I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalm 46:10
Bill hates his job as grocery store check-out clerk. Not only is it a job he does not want, but you should see the people, he says. They are nasty! I hate this job! I just ring the groceries and bag them, don't even speak to the people unless they speak first!
Rebecca tries to tell Bill, a Christian, that each person going through the line is a child of God. They have their personal problems and pains to deal with, giving Bill an opportunity to demonstrate the love of God to them.
“Yes, they act goofy. They may even be rude,” Rebecca says. “But you are in a position to change their day, to make it better, to show God's love.”
Bill wants nothing to do with what Rebecca tells him, claiming she “doesn’t know what he has to put up with.”
Maybe not. But Rebecca knows that attitude affects how we work. Bill’s bitterness is ruining him as much as it is hurting his customers
Rebecca also knows we are responsible for how we behave, not for how others behave.
If Bill sees God's face in each of his customer’s faces, maybe he will see them as God's children, worthy of respect. And maybe then he can tolerate his job!
All too many of us are stuck in thankless jobs. Perhaps we need to hear Rebecca’s message, too.
PRAYER: Lord, help us to see beyond the everyday tasks and jobs to the people who work with us. We are all made in God’s image, and therefore must be treated with the respect of God. Help us see that THIS is our real job. Amen.
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