I’ve been thinking about something that shows up every single day—how you treat people. It sounds simple, but it matters more than you think, and I want you to understand why that’s stayed with me.
I think back to a time in high school when I had a teacher who felt hard on me. I remember feeling frustrated and thinking it wasn’t fair. But my mom reminded me that I didn’t know what that teacher might be going through.
Later, I found out she was battling cancer, and that stuck with me. It changed how I think about people. You don’t always see what someone else is carrying, but the way you treat them still matters.
I want you to remember that. Pause before you react. Lead with patience, kindness, and grace. Because how you treat people leaves a mark, and you get to decide that every single day.
SHOW NOTES
A letter to all three kids
How you treat people
Empathy and understanding
Leading with kindness and grace
A message from Dad
Transcripts
Mr. Funky Teacher:
This is Mr. Funky Teacher. And this is Funky Letters to My Kids.
Today’s episode is called How You Treat People Matters More Than You Think.
This one is for all three of you—Mya, Carter, and Gavin.
I want to talk to you about something that shows up every single day…
But we don’t always think about it.
How you treat people.
It sounds simple…
But it matters more than you think.
And I want to take a second and say something that I’m thankful for.
I’m thankful for the way I was raised to think about other people…
To try to understand… not just react.
That’s something that’s stayed with me.
I remember something from when I was in high school.
There was a teacher, and it felt like she was always kind of hard on me.
Like she was giving me a hard time.
And it felt like nobody liked her…
Like she was just kind of a grouchy teacher.
I remember being frustrated…
Thinking it wasn’t fair how she talked to me and the other kids.
And I’ll never forget—I talked to my mom about it.
And I’ll never forget what she told me.
She said, “You don’t know what’s going on in her life.”
Maybe she’s just kind of a jerk…
But maybe there’s something more going on that you don’t see.
At the time, I didn’t really think about it much.
But later…
I found out she was dealing with cancer.
Fighting for her life with treatments.
And that stuck with me.
Because it made me realize something:
You don’t always see what people are carrying.
Every person you interact with—
They’ve got something going on.
Something hard… something heavy… something you know nothing about.
And the way you treat them still matters.
There are going to be moments where someone is short with you…
Frustrated… not at their best.
And your first reaction might be to push back…
Or match that energy.
But I want you to pause…
And think—
What might they be going through?
That doesn’t mean you let people treat you poorly.
But it does mean you lead with understanding.
With patience.
With a little bit of grace.
And I think about how Jesus would want us to respond.
To bring grace into how we treat people.
Because that’s how He responded.
With grace.
How you treat people leaves a mark.
People remember how you made them feel.
Not just what you said…
Not just what you did…
But how you made them feel when they were around you.
And you get to decide that every single day.
In small moments…
In conversations…
In how you respond.
If there’s one thing I want you to take from this, it’s this:
You don’t always know what someone else is going through.
So treat people with kindness.
Treat people with respect.
Give people the benefit of the doubt.
At the end of the day, this is what it comes down to:
Be who you are.
Treat people right.
Keep growing.
And remember—
You can change the world by how you live your life every day.
