Love is Not Rude

Have you ever met a gracious, pleasant person who is eager to serve, easy to smile, or glad to see you?

I have nearly every time my wife and I visit a bakery.

There are a couple of bakeries that we love to visit – and revisit.

They have delicious baked goods, but even more so because of the friendly people who work there.

Two of our favorite bakeries are at the Seaquist Orchards in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, and the Das Essenhaus Bakery in Middlebury, Indiana.

Both bakeries are similar but different.

They are different in that the baked goods at Seaquist Orchards are mainly the product of cherries. Sister Bay is in Door County, which produces a large cherry harvest every year.

Das Essenhaus Bakery is part of the Das Essenhaus complex – a hotel, convention center, and a fabulous restaurant that serves the best chicken dinners in the area.

The bakery products at Das Essenhaus are Amish cooking.

We have met two counter girls at both bakeries, who are so polite and beaming with goodwill to see us that we hope they are working when we make our next visit.

Why?

They love their work; they love the bakery and the baked goods they sell; they value their customers.

We can just feel it when we walk in.

There is an aroma to love, just like the aroma of a fresh-baked cherry pie.

Or a delightful, frosted lemon cookie.

“Love is not rude,” writes St. Paul in the 13th chapter of his First Letter to the Corinthians.

The dictionary lists synonyms for rude as impolite, discourteous, harsh, ill-mannered, unpleasant, or nasty.

In a word, sour.

There is a sweetness to love that is pleasant and enjoyable.

Like taking a bite of shoe fly pie or biting into a buttery blueberry scone.

We choose the taste we leave in others’ lives through the way we relate to them.

The ingredients are the same – flour, sugar, butter, spices, and berries.

We can leave a bitter taste in their mouth by our words and through our actions.

Or we can cook up something that is delightfully surprising, thoughtful, and considerate.

Love is not rude – it’s gracious, courteous, and respectful.

In the bakery of life, we serve up the best and offer it with a smile.

Click on the underlined text to read about the next attribute of love, “Love Does Not Seek Its Own Interests.”