Remind the people to be … considerate …
Summary: Being considerate means considering want other people might need or want. The second step is thinking about what we can do for others. The third step is doing it.
In yesterday’s post, “Hombre,” I was attracted to the word “Amachos.” I wondered if it shared a root with the Spanish word, “macho.” The answer, it turns out, is “No.” (Stop laughing at me! 🙂 ) However, in researching “macho,” I found the definition very interesting:
“An assertively virile or domineering male.” (Webster’s College Dictionary- 1991)
People are always interesting to watch. Construction sites, in particular, draw an interesting variety of people. Many of them fit the description of “macho.” So imagine my surprise to see an engineer walk up to a tall, older man holding a stop/slow paddle. The man holding the sign was a “flagger.” One of those guys who sometimes have to make you wait and wait until the contractor decides to get his equipment out of the road.
Oftentimes the engineer types are the ones yelling at people. Flaggers are at the other end of the pecking order. They are the ones who get yelled at. This time was different. The engineer stopped to talk to the flagger, and then he pulled down his mask. (For those of you who might be reading this in the post-Covid era, everyone was supposed to be wearing a cloth mask over their mouth and nose.) He said rather loudly, “I see you have a hearing aid.” The older man nodded. “I suppose it helps,” he continued, “if I drop my mask so you can see my lips move?”
You could see the wonder in the older man’s face. He smiled behind his mask, and I heard him say, “That’s very observant of you…” His sentence trailed off to a sort of nod and “Thank you.”
Being considerate is like that. It involves wondering about the needs of others. Where are they on their journey?
One of the most considerate things we can do for others is listening. Like almost everything else, there are different kinds of listening. There is active listening, where we are engaged in what is being said. There is passive listening, where we let our mind wander while we hope our face looks interested.
Quality listening is hard to achieve. It requires quieting our minds enough to make room for what is being said. It means we focus on the person and pay attention to visual cues as well as verbal. Quality listening requires that we form a mosaic in our minds of the picture painted by the speaker’s words.
Being considerate in a conversation means putting the other person’s story first, not engaging in one-upmanship. If you have ever been really listened to, you know what I mean.
Jesus taught that the second Great Commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.” It seems to me that loving your neighbor as yourself is also a good definition of being considerate.
Application: To find out how best to love others, make a list of all the things you like other people to do for you.
Food for Thought: What is on your list of things to do for others that show consideration?
You are excellent at following through on caring for others in practical ways.
As for a list, I suppose it could be endless. For me kindness and being gracious go a long way.
Rich,
I agree. The list is endless. I find myself wondering if proactively thinking about it would help me be better at doing it.
What is on your list of things to do for others that show consideration?
God is always giving good gifts and this past year has been no different. This world has stepped up its game and provided an unending barrage of unpleasant news reports designed to bring us down. My eyes were quickly opened to the questionable value of what is identified as reporting of facts, and we reduced our electric bill by utilizing the “off” button for all visual devices. We devoted the extra time to additional bible studies and physically beneficial activities with amazing results.
A thought I believe God placed in my heart was to “ spend each day as if it is the last day of this life.” What a wonderful concept.
First I would like to show my appreciation and love for Jesus by spending my last day focused on His teachings by serving others rather than myself. I am having a ball with my family and every person God beings me in contact with. My greatest desire has become so simple, to spend the rest of my life, whether it is one day or 20 years, LIVING IN THE NOW, serving God in this day He has given me, it could be my last.
Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
To let others know how much I love them, how much I appreciate all they are. To give my time to others, seeing and praising all the great wonderful qualities I see in them. To build others up with encouraging words of truth and share their burdens wherever I can. And the list goes on. Whatever is made known to me by the Lord. Do it in power He has placed in each our hearts.
Ron,
Congratulations on finding and using the “OFF” button! 🙂 Well done!
Living in the NOW is a very interesting concept. It really is all we have when we think about it. “Yesterday is gone forever, and tomorrow never comes. Today is all we have.”
Jeff,
As I really appreciate your earlier Spanish lesson!!
It’s amazing how yesterday and tomorrow seek to rule our lives and in fact do take up much of our time, robbing us of serving God today.
Why can’t we learn these things when we are young????
Blessings,
Ron
Ha Ha! Anybody that takes Spanish lessons from me is in deep doo doo! 🙂
Our adversary, Satan, has had thousands of years to practice his art. We are born into the world without knowing how we got here or what it is all about. It is amazing that we ever learn! Only by the grace of God!!