Walking the Walk.

That's what Jesus did.

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We do not need to observe Western culture very closely to realize that it is captivated by the religion of the mediator.  

"The Spiritual Disciplines: Mediation"

I haven’t blogged in a bit. But I have lived. And I believe that thoughts are only meaningful to put on a page if there's life that goes along with it. When I start to see patterns in the things I learn, the thoughts that form in my head, and the messages I receive from others, I know it’s time to get it on paper (or a Word document in this day and age).
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I have been working at a restaurant for the past two months and I can say, without a doubt, that it has been the hardest job I’ve ever worked. Never have I fully understood how hard those in the service industry work until I worked in it. 
​(bolded for a reason!!! Take note.)
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One Saturday, I was rolling silverware to get out and go home. That’s the last thing you do in order to get checked out by a closer to go home. I was polishing the forks and knives in front of me as a couple other servers were blaspheming (yeah, I just used that word) on religions. I just did my own thing until Olive told me she was sorry for hating on my religion, which I responded with a smile, and said “It’s okay!” In my mind, I was just thinking about what religion they were talking about because it wasn’t mine. That’s when she also said, ​

You're different though, Liv. You don't judge others; you just show it.

​And let me tell you—I had to fight the pride of taking the compliment for myself. I told her that that was one of the best compliments anyone could give me, and then I asked her how other religions were. Funny thing how when we talked about religion, we talked about the people of the religion. We, along with another server, had a really cool conversation on calling out patterns we’ve noticed. 
 
Religious people are so judgmental and don’t agree with my ways. They are rich and don’t understand. They speak shit and gossip about their closest friends, but seem to find the sticks in other people’s eyes over the logs in their own. 
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with great power comes great responsibility. (spidey)

​Our conversation made me realize the weight of being ambassadors of the church. Let me remind you that a church is not only a building, but a people. Us believers are the ones doing the change in the world through the Holy Spirit, not a building that only a percentage of the population will walk into on Sunday mornings. 
 
That night, I talked to Grace, my (AWESOME) roommate, about it. (I’m really good at barging into my roommates’ rooms to randomly rant my thoughts so that I don’t forget them). I asked her, How can we be better??  Because it’s so true! How can people write that “Jesus loves you” on their tip, and then tip less than 5%? 
 
If guests truly knew that servers depend on all their tips to make their money, wouldn’t they understand the practicality of going to a restaurant if and only if they have the money to also account for the tip at the end of the meal? If they knew that the standard 20% tip was what a server depended on to walk home with something in their pockets, isn’t it common sense (and decency) to help their brother or sister out? How can us believers represent ourselves in a way that doesn’t only proclaim our faith, but also show our faith?
 
In order to give grace to those poor Christian tippers, here’s what I came up with as a reason--they don’t know what it’s like because they never walked the walk. I say this statement confidently only because I was the same way before I became a server. I didn’t ever how much to tip, and I only tipped the standard 15-20% because that’s what my parents taught me. 
 
 To clarify my thoughts even more, I’ll throw in the cliché quote written all over prints and wall décor (which is by the way, super ironic because it proclaims a statement that is really needed to be done to hold true):
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Actions speak louder than words.

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​And let’s go even further to top the cherry on my sundae spiel (I’m also writing this on a Sunday, so Sunday Spiel, to get even punnier) by looking into Scripture in which us brothers and sisters in Christ base our entire faith on. You know, that one dude (I think his name is Jesus):
 
Jesus walked the walk. He didn’t just proclaim the gospel, but he shared it WHILE he hung out with some pretty broken disciples, washed people’s stinky feet, served others in healings and the performance of miracles, and ultimately—died the death that we deserve.
 
Jesus walked the walk of others. I truly believe that that was what made the difference for Olive to tell me I was different. I could have asked her to some boujee-ass coffeeshop (which I’m working on after I convince her to take my spin class) and tell her how cool Jesus is. I could get her a Bible and show her all the things that Jesus has done for her. I could be wearing my cutest outfit and love on her so easily because I was comfortable in my Lululemon leggings and had my coffee addiction met by a sweet, iced latte in hand. 
 
Instead, I met Olive where she was at, which was at the time (and honestly most the time, because she has been working so hard to pay for a new car with air conditioning, move to a new apartment, and live life independently) at the restaurant. 

​That’s what it took: to meet her where she’s at in a place where I also was at. In this case, it was in a restaurant with damp jeans that stuck to my legs from the heat, greasy hair from working a double, smelly breath that was, thank goodness—muffled in a cloth masked to my face, and tired fingers from rolling endless silverware with her. Despite my exhaustion that made the soles of my feet ache with each step and dehydration that stung my throat from forgetting to drink enough water, I trusted my training. And that training was not what religion taught me, but what Jesus taught me (and also Paul, the apostle, for that matter): that even in the hard times, be eager to share the Gospel because the life we are living in right now is so much fuller when you root it in His promises.
 
I held my ground in who I was through Him as I met Olive where she was by walking the walk that she was in; one that consisted of getting up early to put away to-go containers in the storage cabinet and spray all the patio tables with a yellow cleaner to get rid of the filth left from the night before. It was a typical mundane day in the service industry of filling up the swamp coolers to provide air to those guests eating in the hot Texas heat, running tickets to tables, and then dealing with picky individuals who seem to ask for something more each time you reach their tables. I walked her walk of sweeping every single particle lying on the floor because you know that’s the only way you can go home; I knew what it was like to run back to the dishpit to bring utensils and dishes to the front kitchen as a lead server yells “PLATE RECOVERY!”, and I experienced the anger that overcomes you as you wipe down your vacated table that left you with a poor tip that just doesn’t make sense. You give it your everything to serve your guests, but the tip doesn’t show; you curse in the kitchen because it seems like the only place to get your anger out before putting your smile on to the new guests. You know better than getting mad at the guests who have the money in their pockets because you are the one serving, not receiving. Some people simply didn’t walk the walk to understand that servers make money off of tips alone. I didn’t before. But I do now. 
 
Just like how Jesus knew his disciples and people he interacted with because he walked the paths of not the rich and famous, but poor and needy. 

In fact, I don’t think that churches really talk too much about the fact that Jesus chose to walk with those who were unlike him. I remember having a conversation in my religion course at TCU when we were in our unit called “Who was Jesus?” We learned about how Jesus was a carpenter; while he was born in a poor village in Nazareth, just four kilometers away was a sophisticated, Greco-Roman city called Sepphoris. This town was learned to be more advanced in the amphitheaters and buildings excavated.  Although no evidence, with such close proximity, it is an interesting thought to wonder if Jesus spent some time here as he traveled on business trips with his dad, and maybe even learned some Greek and became more educated than the humble and poor carpenter he is depicted to be. 
 
Nevertheless, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Jesus chose to live a life that was one that experienced others’ walks. Doesn’t that give so much more credibility to others when people don’t just say that God is good, but show that God is good? Or don’t just say that God is kind and caring to others, but show that God is kind and caring to others, by being that vessel and caring servant to a server by leaving a well-deserved tip?  Or don’t just say that being Christian is all happy and comfortable, but show that it is a much harder life because you’ve experienced how difficult it is to stay positive when life is unfair, people are mean, and you are tired? 
 
After that cool conversation with Olive and another, I woke up to the next day being Sunday. Ahhh, Sabbath! The day I looked forward for all this week! My day off, my time to go to church with my roommate, my day to unplug and rest in the Lord’s goodness and graciousness for me. My college pastor gave the sermon as our church (the people, not building) sat six feet apart from each other. He spoke on 1 Peter 2:4-12. 
 
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of the darkness into the marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
(1 Peter 2: 9-10)
 
Ben (pastor) pulled apart this section of Scripture in a way that emphasized that we not only have a role, but also a responsibility.  We are chosen people, and while this is power, this is also responsibility. Because if we are to be ambassadors of who our God is, we must be mindful of the fact that how we act is the hands and feet of Jesus. How cool! But also, how scary!
 
Here are two things that I love so much about Ben’s sermons— (1) how practical he is about taking words in a thick book and bringing them to action, as well as (2) how honest he is about every word he speaks. I can’t imagine how hard preaching is. No matter what you say, you are going to get backlash because the Gospel is offensive. This thing happens to me all the time; when you feel like your experiences are being attacked or your emotions are being invalidated as you hear Scripture; while I’m not saying by any means that this should always happen, I will say that a healthy dose of conviction can be so easily masked as an attack on our hearts. Man, all I can say is that the Gospel is powerful. 

Ben brought up how us believers can proclaim his excellencies in four different points:

1. Personally
2. Actively
3. In a way that avoids the flesh
4. Honorably

 
Guess which one I’m going to bring up. Yep. Point #2. But they all really go together because without the other three points, you are in trouble of sharing the Gospel with the wrong intentions. Your actions may be really founded on legalistic religiosity or prideful gains because you aren’t getting personal enough with others or God to admit your honest thoughts or struggles (#1)…or you are sharing the Gospel to make yourself feel better because you need a boost after living Monday through Saturday in the flesh (#3)…or you just aren’t acting in a way that is showing the grace that God offers us, and an honorable action really comes out as a fire and brimstone lecture no one wants to hear (#4). 
 
Another thing that Olive constantly asks me is “How are you so happy all the time?” And I tell her that every day I make the choice to choose gratitude.
Gratitude to have a job in this ocean of unemployment.
Gratitude to love others.
Gratitude to make at least some sort of income. 

It’s all in your head. The moment you shift your 90% capacity of thoughts focused on getting out of work to “I get to be here” is when the “happy” kicks in. And that happy isn’t from myself. That “happy” is driven by the Holy Spirit that dwells in me; the powerful force that moves the corners of my mouth up and the compelling Helper that aids me to proclaim his excellencies even when I’m tired, smelly, and sweaty. 
 
This Helper of mine also helps me see people and the world differently. Just as much as Olive asks me the happy question do I ask her the “How do you do it?” question. Olive works pretty much every day. I just didn’t get how people worked doubles, and go from 9 or 10 am till midnight. The Holy Spirit gives me the humility to want to understand more, and then lead me to experience as well. 
 
Meet Olive and she is joy… at least joy to me in her hilarious comments, questionable decisions, and cranky complaints. How do I feel joy in her complaining? Because I understand!! Under that happy smile, I am complaining in my head and it is in those moments of weakness when I surrender and trust my training; I trust that the Lord will give me strength to shoot some light in her when she needs a boost or when a guest leaves her a shitty tip (excuse my language). Because while some of the service industry may not understand that a dose of Jesus is so much better than a dime bag (I used to say "pots of weed" but my gracious roommates let me know to never say that again, lol), I stand firmly in my faith that it is. 
 
How is that dose shared? Through us believers! Jesus has taught me that before we judge, let’s understand and experience. Seriously y’all, Jesus was DEF qualified to be a Diversity professor if he wanted to be.
 
To end, if you got nothing out of my soapbox, I hope my sparknotes would summarize it in a way that emphasizes walking the walk. Not because I said to, but because Jesus did. 
 
Olive, if you’re reading this, here is my long answer to how I stay happy when guests lie to me about their orders, managers are poopy, and people are indecent: 
 
“But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”
​(1 Peter 2: 20-23)
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