On Tuesday nights I meet with a few of our high school guys for a kind of free-flowing discussion time about life, God, the Bible, and ethics. Every night the guys bring topics or questions to throw in front of the group and we discuss back and forth until we're exhausted or in agreement. It's a fun group to lead along.
This last Tuesday, one of the kids brought an interesting question. At first it seemed almost silly, but the more I thought about it, the more "meat" there was to the idea. The question was, "Why do we get so mad at fast food workers who mess up our orders?"
This last Tuesday, one of the kids brought an interesting question. At first it seemed almost silly, but the more I thought about it, the more "meat" there was to the idea. The question was, "Why do we get so mad at fast food workers who mess up our orders?"
First of all, I resonated with the sentiment because I used to be a fast food worker. I spent a LOT of my junior and senior year perfecting the art of the sandwich at Subway (really, that's what they called us - "sandwich artists"). And I remember the rude customers who often came in with demands to be met. If you messed something up AT ALL, look out!
And, honestly, you know what day was the worst? Sundays. The after church crowd was consistently the most entitled and condescending crowd we got all week. That isn't to say that everyone who came in dressed up on Sunday afternoon was rude. Just a lot.
And, honestly, you know what day was the worst? Sundays. The after church crowd was consistently the most entitled and condescending crowd we got all week. That isn't to say that everyone who came in dressed up on Sunday afternoon was rude. Just a lot.
And I could spend a long time on why that might be. I have theories. But that isn't really the point. The question is, why do we treat workers that way, and specifically, how should Christians be thinking about/treating the workers they encounter.
Of course, the guys fell back on the old Christian-answer standard of, "Be nice." Initial answers went something like, "You should be mad, they messed up YOUR food, but try not to take it out on the person."
But I wasn't satisfied. In fact, I find the constant call upon Christians to "Be nice" frustrating. It's not that I don't want followers of Jesus to be nice. It's just that "nice" doesn't really have anything to do with the Bible. Jesus wasn't nice, exactly. He was loving, for sure, but I wouldn't call him nice. He was actually really mean to the Pharisees. And he was pretty blunt with a few people along his way.
But when I think about how Jesus interacted with strangers in the Gospels, I'm struck by something. Everyone is a person to Jesus. And that is not something that comes easy for me - treating people like people.
Let me explain.
Of course, the guys fell back on the old Christian-answer standard of, "Be nice." Initial answers went something like, "You should be mad, they messed up YOUR food, but try not to take it out on the person."
But I wasn't satisfied. In fact, I find the constant call upon Christians to "Be nice" frustrating. It's not that I don't want followers of Jesus to be nice. It's just that "nice" doesn't really have anything to do with the Bible. Jesus wasn't nice, exactly. He was loving, for sure, but I wouldn't call him nice. He was actually really mean to the Pharisees. And he was pretty blunt with a few people along his way.
But when I think about how Jesus interacted with strangers in the Gospels, I'm struck by something. Everyone is a person to Jesus. And that is not something that comes easy for me - treating people like people.
Let me explain.
When Anne and I went on our honeymoon to Maine after our wedding, Anne decided we could save money by avoiding toll roads. So, in an ill-fated decision (in a pre-smart-phone-era) she plotted our our course through rural upstate New York. We spent 8 hours driving up one mountain and down another. And we'd go 200 miles without seeing anything that I'd consider a town.
But along the way we saw an occasional person, and a house here and there. And the entire time I was joking with Anne that these people "weren't real."
"No one REALLY lives up here," I joked. "These are just stand-ins to make us feel like we're in a real place."
But those WERE real people. The children we saw playing were really growing up, making memories, and living life. But to me, they were just characters in the funny story of our strange New York road trip.
But along the way we saw an occasional person, and a house here and there. And the entire time I was joking with Anne that these people "weren't real."
"No one REALLY lives up here," I joked. "These are just stand-ins to make us feel like we're in a real place."
But those WERE real people. The children we saw playing were really growing up, making memories, and living life. But to me, they were just characters in the funny story of our strange New York road trip.
And I think for most people, the wage workers they encounter are also just characters. We might smile, and be nice but we don't really see a full human underneath the Subway hat. We rarely empathize with the person bagging our groceries. We don't always consider the stress on the drive-thru operator.
And because these people become functional, rather than actual, in our lives, if they get something wrong it is a BIG deal. This, I told the kids, is why I think we get so mad. If the person who makes my sandwich (who, as far as I'm usually concerned, only exists to make sandwiches) makes a mistake, why shouldn't I be angry??? And we hear it in angry customers, "THIS IS YOUR JOB!!!! HOW CAN YOU MESS THIS UP!!!!"
There is no recognition that we might be the 200th order they've had that day and they got mixed up. Or that they might have just gotten an upsetting text message. Or that their new baby kept them up all night. We just see a defective sandwich robot, and we want it to work correctly.
And because these people become functional, rather than actual, in our lives, if they get something wrong it is a BIG deal. This, I told the kids, is why I think we get so mad. If the person who makes my sandwich (who, as far as I'm usually concerned, only exists to make sandwiches) makes a mistake, why shouldn't I be angry??? And we hear it in angry customers, "THIS IS YOUR JOB!!!! HOW CAN YOU MESS THIS UP!!!!"
There is no recognition that we might be the 200th order they've had that day and they got mixed up. Or that they might have just gotten an upsetting text message. Or that their new baby kept them up all night. We just see a defective sandwich robot, and we want it to work correctly.
This is what makes Jesus so amazing in passages like John 4. When he encounters the woman at the well, there are many reasons for him to categorically dismiss her. Or to view her functionally as someone who can provide him water. She even expects as much. She doesn't think Jesus should talk to her. But he speaks with her directly. He is not dismissively nice. He's even somewhat confrontational at times. But he treats this woman like a human (when likely few others were) and it TRANSFORMS her.
When we let our anger get the best of us, or even when we just pleasantly sail past people we view as "functional" we are missing something fundamental. In every person we encounter, we see Jesus (MT 25). In every person alive, we see the image of God (Gen. 1:26). Kindness to strangers is not an abstract law of niceness in the Christian universe. It flows from a fundamental understand of God, creation, and God's love for humanity.
So my question for you is this - are you treating humans like humans at work, at home, at church, and in the market place? Do you recognize the dignity, and even imprint of divinity on those you encounter? We cannot live the Gospel and help people find and follow Jesus if we do not.
When we let our anger get the best of us, or even when we just pleasantly sail past people we view as "functional" we are missing something fundamental. In every person we encounter, we see Jesus (MT 25). In every person alive, we see the image of God (Gen. 1:26). Kindness to strangers is not an abstract law of niceness in the Christian universe. It flows from a fundamental understand of God, creation, and God's love for humanity.
So my question for you is this - are you treating humans like humans at work, at home, at church, and in the market place? Do you recognize the dignity, and even imprint of divinity on those you encounter? We cannot live the Gospel and help people find and follow Jesus if we do not.
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