Do They LIKE You or TOLERATE You?

“We want Hyundai to make the kind of car you want to buy, no the kind of car you have to buy.” – Hyundai founder Chung Ju-Yung

I read this quote a few days ago in this article.

While Chung said that in respect to a car, I think we should have the same moto and ask the same questions that Chung so elegantly highlight for Hyundai Motors.

Am I someone that people LIKE to be around, or someone that people HAVE to be around?

Now, the answer can be both.

The answer should be both. You and I should be in close enough proximity to people and in relationships with people that have to be around us.

These are the people at work,
at the grocery store,
the people at our church, etc.

BUT,

Those people should also WANT to be around us.

I look at the life of Jesus, the places he went and the people that gathered around him as he went, and see a life lived in such a way that people HAD to be around Him, but also WANTED to be around him. In fact, there was one time where a lady wanted to be around him so much, she was willing to risk it all and grab his jacket just so she could get a touch from Him. Another time, a guy climbed a tree so he could be around Jesus.

Grant it, we’re not Jesus, but our Bibles tell us to be like Him.

To be people that other people WANT to be around….
Not people that others think, “Gosh, I gotta spend the day with them!”

So, we can all take a lesson from Hyundai…
Well, Jesus really.

Be someone others WANT to be around.

Are you?
Am I?

Thoughts? Share in the comments.

[My Pastor, Artie Davis has a book coming called ‘Craveable‘ about this. Look for it soon!]