Have you had your toes stepped on lately?
My pastor warned us that studying James was like having your toes stepped on repeatedly, and he’s right. God does that sometimes, inflicts a little bit of emotional pain (or a lot of it) to teach us a lesson.
Yesterday I was listening to the August 1 sermon by Buddy Hoffman from Grace Fellowship Church in Georgia. This church is my “second home church,” and when Buddy brings an admonition, I listen. This particular Sunday Buddy was reading a report sent in by the Mystery Worshipper for Ship of Fools website. Let me tell you, these were some tough words to hear. I admire the fact that Buddy was able to read the good, the bad and the ugly to his congregation. We heard it all. And by the time the podcast was over, a lot of toes had been stepped on.
You see, this Mystery Worshipper realized that God was at work at Grace. Anyone stepping on campus can tell that. Great things are happening, almost faster than the congregation can keep up with them. And therein lies the trouble. Everyone at Grace was so busy doing the great things, that a first time visitor felt lost and lonely in the midst of a spiritual feast. The service was amazing, he said. Loved the music. Loved the preaching. No one said hello. No one except the “official” greeter whose job it was, and the usher telling the Mystery Worshipper to change his seat of this reason or that.
So running along on the treadmill, I listened to Buddy remind us that hospitality (also known as community) is a holy work. It isn’t something we offer to those we already know and like the best. It isn’t the “if you have time, could you say hello to someone…” No, it is the above all else kind of commandment. It is holy, and it isn’t optional. Right about then my toes began to ache. Let me tell you why.
Yesterday David and I sat down to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. It was a beautiful day, and we had a seat by the intracoastal waterway where we could watch the boats drift by. We had an appetizer to share and cold iced teas. All should have been well, and it was. Until we noticed that the family sat well after us were in the process of ordering, while we still had our menus and hadn’t put our main order in yet. Even though we’d been waiting long enough to get our appetizer. Normally this kind of thing doesn’t even rise to the level of something to notice, but yesterday…well this waiter was commiting a faux pas in my book, and I needed to share that with him.
I’m sure he was delighted to learn how I felt.
Those of you who know me will know that I wasn’t even really rude (though I felt it, inside). I think I said something along the lines of “It’s just not right to take their order before ours.” The waiter apologized and spent the next half hour hovering over us. Then he heaped a few coals on my head by having the house pay for our appetizer. “We looked on the computer and you come here a lot. We want you to be happy.”
Great. I am known.
Buddy’s words about hospitality stabbed me to the heart later, as I tried to work off that very same food at the gym. “Be especially hospitable to the people out in the community,” he said. Yes, this means waiters. “It’s a holy commandment.” I know my words were not over the top to this poor waiter, but I also know what my attitude was. I was wrong. I was not putting the waiter’s life in proper perspective, assuming that he should exist solely to serve me.
I spent the rest of my workout talking to God about that waiter.
James says that community is hard to build when we are quarreling and grouchy because we want something and don’t have it. I’m limping a little bit today from the toes that have been stepped on, but it’s a good ache. It reminds me of what God wants to do in me.
