How You Treat the People Who Serve You Matters

July 12, 2024

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31 (NIV)

One of the greatest tests of your character is how you treat people who are trying to serve you. Whether it’s a waitress, a waiter, a clerk, an employee, a secretary, your children, or your spouse, how you treat those who serve you tells a great deal about you.

Jesus tells us, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31 NIV). That may be the simplest yet most important character test in the Bible.

Social psychologist Eric Hoffer once said, “Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.” It takes no intelligence or effort at all to be rude.

The best place to practice this important character trait of respect is at home. More marriages are ruined by rudeness than anything else. When I used to do marriage counseling, I was amazed at how many marriages are buried by one little dig after another.

Have you noticed that sometimes we’re the most disrespectful to the people we care about the most?

Our homes should be safe places to express our emotions and practice forgiveness and grace—but they are too often the place where we think we can get away with the most unkindness. I know people who treat their families in ways they would never treat a stranger.

The mark of a Christian is LOVE.

Can strangers tell you are a follower of Jesus by the way you treat them? Even when you're in a rush? Can your family tell? If your character was being judged by the way you treat people who serve you, how do you think it would be assessed?