Welcome to Class 55 of “The Ramp” to the Highway of Success course for young women. I am Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society, working in partnership with the Martin Luther King Senior Institute for Young Men & Young Women. The Institute aims to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Sr., commonly referred to as “Daddy King”, whom God used to raise the great leader, Martin Luther King Jr. Our purpose is to guide young men and young women, and help them get on the path to becoming kings and queens for the glory of God.
I am your instructor for this course and the author of the ESSENCE Magazine bestselling book “Letters to Young Black Men” and the national bestselling book “Letters to Young Black Women.” My wife, Meriqua Whyte, and my eldest daughter, Daniella Whyte, co-authored “Letters to Young Black Women” with me. My daughter (who has two bachelor’s degrees in psychology and religion and a master’s degree in human services counseling—executive leadership and is now pursuing her second master’s degree in developmental psychology) and her mother, developed the Study Guide. We are using Letters to Young Black Women and its study guide to guide you through this course. This course is for all young women, but especially for young black women and young women of color who oftentimes face disadvantages that others do not. The goal of this class is to help you operate from a position of strength and power based upon the Word of God so you can be victorious in life. My prayer is that this class will empower you to win against your enemies: the devil, sorry men, and even yourself.
Today, we will continue our study titled, TAKE IN A LITTLE ETIQUETTE ALONG THE WAY.
— Let’s Pray —
Allow me to begin with a quote from Amy Vanderbilt. She said, “Good manners have much to do with the emotions. To make them ring true, one must feel them, not merely exhibit them.”
Now, please pull out your text and your digital study guide or follow along on the screen. First, I will read a portion of the corresponding letter from the book, Letters to Young Black Women. Then we will proceed with this lesson:
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Below are some books to help you in the area of etiquette:
Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behaviour
By Judith Martin
(Atheneum)
Emily Post’s Etiquette
By Peggy Post
(Collins)
Commonsense Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious, Simple Manners for the Twenty-First Century
By Marjabelle Young Stewart
(St. Martin’s Griffin)
A Guide to Elegance: For Every Woman Who Wants to be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions
By Genevieve Antoine Dariaux
(William Morrow)
Throughout your life, you will be invited to different occasions, and you do not want to appear ignorant of the proper rules of society. Learn some simple rules of etiquette so that you can be prepared for any occasion.
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The “rules” of etiquette are not that hard to follow. In essence, it really boils down to treating others the way you want to be treated and behaving in the manner in which you would like other people to behave. Here are some more considerations on etiquette from the Power of Positivity:
6. When your family is invited to visit at a friends, make it a duty to help with some clean up and rearrangements especially when the kids loiter and displace things around.
7. Never break up with your partner or announce a death incidence via text; some information is best conveyed face to face or via a phone call.
8. No matter how cute dogs are, aside from taking them for a walk it is not ideal to take them to shopping malls or places where it is uncalled for. Most times people do this just for the sake of gaining some attention.
9. While using earphones, make sure it is well plugged to avoid a situation where it’s playing in your ears and at the same time playing on your device’s speaker. It can be discomforting to people around.
10. When inviting people for a party, it is unruly to ask them to come with their food. They can eat at home; bringing their food has ceased it from being a party.
11. Posting your personal conversations and arguments on social networking sites isn’t decent. The drama can be done privately in your inbox rather than bringing such awful conversation to the public.
12. Lend books to people only when they ask for it. When you force people to read a book by giving it to them, you may put some guilt on them and at the end you will feel pained that they do not appreciate the book.
Germany Kent said, “Speak with caution. Even if someone forgives harsh words you’ve spoken, they may be too hurt to ever forget them. Don’t leave a legacy of pain and regret of things you never should have said.”
In our next class, we will wrap up our study, “TAKE IN A LITTLE ETIQUETTE ALONG THE WAY”.
—LET’S PRAY—
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Now, like many of you, I grew up in a very religious and church-going family, and during that time, I often heard the phrase “Being Saved.” Now, much of what church people said “being saved” was back then especially, in my community, is wrong according to the Bible. I wrote an article about it titled “On ‘Being Saved’ in Black America” which is available for you to read free of charge on our website, gospellightsociety.com. Right now, I want to share with you very briefly what the Bible says “being saved” really is.
First, understand that you need to be saved because you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, understand that a horrible punishment — eternal Hell — awaits those who are not saved. In Matthew 25:41, Jesus Christ said that God will say to those who are not saved, “depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Third, realize that God loves you very much and wants to save you from Hell. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you want to be saved from Hell and be guaranteed a home in Heaven, simply believe in Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose from the dead for your sins, and then call upon Him in prayer and ask Him to save your soul. And believe me, He will.
Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That is the most important decision you will ever make.
God bless you and keep you until we meet for our next class.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.
He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.
He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.
BCNN1 WP 