When you go to the grocery store in Moncks Corner, you’ll probably see a lot of people you know. You’re kind of expected to stop and talk to them. It’s an unwritten social rule. My wife, Holly, grew up in Miami, Florida. The first time I brought her home to meet my family, she was utterly shocked by how long it took me to make a simple trip through Wal-Mart. Not because I was buying a lot of stuff. But because I stopped and talked to everyone. Everyone. In Miami, she explained, a simple wave and smile will do.
Whether it’s a smile and a wave or a short conversation, I think it’s important to make everybody you come into contact with feel important. To the best of your ability, impart some value to everyone you have a significant interaction with.
Over the years I’ve concluded that I don’t have to spend five minutes talking to someone to make him feel important. In fact, most of the time, a simple and sincere hug, smile, or word of encouragement get the job done. But growing up in a small town taught me not to blow people off. There’s potential for blessing in every interaction.
Recently our team took a vision trip to Uganda. At times the sheer mass of people crowding around the white guys with the video cameras was overwhelming. Our production schedule was so packed there was barely a minute of flex time a lot of days. It was easy to look at the sea of kids in the background as a backdrop rather than a variety of individual, valuable humans created in the image of God. So I tried to make a really conscious effort to shake a lot of hands and smile and wave every single chance I got. It’s a small thing. But it had a big impact on my outlook.
I don’t want to be intentional only when “doing missions” on another continent. I want to live this way everyday.
Find a way to make others feel important that fits within the parameters of your personality. Because people are important. And every encounter is an opportunity to reinforce that reality.