Operation Brighten Your Corner

Operation Beautiful. Have you heard of it? The inspiration is quite delightful, the sort of thing that brings a smile to your face just thinking of it. It is an inspiration in stark contrast to the frown-inducing demeanor of many in our culture that you’ll experience at grocery stores and freeways. I stumbled across the website of this operation a few weeks ago and was quite intrigued. Here’s the idea: to leave anonymous post-it notes in random places all over—the more unexpected, the better. A note on a diaper changing station in a Wal-Mart restroom saying, “You are a good mom.” A piece of paper on a mirror in a school bathroom to tell the students, “You are beautiful.” How lovely would it be to walk into such a place and find a message telling you that you are beautiful!

As I said, the idea intrigued me, and I laud those who are putting it into practice, but somehow it doesn’t seem enough. Is it possible that someone telling her she is beautiful is all a woman wants or needs? Don’t get me wrong—I want girls and women and you to know that you are beautiful. But somehow, just giving that bit on a piece of paper seems too shallow—too little too late. The scribbling of an anonymous encourager may bring a smile for a few hours, but it would be all too temporary, I’m afraid. Proverbs 31:30, the verse we’ve all heard a thousand times, does say, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Don’t misunderstand: encouragement—the motivation behind Operation Beautiful—is something we can all do more of, but the purpose of the operation lacks one important facet: Christ. So let's take it further.  Why simply say, “You are beautiful,” on a note, going only skin-deep, when you can say, “You are beautiful in the eyes of Christ” or “Jesus still would have died for you if you had been the only one in the world”?

So if Operation Beautiful is heading in the right direction, just not to the right destination, then perhaps it is time to form our own operation, one to combat all the frustration and sorrow so many feel, even though they are told they are beautiful. What about “Operation Brighten Your Corner”?

I know—I’m waxing all official and ceremonial on you, but I can’t help it because I’m so delighted by the exciting-ness of this idea.

First, let’s get the blunt details out of the way.

The hours are long—extending to midnight laundry sessions and early morning devotions—and the pay delayed perhaps until you reach Headquarters. Bear in mind that this operation is not based on energy conservation. Rather, the success of Operation Brighten Your Corner depends on giving out as much energy as possible in order to result in the entire globe being covered in light. But know that as a missionary of Operation Brighten Your Corner you have no ability to light any lights or spread any flame by yourself. You do, however, have the Holy Spirit—the only match that can light the lights and spread the brightness (Acts 1:8, John 14:26). You, in turn, as an instrument of Christ, must dedicate your entire life to this Operation.

This enterprise does offer its recruits immense creativity, however, encouraging them to utilize their specific talents in serving through the Holy Spirit’s power to create light. Sometimes, though, Operation Brighten Your Corner is more about cleaning up vomit than it is about performing on a stage. And you have to be all right with that. Philippians 2:14-15, this Operation’s theme verse, says, “Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the mids of a crooked and perverse eneration, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

But the real truth of the matter is that if you are a born again Christian, you have already signed up for Operation Brighten Your Corner. You may have been a deserter for the last couple of hours (or days, or months), but that only means you must pick up where you left off. Or you may have been a faithful worker for a long time now and monotony is sneaking in, but that just means you need encouragement and refreshment from the Word if you want to continue fulfilling your mission. Whether you’re in Washington state, Africa, Kansas, or Australia, won’t you purposefully, resolutely, and daily labor for Operation Brighten Your Corner? You can start by sharing ideas you have used to spread God’s light in the comments below.

Who knows—maybe the world will soon realize that “this little light of mine” isn’t quite so little after all!

Picture Credit