The Handshake

In my classes, we talk quite a bit about family and the role parents play in shaping their kids. This entry from March 17, 2009, is a prime example of great parenting!

It wasn't a big thing. Thursday afternoon, as I was walking down one of the school hallways, I met Kelvin Brown and his son, Justus, as they were leaving Westbury Christian at the end of the day. Kelvin works in our development office and teaches business courses. Justus is a third grader. As I said good-bye, I offered my hand for the younger Brown to shake. His right hand was occupied with books so he took my right hand with his left. Kelvin stopped his son and told him, "We shake hands with our right hand." Justus shifted his books and repeated the greeting, this time with his right hand. Like I said, it was no big deal.... but then again, it was. Kelvin could have let it slide and many dads would have. Males greet now with fist bumps (knucks) or high fives but those are for casual situations. In telling my classes about the Browns, I made the point that you would never introduce yourself to someone interviewing you for a job or scholarship by simply slapping skin. That would not be appropriate. That is simply what Kelvin was explaining to his child- appropriate behavior. In Genesis 49, Jacob gives each of his sons an appropriate blessing before his death. There is only one other Biblical passage, in the New International Version at least, where the term appropriate is used. In 1st Timothy 2, Paul links good deeds, modest clothing, and appropriate behavior for women. We don't always understand what is acceptable in certain scenarios as we grow up but if we are fortunate, we have a parent or adult to model for us. Justus does. He knows how to shake hands properly and someday, in an interview or in an introduction, it will pay off for him. And somewhere, his parents will be smiling.

Applicable quote of the day:
"The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. The touch of some hands is an impertinence. I have met people so empty of joy, that when I clasped their frosty finger-tips, it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart."
Helen Keller

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com