"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." Abraham Lincoln
Me too. And, I would add the betterment of one's children, spouse, neighbor, nation, world. If people are not better off because of knowing us, what is the point? We all know people who go to church, treat acquaintances well, but go home to yell at their families. A friend was asking me what she should say to her son. I reflected to her that her behavior might speak more clearly than her words --- in what she was modeling for him. A wise person once said that the greatest gift we can give our family is our own happiness. Sound selfish? Not really. If we are honest, isn't that what we would want for those we love? Their happiness. Then, does it not make sense that they would want the same for us. A sign of a mature person is one who treats everyone else with respect. Not just the minister, not just the mother-in-law. Everyone. The clerk at the store, other drivers, the refuse collector, the serving staff at the cafe'. My father owned and operated a gas station. One of the ways I noticed that would reveal to me what kind of a person I was with was how they treated a gas station attendant. We no longer have gas station attendants in most locations, but we still have waiters and waitresses, clerks at stores. It tells a great deal about a person how he/she treats people in serving positions. Is the world a better place because of your beliefs?
No comments:
Post a Comment