Show Kindness To Others
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." -- Colossians 3:12
Today is Black Friday. The busiest shopping day of the year. Lines are everywhere, whether you're sitting in the car or waiting to pay for your items. It's easy to get frazzled and huffy over the smallest things. What are you showing the world today?
I spoke briefly with a Walmart sales clerk on Thanksgiving Day. She was scheduled to start work at 4:30 a.m. today. She wasn't dreading the time. She smiled and said she would drink a big glass of orange juice and she'd be fine. And she knew it would be a long, tiring day. She's was okay with that. What worried her? "I just hope people are nice," she told me.
It's sad that being nice to a sales clerk isn't a given anymore. Being nice sometimes doesn't seem to exist, especially when it's an interaction with strangers. I stopped at a rest stop on the way to Savannah a couple of days ago. An older woman, cell phone to her ear, literally pushed a young girl out of her way so she could wash her hands before the youngster. I don't know if she even saw the child. She was that focused on herself and her phone conversation.
I worry that we're so caught up in our cell phone conversations and our computer games that we don't interact with people anymore. I'm talking about looking somebody in the eye and speaking to them. It drives me crazy when someone in a checkout line is too busy talking on the phone to even acknowledge the cashier. I really applaud the businesses that refuse to wait on people who are on the phone.
Whatever happened to our manners? When did it become okay to be rude? The Bible tells us to be kind and patient and filled with compassion. God wasn't talking about somebody else when He put that in the Bible. He was talking to you and me. He was telling us how to behave. Obviously, many folks need a refresher course.
It's easy to get stressed out during the holiday season -- or any time, for that matter. But don't take it out on the people around you. Take a moment and see the person in front of you. Focus on someone else. It's amazing how that works. Suddenly, you aren't as stressed as you were. You might even smile. Show kindness. It'll return to you again and again and again.
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