Sunday, February 8, 2015

Will I Treat The Way I'm Treated


How many times have you caught yourself treating someone in a way that wasn’t quite up to Christian standards?  You know what I’m talking about.  You treat certain people differently, because that’s how they treat you or how they treat others.  You don’t speak to them, because they don’t speak to you.  You don’t wave at them, because they don’t wave to you.  You treat them with disrespect, because that’s how they treated you the last time you had a conversation with this person.
Not only are those actions extremely childish, but they’re entirely wrong. 
I’ve had this on my mind for some time now, because I catch myself treating people exactly how they treat me or how I’ve seen them treat others.  I know it’s wrong, but I feel like I can justify my actions by their previous actions.  However, just because someone else is wrong, doesn’t make it right for me to be just as wrong. 
As I was thinking on this topic for this blog, something my Momma always told me came to mind.  She would say, “Tim, people will always remember how you made them feel.  If you treat them kindly, they’ll remember.  If you treat them with disrespect, they’ll remember.  If you treat them with respect, they’ll remember.  They’ll always remember how you made them feel.”
Not only did the words of Momma come to mind, but that famous Golden Rule came through as well.   Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.
Now I know that the scripture reads in Matthew 7:12 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” 
Notice that both say nothing about treating people the way they treat you, but rather to treat people the way you would want to be treated.  I think that’s part of the problem today.  We treat people the way they treat us, NOT how we want to be treated. 
A few years ago I started doing something that, to some, may be considered a little over the top.  If I walk up to a group of people, I try to speak to each one in the group.  If I walk past someone I know, I try to at least say “hello” or some sort of greeting.  Why?  Because that’s how I would want to be treated if I was standing in a group or by myself and someone I knew walked past or walked up. 
Proverbs 18:24 tells us, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother”.
People don’t want to be friends with folks that don’t show themselves friendly.  In order for us to make friends, we’ve got to be friendly…to everyone. 
So how do we get people to make the changes needed to be made?  How do we get folks to treat us the way we want to be treated? 
First of all, we’ve got to change ourselves and our way of thinking.  Doing the same ole thing and acting the same ole way expecting different results isn’t going to cut it.  We’ve got to change our thoughts and our actions if we want to see serious change in others.  We can’t expect others to change, if we ourselves aren’t willing to change.
Secondly, we start treating people the way we want to be treated.  Remember, people will always remember how you made them feel. 
Thirdly, be patient.  It’s going to take time for some to catch hold of the concept of treating people with respect and dignity, but they’ll get it…eventually.  Keep showing them how it’s done and eventually they’ll figure it out.  You can teach an old dog a new trick, it just takes time. 
Lastly, don’t stop showing people how.  The scripture in Luke chapter 6 verse 38 says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you…” If we continue to give, eventually what we’ve given will be given back.  “…good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over…” 
Just my thoughts on a page…