FACIAL RESPONSIBILITY
One of the many life-giving stories by President Abraham Lincoln is about his decision not to hire a well-qualified man for a cabinet position. Several colleagues questioned Lincoln.
Colleagues: “Why will you not hire this highly qualified man?”
Lincoln: “I don’t like his face.”
Colleagues: “That is not a good reason. He can’t help what he looks like.”
Lincoln: “Every person is responsible for his face.”
We can choose to be responsible or irresponsible for our face. The choice is ours and ours alone.
Let’s assume we choose to be responsible for our individual face. What do we want our face to look like? What do we want our face to communicate?
- Kind or mean eyes? Eyes up or downcast? Shine kindness or blare anger. Eyes are the lamp of the body.
- Gentle or set mouth? Relaxed smile or hard-clenched teeth? Shine warmness or coldness. A glad heart makes a joyful countenance, and guarding the mouth keeps life.
It is assumed quarrels and troubles begin within us and then we take our inner battles to relationships. If so, this indicates we can help to avoid quarrels and tense relationships by first being consciously aware of our facial features.
The heart changes the face. Therefore, guard your heart and thereby take responsibility for your face. James (the brother of Jesus) wrote those who just hear words and yet do not act on them are like those who glance in a mirror, walk away promptly, and forget what they were like. Take FACIAL RESPONSIBILITY!
