How rude! Now is the time to treat people with Christ-like love

This last week I was on the coast of Washington at the WSU Sewing and Stitchery expo held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

My oldest daughter and I go every year and make a big two-day adventure of the whole thing. In the process, we stopped at a Walmart to pick up a few things.

We got in the checkout lane of a young woman in her late teens or early twenties. She seemed very happy and personable, and she was talking politely to the people she was waiting on.

When the line got to the lady just in front of me, the girl said hello and politely asked about her day. This women launched into a tirade about how the girl could keep talking if she wanted to but she wouldn’t be heard because this woman was hungry and didn’t really care about anything the girl had to say.

The look on the girl’s face broke my heart. Her eyes became dim and her cheeks flush red and you could visibly see the hurt that this woman inflicted.

The really sad part was that this rude women never looked up to see any of the pain that she caused. I could feel it. The Holy Spirit was causing my whole body to vibrate, but this rude women was oblivious.

I believe that the root cause of rudeness is selfishness. Rude people are so concerned with their own lives and needs that they can’t tune into the needs of others.

As Christians, we must never to that. We are to show God’s love to everyone, and it doesn’t matter who they are or where they work.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth.”

My interpretation is that to show love to others you treat them with courtesy and respect at all times. Even if you are not a religious person, why would you want to take the joy out of life for someone else?

On gotquestions.org it says, “Rudeness is finding more and more acceptance in today’s culture. Public behavior and words that were unthinkable a generation ago are now commonplace.”

I believe that when someone is purposely rude to another person they are saying that their life and actions are more important than those of the person they are speaking to.

God loves us all the same. We are equally his children and we are all equally important.

Jesus died on the cross for all of us so that we could be free of sin and death and share eternal life with Him.

When I got to the check register, I tried to bring some joy and happiness back to the clerk’s life, but the damage was done. Sometimes there is no going back.