WINSOMENESS (JANUARY 25)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/winsomeness-january-25/

"A person or action which can be described by the [Greek] word kalos is not only good; he or it is also beautiful. It therefore has in it the idea of goodness which is winsome and attractive. Very often the best translation of it is 'lovely'" (William Barclay).

WINSOMENESS IS ONE KIND OF GOODNESS — IT’S THE KIND THAT IS “ATTRACTIVE.” When someone is charming or delightful, we’re attracted to them; that is, we’re pulled toward them. The pull is not a physical force like gravitation or magnetism, yet it sometimes feels that compelling. (Antonyms like “repulsive” or “repellent” share the same metaphor, of course, only in reverse. These attributes push us away from those who have them.) “Winsomeness,” then, is attractive goodness, goodness that pulls with the power of likability.

In ancient times, the Greeks had a special word for this kind of goodness: kalos. In contrast to agathos, the ordinary word for “good,” kalos meant that which was fine, admirable, or praiseworthy. If something was kalos, it was not only the right thing to do and proper from a technical or legal viewpoint; it was also delightful. And these are two very different kinds of goodness, aren’t they? We all know people who are scrupulously correct, but their rightness feels formalistic; it doesn’t have much warmth or beauty to it. Other people, however, are no less concerned to do the right thing, but their goodness is also lovely and inviting. They are “winsome.”

It’s interesting that our English word “winsome” comes from the Old English wynn, which simply meant “joy.” When we say that a friend has a “winning” smile, we don’t just mean that their facial expressions can win us over but that their goodness gives us great joy.

Are you working on your winsomeness? I hope so. And I hope you’ll see it as something more than just a personality trait. In reality, it’s a character trait. Real winsomeness has a much higher goal than “how to win friends and influence people.” It’s not a friend-making strategy to use or a manipulative technique to employ; it’s a gift to give. It’s the imparting of daily grace to those around us.

A sweet attractive kind of grace,
A full assurance given by looks,
Continual comfort in a face,
The lineaments of Gospel books;
I trow that countenance cannot lie
Where thoughts are legible in the eye.
(Matthew Roydon)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

CRAFTSMANSHIP (JANUARY 24)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/craftsmanship-january-24/

"Criticism comes easier than craftsmanship" (Zeuxis).

IF WE HAVE TO ADMIT THAT WE SPEND MORE TIME CRITIQUING THE WORK OF OTHERS THAN WE DO IMPROVING OUR OWN CRAFTSMANSHIP, THAT’S NOT A GOOD THING. Most of the worthwhile things that human beings are called upon to do require some skill and ability. It’s a fact that other people often fail to do their work as skillfully as might be expected, but even so, pointing out that fact is rarely the most productive thing we could be doing with our time. Sharpening our own skills is usually the better choice.

If the word "pride" can ever be used in a good sense, it’s probably in the phrase “pride of workmanship.” Pride of workmanship is the pleasure the craftsman has when he finishes a piece of work and knows that it’s the very best he can do. It’s one of life’s best feelings, actually. And it’s sad that so few people ever experience it.

The quality of our craftsmanship could certainly be improved in the many specific things we do — our work, our hobbies, our community involvement, and so forth — but there is an even more important sense in which we are practicing a craft. A human life as a whole is a thing that has to be made or created. In an overall sense, we are each “building” something that will eventually be finished. Whether the finished product will be one that anybody can feel good about depends, to a large extent, on how active we are in improving our craftsmanship — and today is always the best day to improve it!

As we give ourselves to our family, friends, and coworkers, it’s a gratifying thing to know that we’re giving them the very best handiwork we’re capable of producing. Surely, some of our peers are people who mean so much to us that we wouldn’t ever want to give them anything but our best. But in truth, there is no one we’ll ever meet who doesn’t deserve the best that we can offer them.

So, let’s aspire to being people who know how to craft a human life that’s worthy of appreciation and also have the self-discipline that such a result requires. It’s a daunting challenge, without a doubt, and it will consume vast reserves of both patience and diligence. But crafting an honorable life is not impossible.

"If a great thing can be done at all, it can be done easily. But it is that kind of ease with which a tree blossoms after long years of gathering strength" (John Ruskin).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

CAMARADERIE (JANUARY 23)

View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/camaraderie-january-23/

"It must be obvious to those who take the time to look at human life that its greatest values lie not in getting things, but in doing them, in doing them together, in all working toward a common aim, in the experience of comradeship, of warmhearted one hundred percent human life" (W. T. Grant).

WE OFTEN UNDERESTIMATE THE GOODNESS THAT IS GENERATED WHEN PEOPLE WORK TOGETHER ON SOMETHING THEY’RE ALL PASSIONATELY COMMITTED TO. Call it “synergy” or whatever you like, there is something very special that takes place when two or more people make a mutual assault on a challenge that would be too much for any of them individually. When the undertaking is dangerous or physically threatening, the spirit of “camaraderie” is especially deep and meaningful, but we don’t have to be soldiers sharing a foxhole under enemy fire to experience the benefits of this phenomenon. There are many other ways we can be comrades.

The main ingredient necessary for the spirit of camaraderie is a common vision or purpose. To be bound together beneficially, a group must have an objective that is not only held in common but is also felt to be extremely important by the group. When two or more people are committed to a goal that is greater than any differences that might separate them, powerful things are likely to take place. When a group has a goal greater than its differences, you’d be wise to stand back. It’s coming through, and if you’re an obstruction, you’re likely to get run over.

The wonderful thing about life is that there is no shortage of good goals that can weld us together. And not only that, we can be members of more than one group, committed to more than one goal.

These days, most of us live and work in locales where there are many other people. We find ourselves being in close proximity to other human beings whether we make any effort to do so or not. But the really good things in life don’t come to us unless we move beyond physical closeness to actual camaraderie.

It takes a conscious choice on our part to connect in a healthy way to those who jostle up against us from day to day. Good, mutually beneficial relationships are there for the making, and we ought not to be content just to occupy physically adjoining spaces. With at least a few of these people, we need to become comrades.

"A crowd is not company" (Old Saying).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com