He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend (Proverbs 22:11).

Reading this Proverb, two people immediately come to my mind:  Ronald Reagan and my friend Linda.

I once read that Ronald Reagan made a point to never speak negatively of another individual -- to always find something positive on which to focus, or to not say anything at all.  I can imagine that this would be incredibly challenging in a life of politics, but also -- obviously -- very rewarding.  As one of the most popular Presidents of the United States of America during an era of unprecedented prosperity, Ronald Reagan showed that you can go places when people's primary associations of you are amicability, grace, and positivity.

My friend Linda, likewise, is unflappably, unswervingly positive.  It's incredible -- even irksome at times.  It seems that she always has something positive to say about any person she knows.  Even if you kind of fish around for some negativity (as I'm embarrassed to admit that I sometimes do), Linda simply will not oblige.  She maintains positivity and maintains relationships.

At times, I have to confess that complete, unmitigated positivity can seem ingenuine to me.  It can feel phony.  But then again, as I really consider the Proverbs and potential real-world applications, I can see that it may not be a bad way to go.  It's hard to fault someone who regularly believes the best about others and speaks well of others in all circumstances.  People like Ronald Reagan and my friend Linda don't have a lot of enemies.  And they do have a lot of friends -- even friends in high places.

So I feel like I need to challenge myself in this area:  honing the habit of appreciating others' purity of heart -- even when it's only a teeny, tiny part of a person's heart which can honestly be labelled pure -- and choosing to speak graciously of others, whether they might be listening or not.  It's a great way to make friends and keep friends, at any rate, be it kings or otherwise.  And it's something that I feel freshly challenged to do, in light of Proverbs 22:11.