When Someone Shows You Who They Are...

​​One of my favorite author’s most well-known quotes is “When people show you who they are, believe them.” The late Maya Angelou was a wise soul. In the past few years, I’ve developed a stern faith in watching the way people treat those around them. I believe that if someone does something to or for one person, they have the power in them to do it for or to you.

Think back to situations you may not have been in the center of but had a front row seat to witness. Maybe your best friends got into an argument and due to no reconciliation, one of them began spewing the other’s private affairs. Maybe a family member has been spreading negative gossip about the cousin who just helped them pay off their college loans. Maybe your closest homeboy is stepping out on his girl of 8 years. Maybe your sister stopped checking in on your brother after the checks from him stopped coming in the mail.

I know at first glance, your first thought may be “my name ain’t Bennet and I ain’t in it,” but take one more look. In all of these situations, it calls something very important into question about the people we allow to influence our lives. There is an aspect in each of these scenarios that speaks about their character. We have a best friend we should begin to question if we can trust; we have a cousin who lacks the understanding of gratitude; we have a homeboy (who definitely can’t be a Taurus) because he’s misplaced his loyalty; and we have a sister who apparently only cares about the health of her bank.

Now, when I think of the Late Maya Angelou’s words it automatically reminds me of another quote I became fond of. I once saw a quote by Samuel Johnson that said “A true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him no good.” As profound as these words are, I have learned that sometimes we don’t have to look that far to determine who a person is. Sometimes, we find out who people are by how poorly they treat those around them who do bring value to their lives.