Be of a good cheer (by Joseph)

Do you spread cheer or discouragement? A boy went to visit his friend Gabe. Gabe was having trouble with his math and said that he was dumb but his friend said "you are not dumb. You are just having trouble with your math. You can still be an engineer." That encouraged him. But if he said to Gabe "you're dumb" that would not make him feel good. So do not put people down. Speak kindly to people, it can make a big difference. If they are doing wrong it is important to speak to them with love in a nice voice why you think they are wrong. With genuine love in our hearts for the other person, we can speak the truth and be of good cheer. PHILIPPIANS 4:4-5

A Clear Conscience and Good Relationships (by Katrina)

In reading Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends-
most people desire to have good relationships, but a clear conscience is necessary to have good relationships. Our conscience can be clear, it can be guilty, or it can be dead. A dead conscience is guilty but denies the guilt and says everything is OK; it happens when we disobey so much that it no longer bothers us. A guilty conscience is guilty but does not want to confess what it has done because it is afraid of getting in trouble; it gets more and more guilty because it does not confess. A clear conscience is where it does something bad but it is bothered by it so it confesses. Psalm 32:1-5

Confessing our mistakes makes for good relationships because it builds trust in the other person and makes us want to do better next time. It makes us responsible. Six important words are "I AM SORRY" and "WILL YOU FORGIVE ME", but they must come from the heart and not just our lips. A dead conscience ruins relationships and a guilty conscience avoids relationships, but a good conscience builds relationships. 2 Timothy 1:3