The Love We Have For Others
-Bill Petite
The world we live in, that system known as the world, is a me first world; people will always think of themselves before others. When I say this, I mean the majority of the people. Allow me to give you a couple examples. Today, my wife and I were in a grocery store at the deli counter. As we approached the counter, a woman with a small child raced up in front of us. That didn't bother me because I know how this society acts in the me first mode. We were willing to wait our turn. Then a second woman came to the counter right after us and it was apparent they knew each other because before the woman behind the counter to take her order, she and her friend were going at like two school girls, babbling on and on. The woman behind the counter had said, "Next!" twice but she could not be heard over these two 30 something women acting like 15 year olds. I knew it wasn't right to simply let them ramble on, since she was in front of us, but I was tempted to just give my order to the woman. As I was about to interrupt them, she finally heard the woman say again, "Next!" Now, I was irritated by the scene they had created but I wasn't going to let in get to me. Well, that was all good but when the woman behind the counter finished with the first customer and said ,"Next", her friend jumped right ahead of us and gave her order! Was she aware she wasn't next? Absolutely not!! How could she since as far as she was concerned, her and her friend were the only two people in the world at that instant. I did the only smart thing I could do; I walked away. I walked away because if I had not, I would have given the woman a tongue lashing which would made her extremely angry and would have blew my Christian witness and any display of love I might have for anyone. I told my wife we would go to another store and get what we needed since it was apparent the woman working the counter had ignored us also. So, to the other store we go where people are in such a hurry I was almost ran over twice by grocery carts. I was beginning to wonder if I had a target on my back. But, I stayed cool and refused to allow it to get to me. It wasn't as easy as I have made it sound.
How can we show the world God's love for them if we react to these situations in an adverse manner? Here is what Jesus told His disciples in John 13:34-35:
Let me show you the other side of this. I was in Southern California visiting family and friends some years ago. We were in a restaurant following a mid-week Church service. As we were waiting to be served, another local pastor was seated not far from our table. His order was brought to him and immediately he jumped to his feet and began to verbally abuse the waitress concerning his food. He was yelling at her about his food being cold and how long he had watched it sit at the pick-up counter. Briefly, I was embarrassed; embarrassed that this pastor, representing the Christian faith, had acted in this inexcusable manner. There was a young man, in his teens, seated at the table with this pastor and I couldn't help thinking of what this type of influence would have on him. After the brief time of embarrassment, I mean really brief, I became very angry. This was righteous anger and I was just about to get up and approach him when a senior pastor friend of mine cautioned me of the consequences for everyone at the table with us. Better judgment ruled and I stayed seated but my anger was very slow to subside. I felt so bad for that waitress who was working without any help and she just stood there mortified and embarrassed by this poor excuse for a Christian pastor (I say this because of knowledge of other areas of his life and attitudes).
How could that man ever come back into that restaurant and share Jesus with anyone? Who would be willing to listen to him? We cannot act this way as Christians; we cannot treat others with this type of hostility and then expect them to listen to our testimony. I remember what I was like before I was saved and I would have probably dropped that dish right at his feet as he handed it back to me with that attitude. But, on the other hand, if I was a Christian and did that to an angry customer, I would never be able to share Jesus with them. I recently read a book in which the author shared comments by a friend of his who is in the restaurant business. His friend expressed that Sunday lunch is his worst meal of the week because that is when all the Church people come in. They are rude to the servers and leave skimpy tips. Along with a very skimpy tips are those phony 100 dollar bill tracts which attempt to tell people about Jesus while denouncing the excessive need for money! This is so insulting to those who work in this industry. They really depend on tips for their salary. In the state where I live, the waitress gets an hourly wage of $2.85. So, the tips are what make up the difference and when a table receives a bill of $100-$150 and the tip is $5, that is an insult and a cheap shot to these people. My daughter-in-law works in this industry and I know from her experiences how rude and cheap all people can be let alone Christians. The idea of leaving any tract with the skimpy tip is, as the world always says, hypocritical!!
Christians, we know how the world sees each other. We know and understand how they scratch and bite and fight to be at the top or at the front of the line or in the shining light of importance. We should never allow this attitude to enter into our lives. We should never find ourselves competing with the ways of this world. The work place is another important place to allow those unsaved souls to see Jesus shining through us. We have many opportunities to allow Jesus to be seen in our lives in the work place and we should take advantage of it. Don't allow the job to push Jesus aside; with Jesus we can do our job so much better. I know there are many who just hate their job but, as a Christian, did you ever stop and consider this is where Jesus wants you? The work place is a mission field so take advantage of it. The Lord will always open doors for us to share Him on or at the job site. Don't let this world intimidate you regardless where you are. He is with you always and He will pave the way for us to do His work. Remember this from 1 JN. 5:4-5,
*All scripture is from the New Living Translation
The world we live in, that system known as the world, is a me first world; people will always think of themselves before others. When I say this, I mean the majority of the people. Allow me to give you a couple examples. Today, my wife and I were in a grocery store at the deli counter. As we approached the counter, a woman with a small child raced up in front of us. That didn't bother me because I know how this society acts in the me first mode. We were willing to wait our turn. Then a second woman came to the counter right after us and it was apparent they knew each other because before the woman behind the counter to take her order, she and her friend were going at like two school girls, babbling on and on. The woman behind the counter had said, "Next!" twice but she could not be heard over these two 30 something women acting like 15 year olds. I knew it wasn't right to simply let them ramble on, since she was in front of us, but I was tempted to just give my order to the woman. As I was about to interrupt them, she finally heard the woman say again, "Next!" Now, I was irritated by the scene they had created but I wasn't going to let in get to me. Well, that was all good but when the woman behind the counter finished with the first customer and said ,"Next", her friend jumped right ahead of us and gave her order! Was she aware she wasn't next? Absolutely not!! How could she since as far as she was concerned, her and her friend were the only two people in the world at that instant. I did the only smart thing I could do; I walked away. I walked away because if I had not, I would have given the woman a tongue lashing which would made her extremely angry and would have blew my Christian witness and any display of love I might have for anyone. I told my wife we would go to another store and get what we needed since it was apparent the woman working the counter had ignored us also. So, to the other store we go where people are in such a hurry I was almost ran over twice by grocery carts. I was beginning to wonder if I had a target on my back. But, I stayed cool and refused to allow it to get to me. It wasn't as easy as I have made it sound.
How can we show the world God's love for them if we react to these situations in an adverse manner? Here is what Jesus told His disciples in John 13:34-35:
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” NLT*How will those who are not saved see the love of Jesus for them if we don't allow them to see it? We should be looking for ways to show His love to others when we are in public. It is the best way for people who aren't saved to see Jesus! We should be ready to help those who are elderly, those who are disabled in any way and those who simply cannot help themselves. There will always be those times when we are in a hurry but we should never be so self involved that we fail to notice the needs of others. It is the little things. It doesn't have to be major accomplishments. I saw a WW II vet in the store last week and I always try to talk with those guys when I see them. His eyes locked on to mine as I came down the isle and I saw the WW II hat he was wearing and I knew I had to stop and talk to him. I explained that to him and that I was a Viet Nam vet. It was a brief talk because the store was really crowded but I could see the look on his face saying how happy he was that anyone would stop and take a few minutes with him. I don't bring this up because I did it, I simply use it as an example.
Let me show you the other side of this. I was in Southern California visiting family and friends some years ago. We were in a restaurant following a mid-week Church service. As we were waiting to be served, another local pastor was seated not far from our table. His order was brought to him and immediately he jumped to his feet and began to verbally abuse the waitress concerning his food. He was yelling at her about his food being cold and how long he had watched it sit at the pick-up counter. Briefly, I was embarrassed; embarrassed that this pastor, representing the Christian faith, had acted in this inexcusable manner. There was a young man, in his teens, seated at the table with this pastor and I couldn't help thinking of what this type of influence would have on him. After the brief time of embarrassment, I mean really brief, I became very angry. This was righteous anger and I was just about to get up and approach him when a senior pastor friend of mine cautioned me of the consequences for everyone at the table with us. Better judgment ruled and I stayed seated but my anger was very slow to subside. I felt so bad for that waitress who was working without any help and she just stood there mortified and embarrassed by this poor excuse for a Christian pastor (I say this because of knowledge of other areas of his life and attitudes).
How could that man ever come back into that restaurant and share Jesus with anyone? Who would be willing to listen to him? We cannot act this way as Christians; we cannot treat others with this type of hostility and then expect them to listen to our testimony. I remember what I was like before I was saved and I would have probably dropped that dish right at his feet as he handed it back to me with that attitude. But, on the other hand, if I was a Christian and did that to an angry customer, I would never be able to share Jesus with them. I recently read a book in which the author shared comments by a friend of his who is in the restaurant business. His friend expressed that Sunday lunch is his worst meal of the week because that is when all the Church people come in. They are rude to the servers and leave skimpy tips. Along with a very skimpy tips are those phony 100 dollar bill tracts which attempt to tell people about Jesus while denouncing the excessive need for money! This is so insulting to those who work in this industry. They really depend on tips for their salary. In the state where I live, the waitress gets an hourly wage of $2.85. So, the tips are what make up the difference and when a table receives a bill of $100-$150 and the tip is $5, that is an insult and a cheap shot to these people. My daughter-in-law works in this industry and I know from her experiences how rude and cheap all people can be let alone Christians. The idea of leaving any tract with the skimpy tip is, as the world always says, hypocritical!!
Christians, we know how the world sees each other. We know and understand how they scratch and bite and fight to be at the top or at the front of the line or in the shining light of importance. We should never allow this attitude to enter into our lives. We should never find ourselves competing with the ways of this world. The work place is another important place to allow those unsaved souls to see Jesus shining through us. We have many opportunities to allow Jesus to be seen in our lives in the work place and we should take advantage of it. Don't allow the job to push Jesus aside; with Jesus we can do our job so much better. I know there are many who just hate their job but, as a Christian, did you ever stop and consider this is where Jesus wants you? The work place is a mission field so take advantage of it. The Lord will always open doors for us to share Him on or at the job site. Don't let this world intimidate you regardless where you are. He is with you always and He will pave the way for us to do His work. Remember this from 1 JN. 5:4-5,
For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.That is really comforting to know; we should all be overjoyed by the fact that we belong to Jesus and He has paid the price for our sin and has given us eternal life with Him. He will always be with us, provide for us and will be faithful even when we are not! We gain nothing by living as the world does, by treating others as the world does and by living for this world. We gain everything and more by allowing Jesus to work in and through our lives in this world. Remember what John said in 1 JN 4:4, "....the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world."
*All scripture is from the New Living Translation
posted by Bill @ 12:45 PM
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