Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, you are doing well. If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” James 2:8-9
A lesson from Walmart? I must admit I don’t visit Walmart very often. In fact, besides Sam’s Club, I don’t visit many stores at all. I’m still mad at Sears for closing. Forever that was my only reason to go to a mall but now they are gone. But back to Walmart. I remember it was after church one Wednesday night and we needed something—you know, like ice cream or iced oatmeal cookies. Anyway, we went through the self-checkout, more out of habit than necessity, and headed for the exit.
Like many places, at Walmart the exit and entrance are side-by-side. As we were leaving there was a person standing there and since I was in one of my chatty moods, I asked her if she was the Walmart greeter, and she told me she was. I shared that at one time that was one of my post-retirement career goals. I love to chat, and I love to greet people. I was motivated many years ago by a guy who used to work at the Anna Walmart and then later transferred to the new Supercenter in Carbondale. He had a deep voice and had his greeting down pat. He would say, “Hello and welcome to Walmart.” I really appreciate what he did and how he did it so well. I thought that when I grew up and retired, I could be a Walmart greeter.
While my wife Judy and I were standing there chatting, sure enough, someone came in the store and the greeter lady paused talking to us to talk to them. While her voice wasn’t as deep and she wasn’t as passionate, she still made sure the folks coming in the door were welcomed and greeted. It so happened that some of the folks who came in the store in that brief time were obviously struggling financially in life. It sure appeared that their life was hard. But here is what I noticed and here is what I knew I had to remember. The greeter lady treated every person who came in the door the exact same way. It did not matter how they were dressed or how they smelled for that matter—each one was treated the same. They were well received and welcomed.
As we walked out the door, I paused to wonder how good of a job do we do at church—our church, your church—any church? Wait—don’t stay there. How about in our daily walk about life? Whether at church or on the sidewalk, do we authentically greet everyone the same? Can we look past the clothes they wear or the number of their tattoos and piercings? Are we able to see them like God sees them—people—prized creations—somebody deemed to be worthy of dying for? Wow—that really made me pause and think.
I think we need to be encouraged to see people as He does and greet them with all the gusto of my favorite Walmart greeter from days gone by. It may have been a job for him, but you would have never guessed it. He loved what he did and maybe to some degree he might have loved the people he greeted. So, starting today, let’s all become not Walmart greeters but Kingdom greeters. Let’s make sure people know that we know the One who loves them most. If you feel like you need to go to greeter school, just ask the Master Greeter. He’ll be glad to help because He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 