Now take that statement service with a smile...and put it in terms of religion. Apparently in the realm of the religious, and more as a rule than an exception in christian realms do we see it take a whole other meaning. Somewhere down the line, in some great movement of faith someone had to have taught that what Jesus really meant by being a servant, was that Christians are to step on everyone else, but do it with a smile.
I was a server for about a year or so. I enjoyed it, I love serving people. To be honest, one of the groups of people that drove me to hate my job were 'Christians'. You could usually tell who these people were when they came in. Dressed casually, but nice, or dressed extremely nice. They usually come in with the whole family, or if older their spouse. Smiles from ear to ear, and 'joy' oozes from them as they just sat in the presence of a gifted pastoral figure that made them feel good about themselves for not being as much as a sinner as those that weren't there. Because you're serving on a Sunday you must not be a Christian. Strike One (and usually that is enough strikes that you get an attitude). These people sit there and smile the entire time, they usually forcibly order for their kids the cheapest thing on the menu, then order soup and salad for themselves (so long as it's unlimited). Mom makes sure the kids get milk, no pop, and then mom and dad have a glass of tea. What I never figured out is how I got them mad. They never seemed to stop smiling, but at every turn they were complaining and sending me back and forth as if they were the only table I had. In fact, most of the time they went to a manager, not about me directly, but about their experience as a whole. The whole time, stepping on you with a smile.
That was kind of mild in comparison with some encounters I had, and yes, that was a real situation with a real family in a real restaurant that I served at.
What about working in a Christian environment? Surely that wouldn't be so bad? Everyone is working towards the same goal, with the same end in mind?
People seem to think that because they're a 'Christian' and you're a 'Christian' that if they want you to do something and you're supposed to serve with a smile then you have to do it. There's that old two step, making life more miserable in the religious community. Unfortunately once again, this happens to be the rule rather than the exception while working or serving in a place that is supposed to run like the church in the bible. A church that Paul described as the body of Christ, fluid, one coherent machine, one mind.
This is extremely aggravating to most Christians. Yet we put this golden rule into practice with others right after we've been crushed between the proverbial toes of some other pious religious moron.
I'm not going to pretend that I haven't done this to any one, because I'm sure I have. I'm also not going to try and suggest a fix for it because I'm not sure I have one beyond Christ's calling for us to serve Him, and placing ourselves and our agenda to the side.
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