Bring peace when you visit others
It was our staff day off; I walked in ready to print my research for a forthcoming talk and expected to find the offices empty, I noticed a door open, and as my flipflops slapped down the hallway, I heard a voice greet me. I peered into his office and found one of my pastors sitting in a chair reading, with a blanket across his legs, cozy; our air conditioning is working well.
“What are you doing here? It’s your day off?,” I enquired.
“I’m waiting for a delivery of chairs.”
“Can’t they call when the truck is close, you only live five minutes away?”
“Yes, for an extra 200 dollars. Whatever happened to common decency? I mean, a call to say I’m close by, isn’t that just something pleasant to do?”
This got me thinking about how grumpy some of our society has become. I was listening to my teenagers describe disrespectful encounters they have experienced while serving in restaurants.
People forget servers are people and have feelings; all those huffs and puffs, the rolling of eyes across the restaurant floor as the staff run around apologetically, trying to pick them up and hand them back.
The general irritation is noticed, and having servers in the family working their way through school, they recall these details. They then move on to how people respond to each other with that well-known gesture while behind a steering wheel.
One of my teens asked, “Don’t you think people are more bad tempered these days?”
Many people hold that view; yes, people seem angrier after the pandemic. Anger is not easy to specify, but I'm aware of it when I see it or feel it. From slight irritation to more powerful fury, all versions feel unpleasant.
When anger erupts, it boosts our sympathetic nervous system; you fight, take flight, or even freeze.
And when anger lingers, it raises cardiovascular activity and produces an endless anxious mind. Chronic anger and cynical distrust darken the soul; bottom line, it is not good for you. Have you ever received a message in all caps?
You know that person has something to say — many of us live in an all-caps zone.
While the pain of the pandemic created this swirl of the unknown, let us begin to trust that things are changing, and this summer, let’s make every effort to live in peace, greet strangers with love and throw kindness like confetti.
Jesus taught his disciples to always bring peace when visiting others; I’m reminded of this verse, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
(Romans 12:17-18)
Let’s try and unlock the CAPS and live care-full with one another, especially your servers.