It has dawned on me that being a Christian in an unchristian culture is hard; being nice to unmannered people, regardless of their spiritual life is even harder.
Propriety–behaving “properly” is a thing of the past, mostly…especially among the generation that is about to enter adulthood. I’m not talking about how you hold your fork at the dinner table.
I’m talking about refraining from coarse language in front of women and children, not dressing in a way that is blatantly offensive, and just being generally considerate of those around you. LOST ART I’m telling you.
And why? In the American culture, (I think I’m right), less than a century ago, propriety was expected among everyone. No matter your religious background, unless you grew up homeless and completely void of any teaching, you just treated others around you with respect. And that treatment took a tangible form, i.e. like the things I mentioned above. In essence, God’s law visibly affected the lives of everyone, even unbelievers.
My theory: there are many factors for the steady decline of the principle rooted in a biblical command: “treat others as you want to be treated”.
But at the heart of the decline is self-centeredness. And why the continual tidal wave, gaining momentum as we speak, of self-centeredness?
Evolution.
You didn’t expect that answer?
Evolution says: “There is no God. And if there is no God, you are God.” (Which ironically takes us back to the nuisance of being forced to recognize there is a sovereign being.)
Evolution says: “Mankind has no Creator, and is quite an accident, and accidents aren’t valuable”.
And if we aren’t valuable as a race, then our only value is what we can scrape up for ourselves.
Hence, the poison of self-centeredness.
Just my theory.
Moral:
Let’s be determined to teach our children that they are special because GOD CREATED THEM IN HIS IMAGE. And that makes His entire creation special. And that brings understanding to why we allow God to permeate every facet of our living existence. And that makes us treat people with respect.
5 comments
Amen, sister!
I was standing at the bus stop the other day and these 2 guys were talking to eachother about how hot it was. Within their 10 words of conversation they managed to use the f-word as well as discuss their genitalia in front of me. They were inches away from me. They could see that I was a pregnant lady dressed respectfully etc.
Also, 2 days ago I was struggling to drag a large package into the post office and there was a man standing by the door just staring at me slack-jawed. It never occurred to him to open the door for an obviously struggling pregnant woman. The world is a disgusting place at this point.
I could go on, it’s a shame.
When I was preparing for college (mid-’90s), I applied for a scholarship to the college of my choice – a full (out-of-state) tuition, room, board, fees, and a book allowance for four years scholarship which would be about the only way I could afford to go to the only college I wanted to go do.
I made it to the interview stage where two nice female professors finally called me in. One was a biology professor, the other a biological engineering professor. Their single question, “What do you think is the biggest problem with the world/society/America (I forget which) today?” I’m sure they’d heard their share of war, poverty, crime, guns, republicans, etc. But the only thing that came to my mind, and the only thing that would come out of my mouth, despite the certainty that it would cause the loss of this scholarship was: “Evolution being taught as fact in schools.”
These two ladies were, of course, taken aback at what was obviously the last thing they expected to hear, so I regained my composure (figuring that all was lost at that point, so why not just lay it all out) and explained. I told them that if you teach people that they come from slime and are not responsible to any ultimate authority, eventually they will begin to act like slime.
Still in a bit of shock, but surprised I think with my candor and irrefutably logical argument, these two biology professors smiled at me and released me to what I was sure was a “thanks for trying” letter.
So it was with great shock, euphoria, and utter gratitude to what could only have been Divine intervention that a few weeks later I received the letter congratulating me on receiving the scholarship.
I never saw those professors again, but I’ve often wondered what they took away from that interaction. Maybe I’ll find out in heaven someday.
Would respecting others include respectfully replying to comments that you don’t agree with, instead of belittling them?
I think you are right. It makes perfect sense.
I’ve been thinking about the lack of manners—or even knowledge of manners–lately. We re-watched the movie Kate and Leopold the other night and that really got me to thinking. Oh how manners have been lost.