- Judgmental
- Hypocritical
- Exclusive
- Arrogant
- Bigoted
- Cheesy
- And so much more...
The other day at work one of my drivers got an order that is a ways away. "I hate delivering out there," he said. I asked if it was because of how far away it was. He said, "no, its just that they never tip and they are pretty rude." I looked at the customer and was saddened to see it was Christian business.
I got a call today by a very cranky lady about her order. She was rude and did not tip her driver.
That order had been delivered to a church...
That order had been delivered to a church...
A few years ago I worked at a movie theater with a guy that also worked at a hotel at night. He was telling me about how he hated working his job every time the Women of Faith Conference was in town. I asked if it was because they were more busy, he said, "no, because they are so rude."
In a tweet,, Jon Acuff made a statement to the effect of. "How many people have been saved by leaving a track in place of a tip?"
The point is that as Christians we should be less concerned with being right, and more concerned about loving people. Whether you call yourself a Christ follower or Christian. Whether you go to a conservative Baptist church, a liberal Episcopalian church, Methodist, Lutheran, or a relevant "hip" non-denominational church.We are representatives of Christ and should view our words and actions as if we are dispensing life or death.
Will someone come to Christ by leaving them a big tip? Probably not. Will someone reexamine their view of Christianity when we live transformed lives that demonstrates supernatural grace and love? I believe so.
A conversation I have to have with my oldest daughter a lot is about loving people in the way they feel love, not in the way she wants to love them. My daughter has a great heart but she is still immature. She will want to make someone a cake because she wants to make a cake, not because they want one.
We often do this in our adult lives. We don't reach out to culture in a way that shows love to them the way the understand it. Biblical love is hard and requires sacrifice. As Christians we need to make sure our faith lines up with our deeds.
What if at the wedding feast Jesus had made milk instead of Wine because he liked milk more and thought the guests had had too much?
When I worked at Buffalo Wild Wings, the waitresses hate the "church rush" because they made the least in tips and got ran the hardest. If we were living out our faith in a biblical way, the waitresses should love the church rush more than any other shift...
James 2:14-17 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
I was an unbeliever for most of my life. My heart was hardened toward Christianity because of how Christians treated me and each other. The turning point for me was when I was a barista and a couple of pastors treated me well and loved me where I was at. They were friendly, funny, and generous with their time and money. They were people of peace and I wanted to be around them more. I was lead to Christ through that relationship that started because they were men I wanted to be like. They never mentioned God or Jesus right away... Their agenda was one of love alone.
The pizza delivery guy, barista, or waitress at the diner should want to see us. The waitresses should fight over our table because we are kind, generous, patient, full of love, peaceful, and generally just good people to be around. Fruits of the spirit anyone?
We need to make sure our actions line up with what we believe. The more obvious it is that we're Christians, i.e. working at a church or christian book store, the more obvious we need to be in our deeds of love. That means when our food comes to the table wrong, we keep our mouths shut. When the pizza is late, we thank the driver profusely for serving us and tip them well.
So, don't just say you're a Christian or a Christ follower. Act like it. Not because I am telling you to in a blog but, because that's what our Lord demands of you, in-light of what he has done for you.. Ask yourself the following questions:
Will someone come to Christ by leaving them a big tip? Probably not. Will someone reexamine their view of Christianity when we live transformed lives that demonstrates supernatural grace and love? I believe so.
A conversation I have to have with my oldest daughter a lot is about loving people in the way they feel love, not in the way she wants to love them. My daughter has a great heart but she is still immature. She will want to make someone a cake because she wants to make a cake, not because they want one.
We often do this in our adult lives. We don't reach out to culture in a way that shows love to them the way the understand it. Biblical love is hard and requires sacrifice. As Christians we need to make sure our faith lines up with our deeds.
What if at the wedding feast Jesus had made milk instead of Wine because he liked milk more and thought the guests had had too much?
When I worked at Buffalo Wild Wings, the waitresses hate the "church rush" because they made the least in tips and got ran the hardest. If we were living out our faith in a biblical way, the waitresses should love the church rush more than any other shift...
I was an unbeliever for most of my life. My heart was hardened toward Christianity because of how Christians treated me and each other. The turning point for me was when I was a barista and a couple of pastors treated me well and loved me where I was at. They were friendly, funny, and generous with their time and money. They were people of peace and I wanted to be around them more. I was lead to Christ through that relationship that started because they were men I wanted to be like. They never mentioned God or Jesus right away... Their agenda was one of love alone.
The pizza delivery guy, barista, or waitress at the diner should want to see us. The waitresses should fight over our table because we are kind, generous, patient, full of love, peaceful, and generally just good people to be around. Fruits of the spirit anyone?
We need to make sure our actions line up with what we believe. The more obvious it is that we're Christians, i.e. working at a church or christian book store, the more obvious we need to be in our deeds of love. That means when our food comes to the table wrong, we keep our mouths shut. When the pizza is late, we thank the driver profusely for serving us and tip them well.
So, don't just say you're a Christian or a Christ follower. Act like it. Not because I am telling you to in a blog but, because that's what our Lord demands of you, in-light of what he has done for you.. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How often do you get accused of having too much grace?
- How often do you demonstration love in a way that is sacrificial?
- How often do nonbelievers want to be around you?
If you were convicted by this blog post you should ask your self what you plan to do now. Consider reading this post here.
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