Near the end of his final semester, a college senior named Skip walked into business class and received a pop quiz. Skip was a brilliant student and breezed through every question—until the last one: What is the name of the woman who cleans this building? This must be a joke, Skip thought. He had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was short, dark, looked old. Why in the world would he know her name? He handed back the quiz with that answer blank.
This is Howard Butt Jr. of Laity Lodge. Do you ever treat people as if they’re invisible? In the tests of real life, every person deserves our attention and respect, even if all we do is learn her name and say hello—in the high calling of our daily work.
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.”— 1 Corinthians 8:1b-2
