What happened to civility? I know we are overburdened and rushed for time. I understand that we are working to make ends meet and worried about the current economic forecast. I recognize that we have opinions and passions, but when did it become acceptable to subjugate the way we respect and treat others in order to make ourselves and our agenda the only thing that matters.

On Black Friday, we watched as people, rushing to get into a local Target to get discounts on televisions and other items, trampled a man and ultimately sent him to the hospital. A local news channel captured the horrific experience as the man, and others, cried out for people to stop only to watch them push by and even step on him. All this was for a good deal where the average person saved less than $100.

In the past few days, I’ve watched drivers ignore people waiting for a parking space, pulling in at the last moment just to block the waiting driver. I heard others cursing the person ahead of them because they did not go ahead and pull out into a river of traffic. I even caught two health care professionals in their scrubs mock and verbally abuse a woman who was obviously working with some challenges, because she was sweeping the floor and they could not get past her quickly enough. I know these are not isolated incidents, so I ask again, “What happened to civility?”

I watch as people and media, liberal and conservative, Christian and not, all malign and degrade everyone who does not share their particular worldview. Their words go far beyond unfriendly, they are simply malicious, intended to harm both feelings and character. They even identify these behaviors in those they oppose, but cannot see it in themselves.

Maybe the question is not just, “What happened to Civility,” but, “When did grievous sin become the acceptable norm?”

In one of the devotional books I am reading, one of the chapters focused on cultivating humility. The author suggested that for a week, we should focus on serving our family, instead of expecting them to serve us, by doing what they would like to do, without expecting them to do what we would like to do.
The assignment continued by encouraging the reader to let people have the best parking places, and allow them to cut in front of us, placing their desires ahead of our own. Not easy tasks, but important for those who want to embrace the life of faith the Bible describes.

The Apostle Paul offered the following command to the church in his letter to the Philippians, “Do nothing through selfish rivalry or pride, but humbly consider others to be more important than yourselves, and do not just look after your own interests, but look after the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4) There is nothing hidden or obscure in that passage. We are to consider others to be more important than we are and look after the interests of others, not just ourselves.

I could continue to lament the brokenness of the world, but real change begins with looking at my own brokenness. We could all continue to declare the evils of others, but judgement first begins with ourselves. If civility and righteousness are going to return to our land, then it will begin with people like you and like me choosing to live that way – every day. Then, we can challenge the broken systems of our world, not from a position of superiority, but of humility.

Maybe it is time for us to stop ignoring the needs of others, stop pushing and shoving our way through the world and its highways, even stop adding to the abusive political and social banter. Instead, we can choose to be representatives of grace, love and peace. We can exemplify patience and consideration. We can be the fruit of the Spirit for the world – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Yesterday was, “Pay It Forward Day.” Maybe every day we can make an investment in the future by celebrating the compassion, grace and forgiveness of God in our lives and reflecting the same into the world around us.