2:51 – Respect All Those Who Work For You

#faithbites #faithjourney respect

Did you tip the pizza guy last time he delivered in the snow? Did you chat and treat the waitress well when she brought your check. Are you a person who respects all service providers including friends who help you?

We all do for others and have others do for us. I used to think a garbage man was lesser because he didn’t go to college and cleaned up our trash. Then my dad told me what garbage men (sorry sanitation engineers) make and what they go through. Then I got it. The same can be said for jobs that we call menial: baby sitting, trash, construction, food service, lawn care, and the list goes on and on.

I have seen the hardships everyone goes through regardless if they have a prestigious job or a minimum wage job (in many cases multiple minimum wage jobs). Another thing my dad told me was that we all put our pants on the same way. No one is better than someone else. No matter how high or how lowly we think someone is, all deserve to be treated with respect.

Scripture

• “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ – Matthew 25:40
• Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. – Deuteronomy 24:14
• Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. – Ephesians 6:9

Reflection

In God’s eyes, none are better or worse than others. When we treat someone who we deem lesser than us without respect, this is how we are treating the Lord. We are commanded to not take advantage of service workers regardless if they are like us. Finally, in Ephesians, we see that while we may see ourselves as a master of people in “menial jobs” we have our own master. God shows no partiality in his people, nor shall we.

I have seen waitresses, babysitters, construction workers, food service works, and more treated like garbage. Called ignorant, uneducated, lazy, and stupid. I have also seen them treated as second class citizens. Guess what? Without them, we would be doing that job and probably not as good as they do it. Sure, there are badly behaved and well behaved people in all job classes. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat people as individuals, but in fact, not degrade or demean just because of their occupation or because “they work for us”.

We all work for God in his plan. Let us remember that the next time we interact with someone who provides necessary services to our society.

Charge

Do you treat someone in power differently than you do someone in the service industry? Perhaps, you show more respect to your boss than you do the janitor. Today’s charge is to show the same amount of high respect to the janitor that you do for your boss and beyond. All of God’s children are equal in his eyes and should be treated as such here on earth.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for all the service people in our lives. Give them the strength and opportunities to succeed in whatever way they chose. Help us to remember that you have no favorites in your people. That we are all parts of the body of Christ and all needed to function properly. Help us to always be humble and respectful to all your children. In your name, Amen