You Can't Go Wrong

When I was in high school I struggled with feelings of insecurity.  I questioned who my real friends were and whether or not I was truly accepted for who I was.  I recall having a conversation about these feelings with my dad during my sophomore year of high school.  My dad gave me advice I still use to this day.  He told me, "Nathan, treat everyone - no matter how cool or un-cool you think they are - with the same amount of respect.  You can't go wrong when you do this."

I decided to give this advice a try.  I remember sitting down next to a girl who I would have labeled in the "un-cool" category my dad spoke of.  I made a deliberate decision to speak with her that day and find out how she was doing.  The funny thing is, a week prior, I would have chalked her up as being someone I was too cool for. 

As I reminisce and think back to my behavior in high school, it's almost embarrassing.  I felt slighted by some of my peers, but I was equally slighting some of my peers too.  The very thing I was hurt by, I was doing to others.  I wasn't receiving attention from the peers I desperately wanted attention from.  Concerning the peers I wasn't giving attention to - well, I just didn't care. 

Whenever we deal with people, it can get a bit difficult.  God has designed up as relational creatures and it hurts deeply when we feel rejected by our peers.  Because of our sinful nature we are all capable of duplicating the hurt that rejection brings.  Sometimes I think we even cause hurt and are unaware of it.  We may exclude without realizing our actions.  

My dad's advice was well worth listening to.  I grew to value my dad's advice because it viewed all people as equals.  Rather than seeing people from a human standpoint and giving labels of status, it helped me view others from God's standpoint.  All people have significant value because they are made in the image of God.  Whenever I make a judgment of the "worthiness" of another person, I am giving in to the fleshly part of me.  God is not part of that.  As I allow God to dictate how I treat others, these selfish walls go down and God's love is free to flow through my life to everyone I meet.  

Through the pain often associated with friendships, I learned a critical lesson.  Treating all people with the same amount of respect is worth it.  What my dad told me back then still rings true today: you can't go wrong when you show kindness and respect.