Kisses can have a variety of motives
"Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other"
- Psalms 85:10 (NIV)
I reached in my makeup bag and pulled out a tube of my favorite lip color. I rolled the rose-colored lipstick across my lips. Puckering up, I steadied myself and placed an indelible lip print on the flap of an envelope containing a card I was giving to my husband.
Underneath the print I wrote the letters, "SWAK," "sealed with a kiss." I wanted this card to contain a special sentiment and I thought a loving gesture such as a kiss was the perfect way to get the message across.
Kissing has stood the test of time as an affectionate and personal gesture. We give a kiss to show a sign of affection to another. We pucker up for lovers, babies, friends, and relatives. We kiss on the cheek, lips or forehead.
My husband has, oftentimes, tickled and kissed our grandbabies' little feet. Others have kissed the feet of our Savior in gratitude (such as the woman in Luke chapter seven, who was grateful for Jesus' forgiving nature).
We give a kiss hello or to say goodbye, as Laban expressed in the Scriptures, "You didn't even let me kiss my daughters goodbye." Genesis 31:55 (NIV).
Sometimes the motives behind our kisses can go wrong as this Bible verse mentions: "The kisses of an enemy may be profuse …" Proverbs 27:6 (NIV).
Judas gave Jesus the kiss of betrayal when he kissed him just before turning him over to the authorities who hung him on the cross. Was that a kiss goodbye, or a kiss to manipulate? I'm not sure, but I know a kiss is meant to be a show of affection, not used to manipulate to get our own way, or to butter someone up because we are guilty of something.
A kiss can be healing. It can be given to reconcile a misunderstanding between two people and to say "I'm sorry." It can heal a wounded soul or mend a broken heart.
A peck on the cheek is a form of touch that increases endorphin hormones (our feel good center in the brain) and soothes the soul of both the giver and receiver.
Have you ever thought about the motives for your kisses? I pray they be given out of love from a heart of sincerity to bring rightness and peace to one another.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach, and nurse. She will be speaking on the subject of healing at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at Panera Bread in Round Lake Beach. She can be contacted at Annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.