Pop quiz: Can you remember the name of the security guard at the place you worked at fifteen years ago? How about at where you work now? How about the name of the cleaning person?
Strange questions, right? Well, not really. As Christians, especially if we are ministers of the gospel, we are supposedly interested in all people. Too often though, we are only interested in the “-ful” people—beautiful, successful, powerful… If we are honest, we don’t often fare any better than Samuel did when he went looking for Saul’s replacement (1 Samuel 16). The Lord still has to remind us that “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
I worked in computer support for twenty years before leaving it last summer to answer the call to pastoral ministry. One thing I learned early on was to get to know the four key people in any office: The receptionist, the security guard, the cleaning crew and the secretaries—the very people whom most of my coworkers over the years never paid attention to. Take Bob for example.
Despite his contagious, wide smile and grandfatherly gentleness, most of the people in the company I worked for back in the mid-1990s totally disregarded Bob. To them he was just some old guy night watchmen–the retiree rent-a-cop–who came on shift as we were all heading home for the day.
He was fifty years older than me, but we became office buddies. Every day I talked to Bob on my way out, sometimes for almost an hour. He was a great guy with a fast wit. We would shake our heads in disbelief when he would say goodnight to someone heading out the door and they would not even acknowledge him! It was as if he was invisible and to them he was. Now really, is that any way to treat a retired Secret Service agent who guarded four different presidents and had the 8×10 glossies to prove it? Of course, they never took the time to learn that about Bob…
Bob was certainly an exception, but he is still a good reminder of what (or who) we can miss when we treat “the least” the same way everyone else treats them. And what about opportunities for the gospel? Just tonight I was able to give a gospel tract to one of the catering staff at a function. These are the people who usually only get attention when the hors d’oeuvres tray is empty. Believe me, I don’t say this to boast—I miss more opportunities than I take—but the point is the same: Look for those people everyone else over looks and then get to know them!
Excellent thoughts, Anthony.
Thank you Anthony . . . this is a beautiful post.
The idea of ‘respect’ and ‘the dignity of the human person made in the image of God’ is a theme that needs to be re-examined closely by the followers of Christ who may be tempted to act, as the world does, towards others by ‘kissing up’ and ‘kicking down’.
Thanks again. Your post is Christ-honoring and thought-provoking.
“Your post is Christ-honoring and thought-provoking”
Mission accomplished! Praise the Lord! 🙂
Thanks Christiane!
This story reminds me of the recent Valarie Jarret dust-up. She was at a dinner and glanced over her shoulder to tell a waiter she needed more wine. It wasn’t a waiter she addressed but a four-star general. So many people live their life as if there are people on this planet who are there only to serve them and they don’t even bother to make eye contact or even bother to make sure the person they’re demanding service from is the actual server. This is something I strive to teach my kids wherever we are. Take a moment to… Read more »
So true, Bess! I love the Valarie Jarret story too. I’ve met a couple executives of Fortune 500 companies. One had no problem getting on his hands and knees at a conference to help clean up a safety hazard on the floor. Another used to make his elderly secretary come in and check his email kneeling down at the computer beside him! Love the bit about the Jesus bumper sticker–so true!
Anthony, my heads roiling around with this idea that we spend so much time communicating through “technology” that we’re losing the ability to connect with real life people. My husband and I tease the kids about using their phones for texting – “You know that you could actually TALK to someone on that thing? You know, hear the other person’s voice?” Also I think that the world moves so fast that people tend to spend so much time in their heads that they fail to actually look up and notice all the people who cross their paths in the course… Read more »
Yup. We’ve gone from writing heartfelt personal letters, to semi-heartfelt emails, to text messages…nowadays a parent might say “good night” to their kid simply by reading their kid’s updated Facebook status of “goin 2 bed” and clicking “Like”!
Guest Blogger: And what about opportunities for the gospel? Just tonight [1] I was able to give a gospel tract to one of the catering staff at a function. These are the people who usually only get attention when the hors d’oeuvres tray is empty. Believe me, I don’t say this to boast— [2] I miss more opportunities than I take—but the point is the same: [3] Look for those people everyone else over looks and then get to know them! Norm (AKA bapticus hereticus): [1] Attention? [2] Maybe a good thing for those with perceptions that it is all… Read more »
Norm, I don’t think Anthony is implying that we use every casual contact with anyone we come across to present a full gospel presentation. We should always be open to any opportunities because God does bring us in contact with people for a purpose. As Christian’s it is our responsibility to be aware of other people as people equal and worthy as we are ourselves are worthy. Make eye contact, remember please and thank you. Don’t just treat the waitstaff as you’re own personal slaves. You don’t keep people from performing their jobs, but you shouldn’t just treat people as… Read more »
Bess: … God does bring us in contact with people for a purpose. Norm (AKA bapticus hereticus): I agree with much of what you write, Bess, and will chase a rabbit with the above comment. That we are in the particular place in a particular moment that God would prefer is not a given, thus assigning all experiences as being of primary purpose (even if good stems from it) is an open question, but given the interpretations that we would grant for our being, it is unlikely that any of us would assign all experiences as being primarily purposeful; yet… Read more »
Well, given the fact that you believe that people of other faiths (muslims, etc) are saved by God apart from personally, consciously placing their faith in Christ (that’s called inclusivism), you’re more than welcome to not share the gospel with folks you meet since, by believing what you do, you demonstrate that you don’t know the gospel. In other words, I hope you keep your false gospel to yourself.
It includes you, Joe; can it be entirely false?
Actually, no, it doesn’t include me. I will get to heaven only becaue of God’s grace. I trusted Christ to save me. I know Christ is my Savior.
Inclusivism is entirely false because it contradicts God’s inerrant word.
Norm, again I don’t think anyone is advocating tying up the waitress at Denny’s and forcing her to read a giant Bible we’ve toted about. It is REQUIRED of us as Christians that we act “decently and appropriately given the occasion” If I have any ability to act decently and appropriately it is ONLY because of Christ in me. Yes it is possible for Christians to be overzealous and use inopportune times in presenting the Gospel. Yes Christians can and do evangelize for the wrong reasons. BUT God can take our mistakes and our bungles and bring about fruit. The… Read more »
Bess, please forgive me for disagreeing somewhat, but if I felt that tying up the waitress at Denny’s and forcing her to read a giant Bible would bring her to Christ — pass the rope and I’ll bring the Bible 🙂 On a more serious note when Jesus taught in a parable to “go out into the highways and byways and COMPEL people to come in,” that word “compel” is interesting. It is a compound word formed from the root of the word meaning arm, and the word, constrain. Thus, constrain (distress, bend) an arm. The problem people have with… Read more »
Bess: And Norm I think you’ve missed the entire point of the original post which is that we need humility and we need to recognize our own humanity more, so that we can treat those which society may deem as less, as Christ would have us treat them. It’s exactly the opposite of thinking ourselves the Star who deserves the service and work of others on our behalf. Norm (AKA bapticus hereticus): Bess, who said anything about putting a Bible in one’s hand? I believe the material given was a tract, which in the setting described is inappropriate. Second, to… Read more »
I think we agree Frank. We need to live our lives looking for the opportunites to present the Gospel. Obviously you can’t go too deep in the line at the grocery store but at times in a restaurant that’s a little slow you may have a chance. For our family we always ask our server if there is anything we can pray about for them at our blessing. Many many times we have servers who will have something they would like us to pray about and that leads an opportunity to talk more and or/least leave a track with a… Read more »
OK Norm, I get you now. No giving a tract is not inappropriate, but it sounds like you have all sorts of rules and regulations about presenting the Gospel which actually means that you think the Gospel presentation is about the person giving it and not about Power of the Gospel itself. The story with the Baptist and your dog shows your heart and it’s not humility that you showed in that instance or are showing now that you are laughing about the poor fool fundalmentalist that you allowed into your home but didn’t think you had any obligation to… Read more »
Thanks, Bess. I never thought about barricading the door. New technique 🙂
Norm, I don’t know what crystal ball you use to determine the “Guest Blogger’s heart” is “cheesy, impersonal, drive-by, or cute.” I also suspect you very rarely ever have a serious conversation with someone that leads to a life-changing, eternity changing, repentance bringing encounter with Jesus Christ. While I don’t want to judge you too harshly according to your character, I think this is a reasonable assumption based upon 1) well-established statistics, and 2) your words expressed in numerous blogs. The fact is that 95% of those who self-identify as a “believer” NEVER share their faith with another person in… Read more »
Frank you’ve reminded me of the experience of one of our best friends who is just one of the sweetest most genuine Chrisitan women you could ever meet. She grew up in an abusive non Christian home. This is back in the 70’s when the church gimmicks were at a height and it was all about numbers. Her local church was in a competition with two other churches for a period of Sundays to see which church could outdo the other in SS numbers. This church evangelist at her neighborhood church walked the streets of the neighborhood (this was in… Read more »
Frank L: Norm, I don’t know what crystal ball you use to determine the “Guest Blogger’s heart” is “cheesy, impersonal, drive-by, or cute.” Norm (AKA bapticus hereticus): At best, Anthony is indirectly mentioned, but do notice the focus of the comments is on what ‘we’ can do, not what ‘Anthony’ has done or what ‘Anthony’ should cease to do. I was once a player of cheesy, impersonal, drive-by, and cute methods of evangelism, often found in and celebrated by SBC congregations. I don’t know if it is due to becoming wiser or older, probably older, for I make no claims… Read more »
Anthony,
Good points. It just could be that one day we will be suprised at how God values those who serve, as opposed to those who live to be served.
Those who serve also present us with great opportunities to witness, if we do it right; treat them with respect, give a tract, and a bigger than usual tip.
David R. Brumbelow
David, I couldn’t agree more here. I worked as a waiter putting myself through college. I generally had to work Sunday mornings which did not bother me, but I got to witness quite a few encounters between servers and people eating lunch after church. I cannot tell you how many times people left a track in lieu of a tip. One even had the audacity to leave a handwritten note of “this is worth way more than any amount of money I could leave…” I also remember a young waitress messing up the order at a table and apologized profusely.… Read more »
Absolutely.
Norm, interesting observations. If I am reading your comment correctly, you are correct that if we do things to draw attention to ourselves we are doing them for the wrong motive. There are natural times when a conversation can turn to the Gospel (such as Jesus and the woman at the well) and times when it is simply not appropriate to get into it (such as taking up a server’s time straining to make conversation during their busy times). In those cases, as David creatively suggests above, maybe a generous tip and tract are the way to go. I would… Read more »
Anthony, powerful reminder. May God use this post to challenge us all to see others as He sees them. selahV
Thank you, selahV.
These are the people in the world my heart is closest to. Even if Bob wasn’t a retired Secret Service agent and had nothing apparently significant in his life to speak of he would still be valuable in God’s eyes. I was overseas recently. I can’t tell you where, but my companions and I were at a restaurant with some local ministers, men who were taking the gospel to the local worker’s camp. Being men, they only had access to the men’s worker camp, but to date there had been no way to reach the women’s camp. Parenthetically, the worker… Read more »
Jim,
You’re exactly right. As it happened, I got to know Bob before I knew about his previous career. While we can ooh and aah over that particular kind of unique career, it is also a reminder that every person we meet has some wonderful stories in their lives.
Thanks for commenting with that story. The Lord is so amazing in how He organizes the advancement of His Church!
Thanks again.