And they don't even know it...

There is a particular question that I have been asking myself more and more lately...where in the world has civility gone? Now, I remember a time that when you went into an establishment...be it a restaurant, convenience store or grocery store, the cashier made it a point to be pleasant. She or he may not have been overjoyed to be at work but at least they made you feel as if you coming into their place of business was a good thing...for you because you needed the services that they provided and for them because they depended on your hard earned dollars for their livelihood.
Apparently, those days are long gone.
These days it seems like every time I go into a store, or customer service based business of some sort, I run into the snottiest, rudest, most obnoxious customer service rep. on the face of the planet! Now, those of you who know me, know that I tend to be a very upbeat person...I enjoy interacting with others and love to laugh. So, it absolutely KILLS me when I go out of my way to be nice to someone while spending my money at their business and they seem to go out of their way to be as nasty as possible...as if I am inconveniencing them by coming into their store!
So I decided to strike back! That's right, I have taken it upon myself to exact vengeance upon all of the rude people out there that make it their life mission to be mean to regular folks like you and me...I decided to pray for them.
When I say pray for them, I don't mean making a big scene and calling fire down upon them...(although the way some of them act)...No, I mean I take a moment and consider the a couple of facts. First, I don't know them and have no idea what kind of life they lead outside of their place of employment. Maybe they are battered spouses, or the husband/wife of an alcoholic. Perhaps they live with an abusive parent or they are dealing with a past decision that they made that has turned terribly wrong. Second...it's what Christ would do. He would not condemn them for their bad attitude...He would do something about it. So, I try to be as pleasant as I can in those situations where the clerk helping me is not...but, more than ever now I try to imagine what may have happened in their lives to make them so unpleasant...then I say a silent prayer and let...it...go. I don't know about you but, making a big deal out of a little rudeness from a person that may already be dealing with something and therefore making their life worse...well, for me it just ain't worth it...BUT, praying that Jesus will step in and make their lives better...well...to see that happen is worth any amount of bad attitude that I may have to take.
Oh, yeah...I hear you askin',"But what about those people that have great lives but are STILL nasty to customers?" Well...they're just jerks! (Yeah, gotta pray for them too!)