Nothing irritates others as quickly as being rude. Rudeness is simply saying or doing things that are unpleasant for another person to be around. To be rude is to act unbecoming, embarrassing or irritating.
I bet that just described a person or two in your life...I know it did in mine!
a foul mouth
poor table manners
sarcastic remarkscutting someone off in traffic
So...what does love have to do with any of this? ALOT! When someone is driven by love, they intentionally behave in a manner that is pleasant to be around. In other words, if you love someone, you will purposefully avoid saying or doing things that frustrate them.
Unfortunetly, old habits are hard to break. Some of us are still saying and doing things that we as Christians need to put away. Being rude may just be one of those old habits that needs to get buried. Rudeness is not gender related. Both men and women struggle with barking at strangers or pouting around the house. Rude behavior can also come in forms of talking on your cell phone during a lunch date, burping out loud at the table, snapping at the local store cashier or hanging up on a sales call.
Recently, I took a poll on the YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL and asked the following question, "Has anybody been rude to you this week?" The top 3 answers were:
1. 66% of those responding said that THEY themselves were the ones who had been rude.
2. 44% voted and said that their spouse had been rude to them.
3. Another 11% said that someone else had been rude to them.
This poll reveals to me that we all deal with this issue of rudeness. How interesting that the majority of us said that it was our own selves that were being rude. We recognize such behavior as soon as it comes out of our mouth ...don't we? It is my prayer that the things that come out of my mouth will be edifying and gracious to those who hear it.
ECC. 10:12 "The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious."
Have you ever wished that those you love would quit doing the things that bother you? Maybe it is time to stop doing the things that bother them ~ for love is not being rude!
5 comments:
All of this is so true Laurie. I really hate it when I "hear" myself sometimes being rude because I am tired or tense or just plain old in a grumpy mood for one reason or another. I have found it not being nearly as much of an issue since my kids are grown and gone and I am no longer putting up with "that time of the month"...but occasionally it still rears it's ugly head and I need to deal with it. I'm usually quickly convicted and then apologizing etc. How I need to let the Holy Spirit control my moods, attitudes, and most of all my tongue. Thanks for this reminder, have a good day. Hugs, Deb
Totally agree. I try to be aware of how I leave people. Do I leave them feeling better about themselves or worse. I try to treat others the way I want to be treated. Am I perfect? No. But being aware of it is a lot of the battle. So many people don't even think about the way they sound or how they treat people. Also, do we treat other better than our spouse and kids? Like we used up all of our niceness on the world outside and have nothing left for the home?
what an awesome post, words that make me think I have always hated being around rude people and tend to walk away from the situation now I will think twice and love them thru the moment, Have a blessed day!!!
Amen.
I can totally relate to this post...from both sides....
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