So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12 TNIV).

It asks us to test our treatment of others by putting ourselves in their place. Treat others the way you would want them to treat you in the same or similar circumstance.

Somebody took that principle and translated it into Ten Commandments of Human Relations. You may have seen this anonymous piece, for it circulates in a variety of settings. In case you have missed it, I am reproducing it here.

1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.


2. Smile at people. It takes 72 muscles to frown, only 14 to smile.


3. Call people by name. It is music to anyone’s ears to hear the sound of his or her name.


4. Be friendly and helpful.


5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is genuinely a pleasure. If it isn’t, learn to make it so.


6. Be genuinely interested in people. You can like almost anyone, if you try.


7. Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.


8. Be considerate of the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy — yours, the other fellow’s, and the correct one.


9. Be alert to serve. What counts most in life is what you do for others.


10. Live with a good sense of humor, a generous dose of patience, and a dash of humility appropriate to being human.

Made in God’s image, all of us have something to be valued!

The great challenge in human experience is not work skills, but people skills. That is, research has shown that the majority of people who fail in their vocation do so because they cannot get along with people.

You might think through the meaning of these ten common-sense ideas for your own workplace and personal activity. But what about the larger setting for your daily life? These principles work everywhere you go, for they are about showing respect to the people you meet in all those places.

Made in God’s image, all of us have something to be valued, affirmed, and acknowledged by others. But let it begin with us to acknowledge it in them. As the cycle of giving and receiving enlarges, the human community comes alive.

 

Print this Article Send it to a Friend Heartlight encourages you to share this material with others in church bulletins, personal emails and other non-commercial uses. Please see our Usage Guidelines for more information.	The Efficiency Expert Become a Builder The Pleasure of Tight Boots RubelShelly.com
	ALL of Heartlight        --- ARTICLES   A Taste of Home   Caring Touch   Diary of God   Hope for Life   Hope from the Hill Country   Just for Men   Just for Women   Leading in Hope   Love, Sex & Marriage   Making Life Work   Prayer for the Nation   Single...Not Alone   Special Features   Timely Truths   Together in His Grace   Two Minute Meditations        --- DEVOTIONALS   Charles Spurgeon   Daily Wisdom   My Utmost for His Highest   Praying with Paul   Quotemeal   Today's Verse   What Jesus Did

© 2008 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly's "FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for previous issues of the "FAX of Life."

Title: "Ten Commandments of Human Relations"
Author: Rubel Shelly
Publication Date: September 23, 2008

Women of Faith Christmas by Women of Faith Enjoy stirring renditions of Christmas favorites, from the folks you brought you the popular Women of Faith conferences!

Rubel Shelly preached for the Woodmont Hills Churchin Nashville for thirty years. He is the author of more than 20 books. He has accepted the position of President of Rochester College. For more details, click here or here to email.

More Heartlight Feeds

Get Heartlight articles and devotionals by email FREE every day! Daily Heartlight Today's Verse What Jesus Did! Quotemeal

More Information