Welcome to Wal-Mart!

When you walk into Wal-Mart or any other business that staffs a greeter to stand at the door and greet incoming customers, how do you respond?  Can you even begin to imagine the variety of responses they may receive in a given day?  I suspect that the reactions range from joyful all the way to down right mean.  This is just an assumption and not a scientific experiment.  As I consider this question, I am pondering how I personally react and respond when greeted by someone.  This causes me to expand my thought process into how I treat others like the cashier, or other customers who may be in my way while trying to look at the hot sauce shelf.  Maybe it is the customer walking down the middle of the parking lot while I am trying to get a vacant spot close to the store.  I then go on to consider how I react to the car that needs to make a last minute lane change to execute a right turn in front of me while en route.  Now I am ready just forget about writing this blog and find something else to do because I am feeling very convicted about how I even treat my family sometimes, and others I care deeply about.

Why is that that we (OK, I) have a tendency to forget the joy of salvation in Christ and treat people with such a sour attitude?  Are we not called to be imitators of Christ? (Ephesians 5:1- "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children")  How are we (OK, I) supposed to effectively share the gospel of Christ if I struggle treating others with a loving heart?  Aha- It is a heart issue.  OK, I already knew this but needed a strenuous reminder this morning.  As I was doing my quiet time this morning and reading in a book called Pursuit of Holiness, (We are doing a youth bible study using this book. You should check it out) I was reminded that I need to understand the holiness of Christ and His desire to manifest that holiness in me to the extent that I am willing to submit to Him.  See, if I get too caught up in my own life, if I allow the things of this world to take my eyes off of Him, if I let the burdens of life prevent me from spending time with Him then my holiness, which is not mine but His, begins to wane.  When that happens, my joy of salvation begins to fade and I develop a sorry attitude which prompts me to treat others poorly. 

Bottom line is that I do not want to do this!  I want everyday to be about serving my savior!  I want to bring honor and glory to Him through all I say, think and do!  I want others to see Him living in and through me!  I can't do it alone! HE MUST DO IT THROUGH ME!  I MUST BE SUBJECT TO HIM!.

How about you?  How do you treat the greeter at Wal-Mart?  How are you expressing the joy of your salvation?  How is your daily one on one relationship with the savior?  How are you doing with the daily challenge from Monday?  God never misses an opportunity to bless the obedience of His people!

Waiting on Him,
ML