Simple Respect

I had a Sociology professor in college once that said something I’ve always remembered. He told us that if we were considering marrying anyone that we should watch the way they treated the least important people in their lives. He said that was the way they would eventually treat us. That’s always made me aware of the way I treat the least important people in my life. I was blessed with a mother who can strike up a conversation with anyone. She taught me by her example to treat everyone with respect. I’ve tried to follow her example and I’ve tried to be kind to waitresses and counter people, mailmen and gas station attendants, homeless people I pass on the street and the nameless, faceless people I deal with on the phone. All of them are worth the same respect I think I’m worth.

I had a girlfriend years ago that hated the fact that I would strike up a conversation with anyone…especially waitresses. She ignored them and she called me a fool for being nice to them. Now I’m forever grateful that I didn’t marry that woman. I can see the truth of what my old professor had said. It is odd to me, as a single person, that we can marry someone and, in effect, say they are the most special person in the world to us only to later treat them like we would the least important people in our life. That’s another story though.

The point I want to make here is that people, all people, deserve our respect as fellow human beings. The Golden Rule in the Bible says to treat others how we would like to be treated. Similar sayings and proverbs are in most religions. Wise people of all cultures and in all ages have realized the truth of that principle. We’re all in this life together. We can make things easier for each other or we can add to the burdens of each other. How we choose to live, how we choose to treat others says more about us than about them.

The basic principle is that there are two ways of life… the way of get and the way of give. We can spend our lives amassing stuff and stepping on other people or we can realize that we are all connected and reach out to our neighbors. People that live the latter are the salt of the earth…they preserve it. That’s what everyone who calls themselves a Christian is called to do. It doesn’t mean selling everything and moving to India to serve the poor necessarily. It means to help those in your little corner of the world, those God puts in your path.

We all need a hand from time to time. That’s helpful to remember when someone comes to us needing a hand. We all need a little acknowledgement and praise from time to time too. It can often be a very simple thing, like a smile, that makes someone’s day go by a little easier. You can strike up a conversation with someone just to be friendly and to let them know you see them; that you hear them. It takes very little effort to treat people with respect and dignity and it adds something positive to the world. It can have a ripple effect through the people we meet and the people they come into contact with.

The bottom line is that we create the kind of world we have to live in. What kind of world do you want to live in? What kind do you want to pass on to your children? We all deserve to be treated with respect. Let that start with how you treat the least important people in your life. Life is hard enough already. When you see people…let them know you really see them. That simple thing will begin to change your world.