A personality without politeness is a tyre without air – S. Perry

I am thrilled to welcome you to another amazing week and by the grace of God we would look at an often overlooked success ingredient – courtesy. It is my sincere prayer that as we use the guidelines provided in this article, we would discover a deeper meaning to living a purposeful life.

Practice hospitality
As we all know, a tyre without air would have great difficulty in making progress.

In 1 Peter 3:8, we are admonished to be courteous, “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.”

Courtesy is a product of hospitality. In a world where everyone seems to be in a hurry to be an achiever, politeness and consideration for others have been flushed down the drain – we would do well to recover these.

A man can never be truly successful without a courteous attitude. It is an indispensable ingredient of success. It is surprising to see how rude and inconsiderate people have become in the name of being ‘frank.’ I marvel at how people communicate, especially in this era of social media, speaking hurtful, malicious words at each other at the slightest provocation. No wonder people are unwilling to help each other, no wonder many ladies can’t find husbands. Rude people do not humiliate their victims at all, but only reveal their own ill-bred natures. Psychologists maintain that there would be fewer broken homes and unhappy marriages, if people let in ‘courtesy’ into their private lives. We must not use ‘frankness’ as an excuse for rudeness.

Courtesy requires no great effort, it simply consists in treating others exactly as you love to be treated. It is a lubricant that eases the jolts as we travel along life’s highway.

As we show consideration for the feelings of others, we make them happy and become attractive because other people want to be around happy people. Discourtesy repels.

It’s little wonder that a number of businesses have included the theory of the “happy customer” as part of their business slogans. ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are million dollar words, which must be said with genuineness. We must endeavour to put away selfishness and sow seeds of kindness and thoughtfulness to those around us on a daily basis.“Kindness and thoughtfulness are the best investments you can make in life, they cost nothing and require little time and energy, and they are the things people remember you for” (S. Perry).

Courtesy is an investment that yields plenty returns in more ways than we can imagine. Our actions and words are seeds awaiting harvest. Let us be courteous in every way.

Scriptural focus
“…Contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality,” Roman 12:13 (NAS).

Confession
I am a courteous person and I go to extreme lengths to be courteous to people. I repent of all the ways I may have extended hurts to others intentionally or otherwise and determine to take ownership of my words and actions. I choose to be a better person and make the most of the relationships I have been blessed with. As I commit to these things I decree that my life and business are becoming increasingly attractive in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

We would love to hear from you ~ visit www.globalimpactng.org or The Goodland, Ifako bustop along Ogudu-Oworo expressway, Lagos.
See you next week!

@yemidavids,@Globalimpactng, [email protected]