You Never Know Who's Watching

The Book of Ron · 18 of 48 · 2 minute read

There were many times in my life when I told my granddaughters something simple.

I learned that lesson when I was very young. I remember sitting in church beside my Aunt Gladys and quietly observing the people around me. I watched older couples and middle-aged couples hold hands or lean gently against each other. I noticed the way a husband might open the Bible for his wife, or the quiet way they treated each other with kindness and respect.

As a young boy, those small moments stayed with me. When I watched them, I knew something in my heart.

When I grew up, I wanted to be like that.

I paid attention to how people treated each other. I studied the way kind people spoke, the way they held doors, and the way they treated women with respect. Those things stood out to me because when I went home, I didn’t always see that kind of behavior.

So I watched.

And I learned.

One rainy day I experienced that lesson myself.

I was walking into the gym. A woman was approaching the door about eight or ten seconds behind me. Instead of going in, I waited. I found myself standing almost at attention—that’s just what Marines do.

When she reached the door, I opened it and let her go inside.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed two other women approaching the door. They were a little older and about ten seconds away as well. So I stayed right there in the same posture and opened the door for them too.

Then I went inside and began my workout.

What I didn’t know was that someone else had been watching the entire time.

A few minutes later, a young woman approached me. She told me that before she came inside, she and her son had been sitting in their car. She had just dropped him off at the daycare area of the gym.

But before she came in, she pointed toward me and told her son to watch.

She told him,

“When you grow up, I want you to be like that man.”

In that moment I was reminded again of something simple.

And it never hurts to take small opportunities to be humble, kind, and respectful.

Even today, if I see a lady opening her car door and loading groceries, I’ll ask if she would like help. If nothing else, I’ll at least take the shopping cart and return it to the cart area for her.

Because you never know when someone might be watching.

And people always appreciate courtesy and kindness.

This story has a workbook — how to use it with the person across from you, and the point of it. Read the workbook for You Never Know Who's Watching · All the workbooks.