Etiquette & Social Behavior

Somewhere along the way, we picked up the idea that etiquette is for women and soft men. That holding a door and standing when someone enters a room is a relic of a more formal age.

Every part of that is wrong. Dead wrong. And when we abandoned it, we did not become more masculine. We became less.

Etiquette is about how you treat another human being made in the image of God. It is about the small habits of attention that say: I see you. I am not too important to look up.

A man who shows up on time keeps his word. A man who looks a person in the eye is fully present. A man who says thank you to the man at the register has not confused his job title with his worth.

• Show up on time. Early is on time. On time is late.
• Look a man in the eye and shake his hand.
• Do not swear casually.
• Dress like you respect the people in the room.
• Say please, thank you, excuse me, I'm sorry.
• Do not complain about small things.
• Defend those who cannot defend themselves.

The real test of a man's conduct is how he behaves when he is insulted, attacked, provoked, or tired.

We do not snap. We do not lose our temper in traffic. We absorb. We steady. We respond with the weight of a man who knows what he is and does not need to prove it.