“Little Life Lessons to Share Christ’s Light” by Cory Grimm
The bad news: All around us culture is deteriorating and in many ways becoming more self-centered, narcissistic, and disrespectful to basic human dignity.
The good news: As the world heads in that direction, followers of Jesus can stand out by offering common courtesy. This article includes some simple examples.
- Don’t have a wheelchair? Don’t use the accessible bathroom stall This should be obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times Lynn has entered a public bathroom only to wait for an able-bodied woman in the larger stall while the smaller stalls all remained open. Think of it this way…would you take a handicap parking spot if you didn’t need it?
- Answer texts, voicemails, and emails If you give out your information to people, answer their messages. This act alone will set you apart as a good friend in our current society!
- The blinker on your car is not for you I mean this literally and figuratively. In a literal sense, you should use your blinker so that guy at the next corner (usually me) doesn’t have to wait to pull out until after you turn. In a figurative sense, be cordial to strangers you meet along the way, communicate openly, and unexpected opportunities will arise.
- Don’t take the closest parking spot This simple discipline has led to more blessings in my life than I can count. Why? Because it gets you in the mindset of putting others first before you walk in to wherever it is you are visiting. Plus if you are like me, you probably need the extra exercise anyway. Speaking of exercise…
- Country strong muscles trump six packs They call athletes “country strong” when their physique comes from actual work, not just lifting weights. If you personally spend oodles of hours each week working out, have you ever considered that a lot of that exercise could be accomplished by helping others with work they can’t do on their own?
- Like the Boy Scouts, be prepared I will never forgot coming upon a domestic dispute in a parking lot in Philadelphia and freezing up as the man threw the woman to the ground and began trying to stomp on her head. Although she survived, I will always regret the three or four seconds I stood there before acting. Expect to encounter the unexpected in public and know ahead of time what you will do, and you will rise to any occasion.
- For the love of everything holy and good, put down your cell phone, look someone in the eyes, take time to listen, and enjoy a real conversation! Enough said about that!
Okay, as you probably figured out, most of this list is just some of my own personal pet peeves, but take these ideas and add your own ways we can be different from the world. As Christ followers we are called to consistently treat all people with dignity, respect, and love. As the world becomes more self-absorbed and detached, may it not be so with us!