MAJORING ON A MAJOR

I wish I would have placed Manners higher on the list when it came to raising my kids. Life was so hectic with five children within six years, hectic when they were young and hectic as they got older. Yet, it is one of my biggest regrets that I did not create five offspring that knew the fine points of being courteous.

I wish I would have instilled into them the practice of writing a thank you note when they received a gift or a kindness from anyone, including their siblings. There should have been lessons on when to stand when a person enters a room, when to offer your chair, and how to reach out and enthusiastically shake hands or hug when appropriate.

I wish I would have taught them how impressive it is to rise when an older person enters the room as it says in Leviticus 19:32: “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD….”

I wish I would have been gotten across to them how, even in a non-courteous society, an obviously courteous person still shines like the brightest star.

One of my fondest and most cherished memories is how my brother used to greet people when they walked into a room. His face would light up and he would say with great sincerity and gusto, “Hey!” and most of the time stand up to greet them. I remember him doing that for me often. I was eager to see him, and if he had met me otherwise, I would have been disappointed. What an example he put fortth.

I wish, too, that I would have pounded it into the kids that they should respond to invitations to parties, weddings, and meetings. I told them. I’m sure I told them often, but I majored on other things instead of making this one of the main subjects.

Make it a priority now, either to retrain yourself or make it a major point in the training of your children. Teach them all of these things and teach them to respect the feelings of others. Jesus said, “Do unto others as your would have them do unto you.” Even if you don’t have high expectation of how people treat you, make sure you treat others well.

Anyone can change their ways at any point of time in their life. It’s never too late to take stock and take it upon oneself to improve in this important area of living and relating!