A Waiter’s Tale
Recently I read a story about a New Testament scholar who had been invited, along with fifty other ministers, to a reception at a local hostel to take place following an evening preaching service. The man noticed that there were not enough waiters available to serve the coffee, soft drinks and cookies to cover the room. Because of this professional occasion, he had dressed formally, so he decided he probably looked like the waiting crews’ supervisor. Just to help out, he began pouring drinks into some of the glasses for the guests.
About that time, a distinguished looking pastor stepped to the table. This scholar served him a glass of the soft drink and tried to startup a conversation with this pastor. But this man responded with a rude tone of voice that all he really wanted was something to drink, glared at the scholar, turned and walked away without saying another word.
It seems to me that in today’s world, this happens far too often. Too many of us generally look down on and ridicule people in food service, especially the people who serve the food. Unfortunately, I have heard waitresses in our area tell that sometimes the rudest diners are the folk who come in about noon on Sunday (and they generally leave the smaller tips). I submit this to try and correct this. These servers are on their feet during their entire shifts, then they are working during the hours when most people generally relax to eat a meal; many times they carry huge, heavy trays of food, and I don’t think their pay check meets a living wage. My point: waiting tables is not an easy job; we need to show more respect to those serving us when we decide to dine out.
My story has an interesting ending. When the leader of the reception asked the ministers to gather for a discussion, the scholar found himself sitting behind the man who had been so crass. After commenting on the sermon all the people in the room had just heard, the lead said, “Let’ hear the opinion of our resident New Testament specialist,” and called upon this scholar. When the rude pastor turned to see who was behind him, he quickly turned away and bowed his head.
After the meeting was over, the discourteous pastor walked purposely up to the scholar and began to speak all kind of flattering words and complimentary phrases, but never apologized for the disrespectful way he had talked and acted earlier. The scholar was stunned, thinking to himself, what happened? I’m still the same person, and found he had a bad taste in his mouth.
Many comments could be made about the conceit and egotism of the “distinguished” pastor, but I want to concentrate on the scholar’s feelings. No one likes to be treated rudely. But more than that, his story illustrates an all-too-true attitude and trend. We make unfair judgments about people because of the type of work they do – like some jobs are more worthy than others (if we have a stopped up kitchen sink, a good plumber is the most worthy job in the world). Waiting tables is a tiring, tough and honorable profession. I encourage all of us, myself included, to be more respectful and kind to the next person who hands us a menu - and to leave a fair tip before we rise from the table.