Un Poquito de Cada Uno Por Favor
The Space Needle in Seattle
It must not be easy to work in a fast food court. Myriads of customers demand
their food in a rush, expecting the service to be quick and the food to be hot
and delicious. Hardly anyone takes the time to thank the servers, much less to
chat with them. How could they? The customers are in too much of a rush!
Complaints must be numerous, because rushing to fill orders only leads to
mistakes. I expect that there is often more than a little wistful violence in
the thoughts of the servers: "If only I could wring their necks!"
The men's club, consisting of my two boys and myself, were enjoying a wonderful
day in Seattle. We had taken a ferry into the city that morning, and we had
already enjoyed the Space Needle and the Old Curiosity Shop, a must see for
anyone loving exotic things!
The above-ground metro that we took from the Space Needle carried us in a food
court. The place was packed with people and the ethnic food choices were
numerous, but after much debate, we decided on Mexican. When it came our turn to
order, I asked for three super-sized burritos. The next decisions to be made had
to do with what would fill those burritos, and here is where I decided to try my
limited Spanish with the server, who was clearly Mexican: "Un poquito de
cada
uno por favor." (A little bit of each one please)
Immediately the server's frown changed to a broad smile: "Muy bien! (Very
good!)" he said, and his smile remained as he began literally piling ingredients
into my burrito.
When we sat down at a table that had just been vacated, my boys compared their
burritos with mine. "Papa, yours is twice as full as ours! How come?"
I realized then that just by talking to the server in his native language, I had
brightened his day. He had rewarded me with an overfilled burrito!
Being nice to others really pays off, don't you think? Why hadn't I thought
about this before? Imagine the many lost opportunities! God's inspired Word
encourages us to think of others before ourselves: "in humility consider others
better than yourselves" (Phil 2:3 NIV) and to keep on smiling: "Keep a smile on
your face." (Rom 12:8 The Message)
But this wasn't really a first-time revelation. I've often noticed that when you
take the time to talk to a salesclerk at a checkout counter, the clerk's entire
demeanor usually changes. If you smile at them and say something pleasant, they
usually begin to smile back. No, it doesn't work every time, but it's worth the try
for the many times when it will work! Maybe this is why Jesus urges each one of
His followers to love beyond our limits:
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners'
love those who love them… But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to
them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and
you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and
wicked." (Luke 6:32, 35 NIV)
Think about it: How can we reach out to others if we are always frowning?
Wouldn't that deter them from even talking to us? How can we invite someone to
church with a lemon face? "Come to my church. You'll love it!" Wouldn't the
reply be automatic? "How could I love it if you seem so miserable all the time?"
Our actions speak louder than our words, friends. It is our actions that often
determine if we are influencing someone to Christ or to hell. Unless we really care
for people, we cannot impact their lives! "It does make a difference if you hurt
your friend terribly, risking his eternal ruin!" (1 Cor 8:11 The Message)
It's true that it's hard to try and spread cheer all of the time. It's
impossible, really, unless we are tapped into the source of happiness. So if we
don't see others as creatures loved by God and thus, worthy of a little cheer,
if we don't speak about the Lover of our soul with enthusiasm, then it becomes
apparent that we don't really know Him well enough for Him to make a difference
in our lives. It becomes clear that there is something wrong in our
relationship with Him!
It's checkout time! Will you be smiling or frowning? Will you take the time to
bring sunshine, or will you just add to their sense of "rush, rush, rush"?
Does rushing even makes a difference in our time table?
Rob Chaffart