Poisoning the Waterhole

I love Disney's Toy Story. At my house, it's my granddaughter's current favorite movie, so I've seen it probably 50-60 times, counting the numerous times I watched it with my own children. Some of my favorite lines are:

Woody: "Tuesday night's plastic corrosion awareness meeting, was I think, a big success. We'd like to thank Mr. Spell for putting that on for us."

Mr. Potato Head: "Hey, Hamm. Look, I'm Picasso!"
Hamm: "I don't get it."
Mr. Potato Head: "You uncultured swine!"

Mr. Potato Head: "Hey, a laser! How come YOU don't have a laser, Woody?"
Woody: "It's not a laser! It's a...it's a little light bulb that blinks."
Hamm: "What's with him?"
Mr. Potato Head: "Laser envy."

Woody: "You are a child's PLAY thing!"
Buzz: "You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity."

Rex: "What if Andy gets another dinosaur? A mean one? I just don't think I can take that kind of rejection!"

Woody: "Stop it you zealots!"

Woody: "Somebody's poisoned the waterhole!"

This last line, while not necessarily funny, struck me as spiritually significant. One of the ways we can "poison the waterhole" is through our words. Negative predictions, complaining, expressions of self-pity and judgmental observations all poison the life-giving waterhole of verbal blessings, faith, hope and belief in a God who "works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28.) When we ignore that verse and say whatever negative, damaging thing that comes to mind, we undermine and negate the life God wants us to bestow upon the culture we're in.

James 3:3-6, 9-12 says, "...the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell...With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salta water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

Have you ever tried to drink salt water? Not only does it go down hard, it also causes nausea, vomiting, and ultimately kidney failure and death. You cannot survive on salt water; it is poison. Much the same way, words can poison, driving out life and blessings.

Tyne Daly once said, "A critic is someone who never actually goes to the battle, yet who afterwards comes out shooting the wounded."  It's easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize...much harder to jump in the trenches and help out a situation.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." It's pretty hard to utter critical and negative thoughts while obeying that scripture.

Negative thinking is another form of poisonous activity. More subtle than words, thoughts have at least as much power. These thoughts, though unseen by others, damage us and our ability to live life to the fullest. These defeating thoughts leach out joy (which is our strength: Nehemiah 8:10b), and they determine our words and ultimately our actions.

The writer Peter McWilliams said, “For many, negative thinking is a habit, which over time, becomes an addiction... A lot of people suffer from this disease because negative thinking is addictive to each of the Big Three -- the mind, the body, and the emotions. If one doesn't get you, the others are waiting in the wings.”

Cultivating life-giving thoughts is a choice and a habit to be pursued.  We must CHOOSE joy over the much easier cynicism.

Ephesians 4:29-32 encompasses both words and thoughts: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Let's replenish our waterholes with clean, sweet water (thoughts and words), that refreshes and strengthens and can be poured out to hydrate a dry and thirsty world.