The Character of Hospitality

Character Leadership - The Character of Hospitality

“When hospitality becomes an art, it loses its very soul” - Max Beebohm

 

Definition:   Kindness in welcoming guest or strangers without expecting any rewards.

Unfriendliness, Inhospitality, Animosity, are the opposites of hospitality. These negative traits and feelings will allow you to give up precious friendships and opportunities for personal growth through networking, connections, and fellowship. These are rotten outcome of egocentricity, as you only see the world as it revolves around you, and you miss seeing the value of others. With this negative attitude, you will not develop good friendships or be effective in the community, neighborhood, or workplace. 

Hospitality is rendering unto others our resources, including comfort, sharing our food, and friendship. Hospitality is the ability to provide an open house and a warm welcome to those in need of food and even lodging.

Hospitality also means we are contributing to the development and growth of our family, friends, and the community Hospitality is the door to mentorship as without hospitality, mentorship will not blossom and function. We must be willing to go beyond our preconceived needs, comforts, and ideas to provide an ambiance which contributes to the physical and emotional growth of people around us.

Reflection:

Ask yourself; “Have I been a hospitable person?” To make people feel welcome and at ease, we must create a good first impression by greeting them cheerfully and try to remember their names. A disinterested greeting puts people off and makes people uncomfortable. If we have guest at home, we should demonstrate our willingness to share our things, whether it is extra cloths, giving up our bed or letting them use the bathroom before ourselves.

As Character leaders, we must extend ourselves to other people with hospitality and what flows out of hospitality are deeper friendship and relationships. The key to making others feel important is to put others before self. Going out of our way and sacrificing our own preferences will make others feel important. We cannot call ourselves hospitable if we expect something from others. We should extend care and friendship freely without expecting anything back in order to learn the true meaning of hospitality.