Politeness Begets Politeness

A quote from Catherine McAuley:

As love begets love, politeness begets politeness.

As my mother would say, "If you are nice to people. people are usually nice to you." Catherine's saying certainly has its practical side! When you expend yourself in good conduct, then you usually receive good conduct back. If you don't receive it, you still have given it and it will somehow change the person, if all it does is make them feel respected or conversely, guilty for treating you so poorly.

We don't know what goes on in the hearts and minds of a person. Just because someone is rude to you, does not mean they are terrible people, though we might think so at the time. We don't know if they have been up with a sick child all night, have a loved one dying of cancer, just come from a disturbing meeting with the boss, or just got a failing mark on a paper. If we are unfailingly polite, others will return the same to you. If not, you still have made the world a better place.

It reminds me of a saying attributed to St. Francis, "Preach the Gospel always and if necessary, use words."

Today I am going to check my "politeness factor" and see if I need to be a little more aware of how I interact with people. I am also going to give people the benefit of the doubt and if I am treated poorly, I will pray for them and their worries. What about you?

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