How do we view those we’re just getting to know? One option is to treat them with coldness and suspicion at first, and then warm up to them if they prove to be trustworthy. Another option is to treat them as if they are friends—to be friendly—and to do so until they prove otherwise.
The question is, what will we default to? Do we see people as friends or as competitors, as allies or as enemies? Do we say, Prove yourself, and then I’ll be friendly; or, I’ll be friendly until you prove otherwise.
Of course there are people who do not deserve to be trusted, and who won’t be our friends. But the challenge to default to friendliness is not a call to be naive or foolish. It’s simply choosing to be generous in spirit and doing for others what most of us would appreciate being done for us.