A Welcome Reward
Every year, there is a group of people who study the English language and decide on which words should be added to our dictionaries. This group is called the “Smart People”, and voted recently in their little committee on such new words as WEBPAGE (a file accessible on the internet by which to view information, data, photographs, etc.), SLAMMING (the illegal method of a long distance telephone carrier in obtaining new customers without their knowledge), and NET-A-SECOND (the amount of time you will own your newly purchased computer before it is outdated).
The “Smart People” committee also voted on words or phrases that are antiquated or archaic. This type of verbiage is near extinction and becoming obsolete, such as DAVENPORT (another name for a couch), POCKETBOOK (another name for a purse), and HOMEMADE (a description of a pie that has never been frozen).
A phrase the “Smart People” committee decided not to vote on is YOU’RE WELCOME. We should not be surprised the committee passed on voting this phrase out of existence – they are after all, the “Smart People”. We should be surprised how close this phrase is to becoming extinct. While 
this is a basic reply to THANK YOU, it is in danger of being replaced with YEAH, YEAH SURE, NO PROBLEM, or AH-HUH (different parts of the country might also be using such alternatives as YOU BETCHA, AIN’T NO BIG THANG, or SHUR’NUFF – equally alarming!)
I know I am making a big deal out of some simple words or phrases. Why should I be concerned over a reply to mere common courtesy? Why should I be concerned over the manners others have? If you choose to be polite, that’s your business, thank you very much.
(You’re welcome.)
If your parents taught you to say PLEASE and THANK YOU, then they did their job. Besides, all we are talking about is a reply. If no one else is going to reply with common courtesy, why should the rest of us? And we’re talking about the natural tendencies of society! We’re talking about a new generation and a new way of life! Let it go, man! Geez, thank you very much!
(You’re welcome.)
Ok. Ok. So what is the big deal? Why is it a big enough deal that it made it to this article? Hmmm…
Let’s first examine the phrase – YOU’RE WELCOME, or without the contraction, YOU ARE WELCOME. These three little words are more than just a reply, there is real action in these words.
The words we say are a reflection of who we are; our reply to common courtesy is a likeness of our personality. We find this simple fact in the Bible – Luke 6:45, which states, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”
What is stored in our hearts when we say YOU’RE WELCOME? The real action in the phrase is our receiving the person thanking us, or showing hospitality. The real action in the phrase is showing the kindness in our hearts. YOU ARE WELCOME – we are accepting the THANK YOU, and telling the person that we receive them as an individual.
This is important, as the Lord instructs us in Matthew 10:40-41, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward [or blessing], and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward [or blessing].”
The phrase YOU’RE WELCOME has a three-fold purpose: one, we show the kindness and hospitality in our hearts; two, we receive the individual (a polite person) thanking us; and three, through receiving the polite person, we receive the reward or blessing of a polite person.
And what is the reward of a polite person? Perhaps if we welcome a few, we will find out.
Glenn Sasscer
www.glennsasscer.com
