You may have heard it from your parents as they encouraged you to find a solution to one of life’s many problems.

This phrase can either drive you close to madness or unleash creativity during innovation you never realized existed within you.

In an age where artificial intelligence and technology seem to be taking over more of our daily lives, experiences have shown that humans still have an innate ability to put our creative talents to work.

We can do so in ways that modern machines cannot and may not be able to do for generations to come.

If you’re striving to learn how to think outside the box in your personal and perhaps even your professional life, I’ve got some suggestions you may want to consider.

To understand what thinking outside the box means, it ultimately comes down to your ability todo away with the current way to think and seek out fresh perspectives.

For example, as you age, you naturally become a creature of habit, both with your behavior and your thinking.

As a result, you become more and more comfortable with familiar routines, making it more difficult and inconvenient to put aside your long-held beliefs about various topics.

Rather the face the risk of failure or rejection we tend to cling to our beliefs much like Linus did with his security blanket.

Ultimately limiting ourselves and keeping ourselves from reaching our full potential.

The end result is never giving our minds the opportunity to try and think of new ways to do things.

We trap ourselves and our thinking and have a hard time thinking differently.

When you are thinking differently that you have done throughout your life, you will quickly find it is far more difficult than you expected.

As to why this happens, I think there are many factors at work.

Having a willingness to think differently means taking a chance on being different from family, friends, and co-workers.

For many of us, this is a fate worse than death, since we risk alienating those who are closest to us.

Instead we find it much easier and emotionally soothing to be a follower, rather than a leader.

Along with this, some find that thinking outside the box is a concept that people simply find too foreign to understand.

Much like they would study a foreign language, doing so diligently will ultimately result in being able to unleash new and innovative ways of thinking.

According to some experts you only need to look at children to see how well this concept can work.

Why Are You So Serious?

Do people always ask you this annoying question: Why are you so serious? You’re not the only one. Why are you so quiet? This is probably the question we introverts get asked all the most.

A lot of the time people are just misunderstanding my resting b-tch face. Other times, they are picking up on our discomfort in a situation that doesn’t feel natural to us.

Even though it’s an annoying question that only serves to make us uncomfortable and even through it’s totally rude to ask others this question in that condescending way they do.

It is a worthwhile question to ask ourselves. It’s something I started asking myself this year when the universe gave me such a punch in the face. I realized that I was taking myself too seriously. I’d taken this whole grown up thing too far.

It’s was time to reclaim my childhood senses of play and wonder. Your inner child is probably itching to come out.

I have a hard time slipping out of serious overthinking. But I am trying to make some headway. I try to take a more playful approach to everything I do, including work, exercise, friendships, and my hobbies.

When I was a child I had to try and be a perfectionist all the time. Or I would make my mother angry. I hate working out on a treadmill all the time it’s boring to me, but I can dance around the house because it’s more fun.

I go outside and get my thought juices working through looking a things in nature.

Taking life to seriously is boring and I’m sure that we weren’t put here to be boring service people. We were here to be happy and enjoy life, but we must remember to never cross the line and allow Satan to enter in.

My Biggest Problem?

I notice everything, my biggest Problem is that I notice everything. Maybe you can relate?

Perhaps you, too, can relate?

Perhaps you, too overthink people’s facial expressions. You notice the slightest frown or look of confusion and you immediately start analyzing what toy said and did. You wonder, am I boring them? Did I offend them?

Or maybe there’s no question. Maybe your do perceptive that you can read people’s micro expressions like a children’s book.

A lot of people say that being observant is one of an introvert’s best qualities. I agree, but I also think it can be very painful, especially if you’re a sensitive introvert who picks up on people’s emotions, mood, and unspoken thoughts.

I definitely count myself in this group. But there’s a catch.

I see emotions as bight technicolor. I see people’s emotions as clearly as if the were painted bright colors or dull colors.

If you are the same way, you know that this can be an amazing gift. But if we’re not careful, it’s also a maddening source of overthinking.

It’s all to easy to not only notice people’s moods and emotions, but take res for them.

How many times have you picked up on someone’s sadness or anger and stressed yourself out wondering if it was something you did? Or if there’s something you could’ve done to make it better.

Constant Overthinking

The anthem of the observant and overthinking introvert is “shoulda coulda woulda.”

And it sucks.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

I’ve learned to stop overthinking other people’s reactions. When I catch myself starting to overanalyze. I dip into my tool kit of mental reframed.

I’ve had to train my brain to choose more constructive thoughts.

If I were compare my mind to a puppy, that’s at the stage where it’s stopped chewing on everything in sight and can be trusted to play happily on its own.

I have a difficult time, overthinking everything when I’m tired or around a group. It’s like every ones emotions are bombarding me at once, and I cannot engage in a conversation while my head is full. I know everyone thinks I’m quiet because I’m struggling, with words, but I’m quiet because everyone’s emotions are overwhelming.