It takes very little effort to be polite to others, but it takes more to be rude. In our society today, I see impoliteness more than I have ever seen it in my entire life. Some people do it just to hurt others, or because the victim cannot or will not stand up to them. During my childhood, I suffered so much offense from others because most of the time I would not stand up for myself. So there were those who were impolite to me because they could do it. Did it hurt me? Yes, it did. Did it paralyze or cripple me? Yes, figuratively, but only temporarily.
One day I finally realized if I were going to move forward in life, I could not continue to let people treat me this way and get away with it. I learned to come back at them with words that would leave them looking at me as if I were from another planet. Were they bad words? No. I loved the gift of having an exceptional vocabulary, so I “told them off” in an educated way that left them astounded and speechless! I wasn’t familiar with this verse of Scripture at the time, but I was actually doing what it says in Proverbs 15:1 (KJV): “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
Some of these perpetrators did not know or did not even care to know that I was dealing with a very delicate situation in my home life. My maternal grandmother raised me until I was 14-years-old. However, during most of that time, she was not well, physically. She tried to hide it from us as much as she could. There were times when I had to take over many of the chores in the house because she was not able to do them. Oftentimes, after school, when my peers were outside playing and having fun, I had things that I had to do to help my grandmother. I longed to be with them, but some of them laughed and teased me about having to do so many chores. Some even called me a “slave,” not knowing the reality of the situation. Therefore, be polite to others, for you do not know their story. Always abound in the faith, and never leave home without Him!
