Let Something Good Be Said

This article is one of the Unity Classics written by legendary leaders of Unity. Some date back decades, even a century. That’s why the language may seem a bit formal, and the writers sometimes used masculine nouns and pronouns that were considered proper for their era. This is from the 1952 book, Things to Be Remembered, a collection of columns Lowell Fillmore wrote for Weekly Unity. He believed strongly in the creative power of our thoughts and words and suggested we speak more kindly of others, especially our government officials.

Remember that God needs your cooperation. His love and his power must find an outlet through the thoughts, words, and deeds of men … Since God pronounced everything good that He made, should we not cooperate by also calling things good?

Many of us have formed the uncooperative habit of criticizing things in general. If something displeases us we blame someone for it. We are very unjust sometimes in our criticism of people. We cannot promote ourselves by depreciating others. A good reputation is made of good things done, not by pointing out mistakes. A good life is made of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

Good thoughts and good words produce good experiences. It is therefore never wise to criticize anybody. Choosing to speak of man’s negative points rather than his good ones proves that the speaker needs to cultivate a little more ability to express God’s goodness in his words. If an apple picker were to select the wormy, rotten fruit instead of the fine, perfect apples, his services would not be acceptable. Neither is the gathering of wormy, rotten data pleasing to God.

“Our country needs every good thought, word, and deed that we can give it.”

Giving a Blessing Blesses You Too

Life is filled with what we choose to put into it. As the years unroll before us, we are writing upon the scroll of our life’s history the things that we select. God has provided an abundance of good things to choose from. Why not record the best and make a good, successful book of life?

Every time you point out some good quality in a person you encourage him and at the same time you add a little bit of heaven to your own life. A silent blessing or a spoken word of praise or thanks will often mean a great deal to a worried man and will promote God’s plan on earth. When you bless someone silently or aloud, something inside you will rejoice and you will receive the divine commendation: “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter that into the joy of thy Lord.”

You will never regret having said something good about anyone whether he fully deserves it or not, but you may often be sorry afterward if you say something critical.

Criticism Harms Our National Goodwill

Today many harsh criticisms are being made concerning the work of our various public officials. Some of us feel at times that we could do a much better job if we had the opportunity. It is easy to pick flaws in the other fellow’s work and even though some criticisms are warranted, a grumbling, negative undercurrent of criticism sounds a sour note in the National Symphony. Offering constructive suggestions and criticisms is proper and is in accord with our democracy, but being a chronic kicker is not … Faultfinding also lowers the national standard of goodwill.

The men who shoulder the official responsibilities of our nation need our encouragement and not our criticism. They need our prayers and our best thoughts. If a man in authority makes a mistake or seems to lack foresight, then surely he needs our good affirmations and our prayers. He needs a boost and not a setback. We who know the value of a silent blessing can help him to do his work more effectively and more joyously. We can affirm that he is being guided by infinite wisdom and that he is under no word of condemnation.

We who understand the power of thought know that we are misusing God’s law when we speak evil of anyone. Our country needs every good thought, word, and deed that we can give it. Let us bless our public servants and strengthen their hearts and hands by praising them in God’s name. It would give the nation a great lift if everybody would form the habit of blessing every public official and every person who is trying to help bring peace to the world. Let us bless our public servants sincerely even when they may seem to fall short of our expectations.

Blessings Can Transform Error

Blessings often have the power to turn mistakes into something good.

I have seen good results grow out of mistakes when they were blessed and mentally placed in the divine hands. Why not cooperate daily in Spirit and in truth with the power of God, thus helping it to find a perfect expression in all departments of our government? We can have a definite part in improving the affairs in our land by sending thoughts of love, courage, and success to our leaders …

Let us be more often in agreement and criticize less. In this way we shall cooperate a little more fully with God’s plan and speed up the coming of his kingdom in the earth.

Read some of Lowell Fillmore’s columns and other writing.