Like many others, we have a guest room in our house for visiting relatives and friends. I enjoy spending time with some of my guests and sincerely welcome them to come again. What makes them good house guests?
First of all, they contacted me in advance, at least two or three weeks before their visits. They didn’t simply “notify” me that they planned to stay in my house. Instead, they respected me and asked whether it was convenient for me. Before making the final arrangement, they let me know the itinerary and their needs and wants, what is necessary and what is optional, so as to give me enough time to make arrangements for them.
Good guests usually stay at my house for two or three days, seldom more than a week. After a week, I start to feel stressed out. Of course, I do not ask the guests to follow my schedule. But after one week, small conflicts become unavoidable, which will affect our relationship.
Once our family hosted a friend for two days. During his visit, he left our house early and returned late. We never even had breakfast together. I felt he treated my house as a free hotel and did not interact with us at all. The friendship between us went downhill from then on. Good guests must know when to spend some time with the host and when to conduct their own business. It’s important to maintain a balance between the two so that both parties feel they still have their own space and at the same time, they can enjoy company with one another.
There was this good friend who had done something special that truly impressed me. After saying goodbye to each other, he took leave and I went to the guest room to clean up. I found he left a thank you card and a small gift. The gesture brought a burst of warmth to my chest. It showed he didn’t take it for granted, and our friendship deepens.
If you are a guest, try to respect the host’s schedule and habits and avoid causing unnecessary burden to the host. Regarding the house, furniture, decoration, food, etc., don’t say anything negative. Instead, try to give praise and show gratitude and appreciation. Next time when you visit again, the host will welcome you.
(Ken, retired pastor. Ken served in 3 different churches from 1987-2020.)
