Tires take a lot of abuse from the roads they travel. There are dips and potholes all along the way. There’s broken glass or nails that can puncture them, requiring surgery to be removed and patched! The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that nearly 1 in 10 crashes are tire-related, with neglect being the most common culprit. All of these factors can deflate, damage and shorten the life of a tire. It’s good to remember how much is riding on our tires! Keeping them aligned and properly inflated can be the difference between death and life.
Imagine the people in your life being like tires. It’s not a glamorous comparison, but it’s a good word picture for an important lesson. How does your input in their lives affect them? After spending time with you are they properly filled up, inflated and ready to roll, or are they deflated, and limping away? Are they re-aligned with hope, clarity and health, or are they worn down and damaged? It’s not always easy to act with proper care in all of our relationships, but it’s always worth it.
The good news is, we have the ability to breathe life into others! Proverbs 18: 21 tells us, “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Through our actions, our words and even our silences, we have the choice to inflate or deflate, to build up or tear down.
Just like our tires, there’s a lot riding on the lives of the people around us. What we breathe into their lives today may give them hope to breathe life into others tomorrow. That’s where the rubber meets the road.
- Song: Ways of God (James 1: 19-24), Wonderfully Made Album