What an Impact a Smile Can Have

By Del Duduit

Having something infectious isn’t always a bad thing.

Now that I have your attention I’ll explain.

There are some things that attract people. It might be a powerful job or loads of money. I wouldn’t know because I don’t have either – I’m only guessing.

It might be popularity or an influential family that attracts people. Once again, I don’t fit into that category. I was never popular and I come from a somewhat normal family.

Personal traits can draw people to one another or have a positive influence on others. Simple things like laughing or being humble can be a wonderful trait. So is smiling. Perhaps showing a pleasant face can be infectious.

Take Francisco Lindor for example. He has a lot to smile about. He plays professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians and is having a fantastic year. Last season, he nearly led the Tribe to a World Series title, and now he plays tonight in the All-Star Game. He makes a lot of money and has an influential job, and is extremely popular with the fans.

But that’s not the reason he’s always in a good mood. He shows his pearly whites so much because he is happy in the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s the real reason he always has a ray of sunshine on his face.

I was in Cleveland on a recent evening to meet up with Francisco. I was waiting outside the clubhouse and asked James, who guards the locker room entrance if Francisco had come in yet.

“Not yet, but he’ll be here smiling,” he said. “He’s always smiling.”

What a great way for people to think of him. He didn’t tell me Francisco was the best player on the team or he drives an expensive car. The first characteristic which came to his mind was Francisco’s addictive smile.

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance……..” Proverbs 15:13 KJV

“I have a reason to smile all the time,” Francisco told me. “I have the love of God in my heart and I can’t help but smile. He makes me smile.”

“Happy is the man the findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding,” Proverbs 3:13 KJV

He knows he is where he is today because of God’s grace in his life.

“God gave me this talent, but I had to work to develop it,” he said. “I worked hard and stayed faithful to Him. If He would have wanted me to do something else, I would do it.”

Without having God in his heart, he told me he doesn’t want to think about where he would have ended up in life. “I’d be in a bad place right now,” he said.

But instead, he is in Miami, Fla. tonight playing in the All-Star game – smiling of course.

“I learned early to completely turn things over to Him and wait.”

Francisco Lindor

Many things have gone right for Francisco up to this point.  But he has also had times of trouble when he had to be patient and wait on God’s timing when he was younger.

“Life has not always been easy for me,” he added. “I’ve had my struggles, but I learned early to completely turn things over to Him and wait. That’s hard to do sometimes but the best thing to do.”

Francisco’s message is simple. Use the talent the Lord gives you for His glory and be happy. He uses his stage on the baseball diamond to glorify God.

Your talent might not be as glamorous as playing professional baseball. You might have a factory job or be a school teacher or a police officer. Whatever you do, there is a way to glorify God and be infectious at the same time.

No matter what you do, you can always do it with a smile. I understand there might be circumstances in life when smiling might not be the easiest thing to do.  But you can have a smile in your heart and have a pleasant attitude and take care of business at the same time.

Watch Francisco Lindor tonight as he plays in The Midsummer Classic. He’ll be easy to spot. He’ll be the one beaming from ear to ear.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, bit have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV

If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will.

What do you have to smile about? Does God give you a reason to be happy?