From Leftovers to New Beginnings!

My wife had a way of turning something that may give a hint of negativity into a more positive outlook, word or action.  A good example took place years ago when she called our kids into the kitchen in order to help her prepare a family meal.  As they walked in one asked, “What are we having?” to which she cheerfully replied “Leftovers!”

Well… that kind of went over like a lead balloon and was followed by less than stellar grunts of enthusiasm.  But… if you knew Piper… then you know that their response didn’t move her one bit, nor decrease the big smile on her face.  She simply paused, thought for a moment and said, “You know what?  Let’s change the name from ‘Leftovers’ to ‘New Beginnings!’”  

And while I have to admit that the name change never quite took root in our family, it did get all of us to think about how the things we say or hear can regulate how we respond to the activities and events in our daily lives… Like the way “Leftovers” connotates mental pictures of something old, stale and potentially flavorless, while “New Beginnings” stimulates more enthusiastic expectations of something fresh, new and yummy in its own right!

Piper’s example goes hand in hand with a scripture that I have been revisiting over the last few weeks…  In Proverbs 18:21, King Solomon wisely notated that,

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (KJV)

I personally like the way that the Message Bible paraphrases this verse by bluntly saying,

“Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose.” (MSG)

Solomon seems to be making it clear that the words we speak or listen to are either going to produce LIFE or DEATH in the situations that they are spoken into…  According to my photography minded thinking… It’s simply BLACK or WHITE!  There is no middle ground… There are no complimenting shades of gray to soften or redefine the picture that has been taken (or the words that have been spoken or listened to).

So… what can we do about it?  Well… Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, plainly teaches that the choice is totally up to you and me!  In other words… we have the personal responsibility to watch over the things that come out of our mouths… as well as the things that we allow to come into our ears!

Paul speaks similarly in I Corinthians 15:33 when he told the recipients of his letter to,

“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (KJV)

In that portion of his letter, he is encouraging the church in Corinth to be careful with whom they listened to, or hung out with.  He is basically telling us that by associating with those who are constantly speaking words that produce death, they run the very real risk of corrupting their good Christian morals and character.

But once again, the responsibility for the choice… was up to them!

Which will you choose… Life or death?  What would you rather speak into the lives of those you communicate with… and which of those two choices would you rather listen to and thereby receive into your own life?

It looks to be a Black or White decision…

Have a great first complete week of the New Year, 2026… why, it’s the perfect time to leave the “LEFTOVERS” behind and to heat up some “NEW BEGINNINGS” in your life… by taking personal responsibility for the things you might say… or choose to listen to… wouldn’t you agree?

 

PS:  Next time we just might look at a few places where we can find the words of life from which to speak…