Keep a fair-sized cemetery in your back yard in which to bury the faults of your friends. ~ Henry Ward Beecher
The Question I Must Ask Myself: Do I treat others better than they treat me?
If you're slinging mud, you're losing ground. There are really only 3 roads we can travel when it comes to dealing with others:
1. The Low Road - where we treat others worse than they treat us
2. The Middle Road - where we treat others the same as they treat us
3. The High Road - where we treat others better than they treat us
· The low road damages relationships & alienates others from us
· The middle road may not drive people away from us, but it won't attract them to us either; it's reactive rather than proactive & allows others to set the agenda for our lives
· The high road helps to create positive relationships & attracts others to us; it sets a positive agenda with others than even negative people find difficult to undermine.
HIGH ROAD TRAVELERS
The high road truly is the path less traveled. That's because it requires thinking & acting in ways that are not natural or common. However, those who practice the High Road Principle become instruments of grace to others & recipients of grace.
High roaders have several things in common:
1. Understand That It's Not What Happens to You but What Happens in You That Really Matters
○ High roaders stay true to their core values & treat people according to them, not according to external circumstances,
○ A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him ~ David Brinkley
2. Commit Themselves to Traveling the High Road Continually
○ Nearly everyone can be kind in the face of unkindness every once in a while, but it's more difficult to sustain a high road attitude all the time.
○ "Most people make some good choices every day, but they don't make enough good choices to create momentum & obtain success"
§ This is good insight on what happens for people who take the high road all the time: they create momentum & cultivate relational success. Why? Because responding best today puts them in the best place tomorrow.
3. See Their Own Need for Grace, & Therefore, They Extend It to Others
○ "TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO FORGIVE - IS NOT COMPANY POLICY"
§ Although funny, this quote hints at people's natural inclination not to give individuals a break when they act in a way that shows their human frailty
○ We're all humans & make mistakes. People who take the high road recognize their humanness, know they need to be extended grace, & are accordingly more likely to extend it to others.
4. Are Not Victims; They Choose to Serve Others
○ People who take the high road don't do so because no other roads are open to them. They do it as an act of will according to a desire to serve others.
5. Set Higher Standards for Themselves Than Others Would
○ People who embrace the high road make excellence their goal
○ That's something that can be accomplished if we:
§ Care more than others think is wise
§ Risk more than others think is safe
§ Expect more than others think is possible
§ Work more than others think is necessary
○ When we conduct ourselves according to our highest standards, we're less likely to be defensive & take the low road when attacked by others.
§ When you know you've done all you can do, you can let criticism roll off your back like rain.
6. Bring Out the Best in Others
○ The high road is the only path that brings out the best in others.
○ Treat people as though they were what they ought to be & you will help them become what they are capable of becoming. ~ Johann Wolfgang
7. Bring Out the Best in Themselves
○ Making it your practice to always treat others the best that you can affects the way you see the world & yourself
§ Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle & planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow ~ Abe Lincoln
§ The way you treat others is your statement to the world of who you are. Are you making the kind of statement you desire?
If you need help moving to the high road, then follow these "directions":
1. Stay on Kindness Street as long as possible
2. Turn right on Forgiveness Avenue
3. Avoid Get Even Alley because it's a dead end.
4. Climb to the top of the hill, for there you will see the high road
5. Take it & stay on it; & if you lose your way, ask Jesus for help.
The high road is often not the easiest road, but it is the only one that leads to the highest level of living.
The Question I Must Ask Myself: Do I treat others better than they treat me?
If you're slinging mud, you're losing ground. There are really only 3 roads we can travel when it comes to dealing with others:
1. The Low Road - where we treat others worse than they treat us
2. The Middle Road - where we treat others the same as they treat us
3. The High Road - where we treat others better than they treat us
· The low road damages relationships & alienates others from us
· The middle road may not drive people away from us, but it won't attract them to us either; it's reactive rather than proactive & allows others to set the agenda for our lives
· The high road helps to create positive relationships & attracts others to us; it sets a positive agenda with others than even negative people find difficult to undermine.
HIGH ROAD TRAVELERS
The high road truly is the path less traveled. That's because it requires thinking & acting in ways that are not natural or common. However, those who practice the High Road Principle become instruments of grace to others & recipients of grace.
High roaders have several things in common:
1. Understand That It's Not What Happens to You but What Happens in You That Really Matters
○ High roaders stay true to their core values & treat people according to them, not according to external circumstances,
○ A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him ~ David Brinkley
2. Commit Themselves to Traveling the High Road Continually
○ Nearly everyone can be kind in the face of unkindness every once in a while, but it's more difficult to sustain a high road attitude all the time.
○ "Most people make some good choices every day, but they don't make enough good choices to create momentum & obtain success"
§ This is good insight on what happens for people who take the high road all the time: they create momentum & cultivate relational success. Why? Because responding best today puts them in the best place tomorrow.
3. See Their Own Need for Grace, & Therefore, They Extend It to Others
○ "TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO FORGIVE - IS NOT COMPANY POLICY"
§ Although funny, this quote hints at people's natural inclination not to give individuals a break when they act in a way that shows their human frailty
○ We're all humans & make mistakes. People who take the high road recognize their humanness, know they need to be extended grace, & are accordingly more likely to extend it to others.
4. Are Not Victims; They Choose to Serve Others
○ People who take the high road don't do so because no other roads are open to them. They do it as an act of will according to a desire to serve others.
5. Set Higher Standards for Themselves Than Others Would
○ People who embrace the high road make excellence their goal
○ That's something that can be accomplished if we:
§ Care more than others think is wise
§ Risk more than others think is safe
§ Expect more than others think is possible
§ Work more than others think is necessary
○ When we conduct ourselves according to our highest standards, we're less likely to be defensive & take the low road when attacked by others.
§ When you know you've done all you can do, you can let criticism roll off your back like rain.
6. Bring Out the Best in Others
○ The high road is the only path that brings out the best in others.
○ Treat people as though they were what they ought to be & you will help them become what they are capable of becoming. ~ Johann Wolfgang
7. Bring Out the Best in Themselves
○ Making it your practice to always treat others the best that you can affects the way you see the world & yourself
§ Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle & planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow ~ Abe Lincoln
§ The way you treat others is your statement to the world of who you are. Are you making the kind of statement you desire?
If you need help moving to the high road, then follow these "directions":
1. Stay on Kindness Street as long as possible
2. Turn right on Forgiveness Avenue
3. Avoid Get Even Alley because it's a dead end.
4. Climb to the top of the hill, for there you will see the high road
5. Take it & stay on it; & if you lose your way, ask Jesus for help.
The high road is often not the easiest road, but it is the only one that leads to the highest level of living.
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