“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2
We went out for dinner and were quite surprised when not 1, but 2 servers came to our table. It turned out that one was in training and the other was the trainer. Not wanting to delay or cut into their training and profit making time, and since we already knew everything we wanted, we quickly ordered. It didn’t take long to realize we weren’t really ‘cutting in’ on ANYTHING!
Looking back on the experience, I realize I should have figured service would take longer than normal, because if each step had to be explained, it would take time to do so. And since we weren’t in any real hurry, it really didn’t matter. Until it did!
After finishing the meal, we stacked all of our stuff together to make it easier to ‘bus’ the table. My wife and kids had all been restaurant servers, so the kind gesture simply became habit. Having been a ‘commission only’ salesperson most of my life, ‘my’ part, was coming up. All I needed was the bill… … … …!
After about 5 minutes I started looking for the servers. I finally saw them in the back of the restaurant… talking. Several minutes later, they were STILL talking. Me, being me, and being in ministry, I had to remind myself of this Bible verse because, having lost sight of ‘their’ goal, I HAD to stay focused on mine! I was irritate because they were facing us… with their backs!
French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Last night, I almost forgot that lesson. It is an easy one to forget when I lose focus of the ‘main thing.’ I have found that the length of my ‘forgetfulness’ is directly proportional to my own ‘selfishness.’
I have to laugh at the thought, that in Old Testament times, the sacrificial lamb had to be brought to the alter, slain and placed there to atone for sin. The lamb had NO say in the matter. Now, in New Testament times, and because of the ‘Lamb of God’s’ voluntary sacrifice, “I” am required to drag MYSELF to the alter and climb up on it! Anything LESS is a sign of losing focus! In an age of growing selfishness, I have to remind myself daily! I am trying to make it my goal to keep my life in check… and to NEVER keep my back ‘turned’ toward ‘The Savior! ‘ Please take this as a tip from a guy who knows how to blow it!
