“Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Romans 16:16). Paul gave these instructions to the Romans and repeated them to the other churches. Twice to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:20 and 2 Corinthians 13:12), then to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:26). Peter flew the friendliness flag as well. He said in chapter 5 and verse 14 of his first Epistle, “Greet one another with a kiss of love.”
We tend to overlook these passages. Why the big deal, and why should we be careful to greet one another? The answer? Out of respect. Respect is a mindfulness of another person’s situation. Respect says “Hello” to the new kid in class. Respect says “Good afternoon” to the cashier in the checkout stand. A greeting in its purest sense is a gesture of goodwill. Simply greeting one another is not that hard, but it makes a significant difference. And this is how happiness happens.
