Highly Favored

Have you ever met someone who had the flakiest personality? In the presence of one group of people, they act one way and in other – the total opposite. You don’t know who you’re going to get at any given moment. One minute they’re happy and bubbly – the next they are harsh and cold. Sometimes they treat others as if theyare beneath them. They rarely share any details about themselves other than their accomplishments and for the most part, people don’t really feel very comfortable around them.

I worked with a woman some years ago who would never just be herself with people. There were always rules and formalities that everyone had to abide by. When she received her Doctorate – as honorable as that is – she insisted, no matter what the situation, that she be called “Dr” and didn’t have a problem correcting others if they forgot. I hope I’m exaggerating, but she was so harsh with this that I wouldn’t be surprised if her parents called her “Dr.” No, she was not a medical doctor – not that it reduces the accomplishment – it wasn’t that – it was the fact that she demanded it from people instead of allowing them to do so on their own accord.

It’s no surprise she doesn’t have any real close friends – since only those with similar attitudes seem to hang out with her. I’ve never seen such snooty people in my life. I understand the fact that everyone should carry themselves with dignity, but where do you draw the line? When does confidence become arrogance? When does dignity become sinful pride?

The people that I admire most and who have been the biggest blessings in my life were not the ones who went out of their way to uphold some image. My mother-in-law is the most down to earth person I’ve ever met – she has a way of making people feel comfortable in her presence. It’s because she’s open and doesn’t hold anyone to unnecessary formalities. She’s just a genuine person and it is that characteristic that allows her to be a true blessing in my life.

She’s generous and there are no limits to what she will do for others – there’s also nothing that anyone could ever do that would make her stop giving out of love. She never boasts and is not worried about impressing people.

I learned a lot about life as a result of her authenticity. God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed her in my life – she was the kind of mother-in-law a shy person like me needed. Because she’s such a genuinely kind person, she is blessing to everyone in our family.

She set a positive example that everyone should follow. It’s better to just be genuine with people. No real connections relationships can be made when one person presents themselves as a superior to all others. People can’t connect with you if they believe you look down on them. People need to know that they are dealing with someone who is real and caring. Fake people who are overly concerned with looking better than everyone else are rarely a blessing to others because they are too focused on themselves.

I realize if you’re reading this, you’re probably not one of these people, but I would still like to encourage you to examine your actions when dealing with others – especially when dealing with the homeless or other less fortunate people. It’s easy to turn our nose up at people who don’t seem to want to do anything with their lives – but we don’t know the true extent of their circumstances. If we are honest and consider mistakes we’ve made in the past, we might come to realize that things could have easily been the same for us – but for whatever reason, God decided to spare us of the consequences.

So no matter what, be genuinely kind to others and stay committed to being a blessing rather than a hindrance.

Do you know someone who needs to get their head out of the clouds and come on back down to earth?

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like this post from the Be a Blessing Series:

Be a blessing – give your best

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you’ve enjoyed the posts on this blog, please take a moment to Subscribe via RSS or Subscribe to Highly Favored by Email.