Generous living

[unmowngrass]

Yesterday, Nik preached on generous living.
The sermon can be found here: http://www.newcastlebaptist.org.uk/sermons/

He opened with a story of waiters complaining that the "church table" was usually the least generous in terms of tips. And how horrible that we have such a reputation, given the generosity of God.

Point, very much, point, but, I can see how it got that way.

I've seen how willingly, how happily, Christians serve each other. They're genuinely happy to do so. And how well they work as a team -- if something needs doing, people will jump in without being asked and it's not unusual at all to encounter the minister undertaking one of the more servant-oriented roles, such as sweeping the floor or stacking the chairs. Simultaneously, if people need more help, they're not afraid to ask. And the welcome that Christians give each other is... so welcoming. Really really happy to see each other. There's an air of "you're safe here, you can breathe again."

By contrast, that feeling just does not come from someone who's only there for the money and has to paint on their happy face because they're going to work. (Granted, there are people who work in the 'hospitality industry' who are genuinely welcoming, but in my experience, they are few and far between. And they're not the ones just in it for the money, either.) I've never seen the manager of an eatery sweeping the floor. If a table is kept waiting (bad service in itself!), it's rare that another server will jump in to make it up to them. And when there has been more than one server, there's usually mis-communications between them and it usually doesn't speed things up at all.

So I can understand, putting those two experiences next to each other, by going out straight after church, that the service provided by the paid employees could be judged quite harshly. People probably think they're being rather forgiving by not mentioning it.