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You reap what you sow

Wed, 01/30/2019 - 12:00 am
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    Tim O’Malley

One Man’s Perspective

I remember a story out of Ogden, Utah where two men were caught shoplifting small-ticket items worth $25 from a WinCo Food store. The police arrived and cited them for theft and were released. The two men left the building to the parking lot and discovered their stereo amplifier, drum machine and other items, valued around $60, stolen from their vehicle. They flagged down the police officer, who cited them earlier, to write up a crime report for them.

I still chuckle every time I think about this and I am reminded in the Bible, Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

If we reap what we sow I have to ask myself, “What do I sow? How do I treat other people?” If we sow seed of respect we will harvest respect. If we sow seed of genuine kindness and sincere hospitality we, in turn, will receive the same treatment.

More often than not, people will treat friends, family, co-workers and peers better than most. However, how do we respond to someone on the other end of a phone line, after being on hold for 20 minutes or more? Do we pop off or show them the respect they deserve as they perform their job as they have been trained? Let’s face it, the representative had nothing to do with us being on hold.

How we interact with people, no matter who they may be, can be a true witness of who we genuinely are and it may stand to reason why some people treat us in ways we do not want.

I want respect so I give respect, not to the select few, but to everyone. I want to be treated fair and honestly. I make it a point to be honest and treat everyone fairly, even during some difficult situations. want people to work hard and do the best work for me when I hire someone to do a particular job. It is what I do for my employer, with my employees and anyone who hires me to do some side work.

True, there are those who will treat people unfairly no matter what, but at least for us who do what is right, we can rest our heads at night and sleep in peace.

For the other, well, they may be just like the two fellows mentioned in the beginning wondering how and why, never considering all the seed they had sown in their life to produce all the weeds in their own back yard.