Half Empty or Half Full?

 When it comes to life, you may have heard this question before: "Do you see the glass half empty or half full?" Now I have heard the question before and I have always wondered what it meant. When I first heard the question, I thought that I'm a positive person and try to look on the bright side of things so I see the glass half full. But then I saw a quote not long ago that challenged my thinking. The quote talked about how it doesn't matter if you see the glass as half empty or half full, but that the glass is refillable. I thought, "Wow! I never thought of it that way before!" It changed my whole perspective on that question. I see the glass representing our body. The Bible talks about in I Corinthians 6:19-20 how our body is a temple and that we should honor God with our body. We honor God with our body by taking care of it. We watch what we put in it. We watch what we do with it. We make sure that it doesn't break down. Burnout can happen quickly to all ages! We all can do too much and overextend ourselves. It's a process to know what we can and cannot do, which I'm constantly learning. We can't take on everything because it gets too heavy. Have you ever tried walking with a glass of water that was very full and close to the top? You were hoping no one stopped you or bumped into you. You didn't want to trip before getting to your destination. One wrong move and there's a spill! Now let's imagine the glass does spill. If the water hits the floor, that could be a major problem because someone could slip and fall. Someone has to mop it up and put wet floor signs out so people can be cautious in that area. Now if the water hits the sink, bathtub or plant, then the water spilling over in it would be fine. Those are designed to hold the water. As a review, remember the glass represents our body. The water represents what we put in our bodies. Food and drink goes in our bodies, but so do other things we may not think of right away. What television shows, movies, music and podcasts are you listening to? What social media posts and videos are you taking in? What we consume and take in definitely fills us up. Just like the actual glass can get full and have a tendency to spill out, we too can spill out things. If the right things come out and goes to a right place, it's okay. But if it's wrong things, people can slip and fall and it could be a dangerous situation. What comes out of us does affect others and ourselves. Here's something else to think about. What if the water in that glass never got a refill? Physically, we need to keep drinking water and get refills so we don't get tired, dehydrated and weak. In our lives, we can't keep pouring out to others and not be filled up ourselves. Colossians 3:16 tells us the Word of God should be in us, along with spiritual songs and psalms. All are based in God's truth. We also need to get rest. Our bodies get tired! Our mind, along with our physical body, can get tired. We have to constantly check our mind for thoughts that can drain us and have us all over the place. That's where our refill comes in. We need to be refreshed and renewed. We need to be refueled and be still and get our rest. We can't pour into anyone if we're empty. There needs to be a healthy balance of pouring into ourselves and pouring into others, which I'm working on all the time. What are we pouring out to others? Let's make sure it's not negativity, drama, hostility, gossip, selfishness. Instead, let's pour kindness, love, truth, encouragement, compliments, thankfulness, hope into others and ourselves. We should watch and listen to things that feed the positive and not negative. So it goes back to the question at the beginning- Half empty or half full? It's neither really, but the key is to observe how we feel, what we're giving, what we take in and make sure there's a healthy balance of the two. As we look out for others, let's remember to look out for ourselves and refill. We can refill as often and as much as we need to. After all, when we fill up with good things, we're helping others and ourselves!