Old School
This week I had a meeting with one of my Real Estate partners at a small town coffee shop in a city pretty far from where I live. I didn’t know this until I arrived, but it was in the “arts district” of this small town… but all this really meant was that it was on one gravel road just outside of the town square and it had about 4 buildings there and a mural with some really cool shops, a bakery, and a coffee shop.
I knew about this city and had visited it before, but being here with intentionality made me look at it through a whole different lens… and I realized I loved this small town!
You see I grew up in a small town in a suburb of Atlanta Georgia, and this entire town reminded me of my hometown. They had a Court Square, an old pharmacy/drug store near the court square, a hardware store nearby, lots of local shops, friendly people walking around saying hi, and just a down home, open vibe.
Circle back to where I live today. Yes it has a downtown, a Court Square and a lot of what I saw in the other town too, but the vibe here is just different.
People aren’t as friendly.
The shops aren’t as cool.
It is not as open and inviting.
There is nothing wrong with the city I live in! I enjoy living in the town I am in, but there just isn’t the same old school vibe here that I experienced earlier in the week or that I grew up with when I was younger.
A Real Christian Businessman knows that being polite and kind to the people in the city you live and the workplace you go to is a lost art form. I grew up in the South and it was and still is a standard question to ask someone how they are doing and how their family was doing. It just doesn’t happen as much now due to the influx of people that have moved here from all over the country bringing with them different backgrounds and approaches to how they live and interact with their neighbor.
Let’s Be “Old School” this week and treat everyone around us like I did and was treated in the city I grew up in. Greet everyone we see, be kind and friendly – even ask how their family is doing! It may surprise some around us to see this type of approach to life, but it will be displaying one of the key principals of being a believer – treating everyone with kindness and respect.
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.” Rom 12:10 (ESV)