i get so frustrated with people who don't use "common courtesy"...you know the please's, and thank-you's, the excuse me's and the i'm sorry's.
i was reading a book the other day where one of the characters kept telling the other to "stop saying you're sorry".it sort of made me crazy!! i got what this guy was saying (i'll just let you know...he wasn't gonna be the hero of this story so maybe i was predisposed to think he was being a jerk by telling the heroine to stop apologizing), she had a habit of anytime someone didn't agree with her that she would apologize instead of standing up for herself and what she believed in. well, it goes from there...that's where my thinking started and is actually something that has bothered me for quite some time and it's just now come to the surface.
i am always shocked when someone can walk right past me, someone i know, even have some sort of relationship with, make eye contact but to walk right on by with out speaking. I'm not saying starting a conversation or anything but there's something in speaking to your friend. this happens all the time at work...me and only one other person will be in the hall, walking directly towards each other but for some reason a "hi", "hang in there", "how's it going?", etc. doesn't even cross our minds. (i'm just as guilty here). how hard is it smile, or speak? i know how important it is to me when someone simply acknowledges me and i am sure it is the same in reverse, at least i hope so.
The same goes with saying thank you. i LOVE hearing someone say thank you. thank you for something small almost means more to me than someone saying thank you because it's expected for something big. saying sorry when you didn't mean to be in their way is just as important for saying you are sorry for letting them down. and please, oh please, say please!!! it's a simple word, one of the first words parent's teach their kids but somewhere it is lost from common vocabulary. i know myself, i get more satisfaction doing something for someone else if they say please and i get better results if i ask please rather than ordering or directing someone to do something.
the bible talks about the words of our mouths in Psalm 19:4:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. (ESV)
