Knowing who to trust is problematic in life today. There are few indicators of what makes one trustworthy. Looks are no indicator. Behavior can always be a diversion for the real motive. Appearances are a means to an end. I doubt that it was any different 50, a 100, or even 1,000 years ago. People just being themselves, trying to get an angle, and working to get ahead at another’s expense.
It is always interesting to come back to Tennessee. People do not know the state for the honest citizens that live within the borders. They usually remember the people who ran moonshine, hustled slaves, and fleeced Yankees who came to trade cotton, or some other crop. However, in today’s age there is a wide range of manufacturing and service companies – along with a continued view within of people who work and live here.
First, people know if you are a southerner or from anywhere else. It is not so much how you talk, rather how you behave. Second, people take note that “riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths.” (Proverbs 6.12) A true person of honor would never do that. In the end, people carry their own label and reputation with them.
When I come and ask where to buy gas, the answer is clear. One purchases at a service station where one can trust the owner. Purchasing tires is the same; where the owner always tells it strait. The list goes on; junk yards, haircuts, restaurants, and virtually every place where a human interaction exists. All choices made on the type of person running the store; price is a close second.
I like the gentle reminder about the label I wear. How do people know me? Do people want to do business with me? Am I fun and fair in my interactions? I hope that the answer is yes; but I know the answer is not always this way. The question today is simple. What am I going to say and do? The answers determine what you and I are.
