David Bruce Murray
Aug 25, 2007
Observations|Other Blogs
In The Name Of Christ
Waitresses already know “church people” to be the worst tippers in restaurants. Add the word “jerk” to the list of ways so called “Christian” people are shooting themselves in the foot.
Danny Jones has a recent blog entry that passes on the observations of a venue building manager.
Just this past week, the manager of a 8,000-seat venue told me that while he appreciated promoters using his facility to hold Gospel concerts, he was very upset with the manner in which his staff was treated by the people who visited his arena.
No, he wasn’t talking about the artists. He was talking about the actions of several fans.
He went on to explain that his ushers were verbally assaulted on everything from parking issues, ticket prices, seating arrangements, concession prices, building temperatures. And it wasn’t so much that people were complaining. It was the demanding, holier-than-thou attitudes that were exhibited. He even mentioned that one usher literally went home in tears because she had been yelled at and publicily humiliated because she was doing her job: a man was sitting in a wrong reserved seat and he was raising a loud stink because he had to move.
Both the ticket and seat were plainly marked.
Imagine the nerve of the person who informed that usher that someone was sitting in their seat! Someone buys a $20 ticket and expects to sit in the seat assigned on the ticket? How dare they!
Danny goes on to describe his own observations at a secular event where the crowd was well behaved. (I couldn’t help but think that the same sort of hypocritical Christians Danny was describing initially would find fault with him for attending a secular event.)
On a related note, over at Averyfineline, there’s an ongoing discussion and an associated “contest” regarding popular T-shirts and caps that give the fundamental cause of Christianity a slap in the face.
Here’s one more. How often do you attempt to enter a large chain store such as Wal*Mart or Kmart, only to be approached by some church group raising money? Now try to imagine what sort of perception you’d form if you were a non-Christian who simply wanted to go shopping without being hassled.
I was talking with a friend of mine a few days ago about the stubbornness and bad attitudes that are sometimes put on display, and she said, “Well, you know how church people are.” I said, “Yes, I know a lot of church people are like that. Real Christians aren’t that way, but a lot of church people are.” (I believe I owe Scott Whitener credit for that line. I know I didn’t come up with it on my own.)
It brings up a good point, though. Real Christians should be the best tippers. They should only complain when there’s a legitimate cause to complain, not over some petty issue. They should treat those they meet with respect rather than a condescending, holier-than-thou attitude. They wouldn’t cheapen the name of Christ by associating it with a beer logo or infringing on the legal trademarks of an established company. They wouldn’t DARE portray Christ’s church as being so needy it has to resort to begging from non-Christians met randomly at a shopping mall.
Or would they?
