A Place Worth Living In

A couple days before Christmas, I sat in a very long fast food line waiting to get three kids their favorite treat-chicken nuggets. To save money I hadn’t got the very much coveted happy meal. Sorry kids, no toy this time. It was too close to Christmas. I had also not ordered myself anything but looking at the picture menu as I sat waiting, I thought,”A latte would be nice. I’ll ask her if I can add it when I reach the window.”

At the window, I asked to add the latte but for some reason the computer had frozen up. I didn’t really mind but she was insistent on getting it to ring up. I was getting antsy as I hate making people wait for me. I nervously looked through my rear view mirror. The older man behind me was waving his hand around, talking to the air. I could only imagine the things he was saying about the momma in front with the mini-van FULL of kids.

At first, a wave of anger washed over me. I thought, “He really needs to step into my shoes before getting so angry over waiting a few extra minutes.”

Then I looked at his clothes. He had obviously been working hard, as his clothes appeared rugged and worn from a dusty job. The pickup truck he was driving looked to be one from the late 80’s. He reminded me of so many good men I have been blessed to know that work hard outside jobs. As if God was giving me a good talking to, I decided to let it go and give this man some much needed grace.

“Ma'am? I’ve got the second manager to fix the problem. It will be $4.85.”

“Aw thank you. Please use my card to pay for the man behind me as well.” She looked up from her register as if surprised and said she would. The manager behind her popped her head around the corner and said,”Looks like someone’s got the Christmas Spirit!”

Smiling at the ladies I said, “Be sure to tell him Merry Christmas from me.”

I grabbed the latte and nuggets as quick as I could and sped away. I don’t know what came over me but  I didn’t want to catch his reaction! Maybe it was because I was still embarrassed that I had held up the line for so long. Or maybe it was because I was so excited for having done something good, that I didn’t want to spoil the moment by hanging around to get a ‘thank you.' But for whatever reason it was, I definitely felt like I had done my job as a servant for Christ.

Friends, our number one job is to treat others with kindness-even when they don’t deserve it. If Jesus can love us with all our faults, why shouldn’t we be able to replicate that to others? Selfishness is one of our biggest problems today. We believe others should do for us without even thinking of how we should treat them. People are often self-centered;only thinking of how to please themselves. They often focus on how someone else isn't contributing to their emotional well-being; as if another person were responsible for their happiness! But what if we turned the tables and started to be selfless? What if we thought about how to bless others before we blessed ourselves? I'd venture to believe our world would be a totally different place...a place worth living in.

“But— When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.”

‭‭Titus‬ ‭3:4-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬