Are You a Jerk? Lessons I wish I had learned sooner.
Have you ever been somewhere like a restaurant or a convenience store and the person behind the counter wasn’t kind? They didn’t greet you, never looked up to acknowledge you, and what little they said to you they spoke to you in a very monotone or irritated manner. Or maybe they were downright rude or disrespectful. I’m sure we’ve all had this happen a few times. After that experience, you probably don’t want to return there. The problem is when people aren’t kind you don’t want what they have. As believers, we must always be kind because what we have is what the rest of the world desperately needs. Jesus.
When I was younger, it always seemed like people thought I was a jerk. This wasn’t my intention. I was not intentionally trying to be a jerk, but I wasn’t intentionally trying to be kind either. Being purposeful or intentional is very important. Radom acts get random results. Intentional acts get intentional results. When I looked at it as this is me, this is just how I am. Some people didn’t think much about it, but some people thought I was rude. Random acts random results. But the results changed when I became very intentional about how I interacted with people.
Does our lack of intention to be kind stop people from wanting what we have?
Romans 12:9-10 NLT 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Almost all of us have learned how to be courteous to others – how to speak kindly, avoid hurting people’s feelings, and the like. But God calls us to a genuine love that goes far beyond expected behavior and politeness. Genuine love requires concentration and effort. Intentionality. It means helping others become better people, and that’s messy. It will take our time, money, and personal involvement. No individual can express love to a whole community, but the church does. Imagine if we as a body of believers became intentional about being kind. People might start to want what we have. And what we have is Jesus.
What are simple intentional things we can do to live in such a way that people will want what we have?
A few suggestions:
Let people hear your smile. When you speak to people let them hear your excitement! Be intentional with the tone of your voice.
Look people in the eye when you speak to them or they are talking to you. With today’s technology it seems people are always looking at their screen instead of the people sitting across from them. let’s get our eyes of the screen and on the people around us. When you speak to people pick one eye and look at that eye the entire time.
Be excited to see people. Everybody wants to be wanted. Everybody wants to go where people are happy to see them. No one wants to go somewhere that no one is happy to see them. Be excited to see people and they will be excited to see you.
Never pass anyone without speaking to them, and be the first person to say hello.
