Articles
Greet One Another
Last October when I started my new job, apparently, I didn’t make the best of first impressions for everyone. The secretary stopped me one day after having worked for about a month or so to tell me something to the affect of “when I first met you, I didn’t like you.” Like it or not, when we first come into contact with people, they draw conclusions about us based on that initial interaction.
A passage that those who have been in the church for some time are familiar with is Romans 16:16 where Paul writes “Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.” In Romans 16 Paul greets by name no less than 27 people indicating how important he saw that it was to acknowledge how special these brethren were to him.
The concept of greeting one another has to do with welcoming, embracing, and wishing well to another person. The root word is the concept of ‘drawing’ someone toward you. Each and every time we greet someone, we should understand that we are starting the process of drawing closer to someone, or at least demonstrating the close relationship that should exist, especially among brethren.
In the example above, there was something about my first impression and greeting for that person that wasn’t very welcoming but think about the fact that each and every time we come together there is a sense in which we make a first impression. You can tell a lot about the current mindset of a person by the way in which they first greet you. How would you feel about seeing your brethren and as you pass by there is barely any eye contact, and you think you hear a quick ‘hey’. It’s not to say that each and every greeting needs to be fifteen minutes long, but on the other hand when there is hardly an acknowledgment of your presence, it tells you either something is going on or there isn’t much of a relationship there.
A warm greeting given to someone can mean all the difference because it shows people that you are interested in seeing them, talking to them, and finding out how they are doing. It’s important to realize also though that all greetings may not be for everyone. If someone isn’t comfortable with a giant hug, then find out how you can still greet them and show them you care, rather than just not greeting them at all.
Building a relationship starts somewhere, and it could be as simple as introducing yourself with a simple handshake and an exchange of names. For many people it may seem second nature to greet people, but then think about how easy it is to fall into the rut of only greeting those whom you have a long-standing relationship with. As the church at Mountain View grows, take the time to go beyond what is familiar and greet those whom you might hardly know, or those who are new to the family and show them that they are just as important to you.
