Harmony Vs. Haughty

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. - Romans 12:16

My husband and I just finished a stay at a beautiful resort for our anniversary.  While there, we noticed all of the "beautiful people" staying there - many expecting to be waited on hand and foot by the staff and leaving behind messes that most polite people would take care of themselves.  I understand that when staying at these places, that you pay for people to wait on you, but there is still what I consider common courtesy by those being waited on to those that serve them that still should be maintained.  

My husband and I always made sure to pick up as much of our room as we could before housekeeping came in to service the room.  We greeted all of the staff we saw if they didn't beat us to the greeting first.  We never were demanding of the staff and always thanked them for whatever service they were providing.  We even saw one of the staff at the mall on their day off and that particular staff person made sure to greet us and make light conversation in passing.  This same staff member greeted us again the next morning at breakfast just before we left the resort to go home.  He made sure he took my plate from me and insisted that he carry it to my table and spoke with us again briefly.  It was a sad farewell for us, as this was definitely an "Eden"  place for our vacation stay.  My husband then surprised a couple of other staff members who were struggling with a couple of tasks.  I don't think they were used to having someone staying there stopping to help them.  They thanked my husband heartily with very large smiles and words of appreciation as we continued our final walk on the beach and around the pool.

As I stop to think about this while waiting for a flight back to the cold and snow of Chicago, I realized that the more we offer smiles, greetings and aid to others, the more we get in return - especially when those we are helping are so often taken for granted by others.  By noticing them and letting them feel equal and appreciated, you may make their entire day!  There are many times those with jobs that are taken for granted may feel under appreciated and devalued by what they have to do for a living compared to those they are serving, yet there is a place for everyone and all jobs need to be done, therefore, they should be considered equal in the body of Christ and appreciated just as much as someone with some job that is considered important and high- paying. 

Who do you see around you every day that you take for granted?  Have you thanked them for the good job they are doing?  Will you make their day brighter by acknowledging them on equal ground?  Will you stoop to help them where you can to lighten their load?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for all those that have taken on the jobs we have no desire to do ourselves that make our lives easier.  Help us to always acknowledge them and lend a hand when we can to brighten their day as they serve others.  Amen.

~ Wendy Miller