When I was a pastor, people expected me to be nice. Pastors are nice. Pastors better be nice. So I was nice. Not because people expected me to be nice, but because I want to be nice.
Now my Pastor days are behind me. I am a Construction Superintendent. I work with carpenters and subcontractors. They do not expect me to be nice. They expect me to be a hard nosed, hard hat, gruff and tough guy. That is what they are expecting.
Oh, what fun it is to be nice to people who expect me to be gruff!!! How joyful it is when I am able to treat them kindly and offer to help them. I buy them coffee and donuts. I ask about their children. I joke with them. And we get the work done. In fact, they work hard for me because I treat them like human beings.
It is a joy to be nice. It is a doubly fantastic joy when you can be nice and it is not expected. The next time you are in a situation where you can be surly if you want to, don't do it. Instead, surprise them with kindness.
That is what people loved about Jesus. In a world where the Pharisees lorded it over everyone, Jesus treated everyone with kindness. We can too.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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