Human Relations #5

Human Relations Rule #5: Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you did were a genuine pleasure.

It is easy to help those who appreciate it. It is difficult to keep helping those who do not. It is even more difficult to pretend what you're doing is a pleasure when the task is an unpleasant one. I give a shout-out to nurses who willingly go into their profession, knowing there will be bedpans to change and do so with a smile on their face. There are many thankless jobs out there, but the personal rewards are great when doing them with a genuine heart.

Helping those less appreciative can be hard - that is the flesh squirming. Keep on speaking and acting with a genuine heart. Your soul will be uplifted and will give you strength to continue to do so. I have personally given at a great sacrifice, to help someone who claimed to be a Christian but was not at all appreciative of the assistance given. I quickly became very bitter towards this individual, and then quite resentful. It took me years to forgive them. It took time and distance to stop dwelling on how angry I was toward them and the injustice I felt. However, forgiveness is not for them, it is for us and the sweet release that comes with forgiveness is peace to the soul.

If I had applied this simple principle, it would not have taken me years of bitterness and resentment to forgive them. God knows the effort and great personal sacrifice that was willingly given. That is all that is necessary.