Slim Fast, Runny Noses, Midgets, and Jesus

This morning, on my way to church, I stopped at our local Quick Trip. For those reading this that live outside the Kansas City area, Quick Trip is much like a 7-11 convenience store/gas station. I ran in, grabbed a Slim-Fast shake (also called ‘breakfast’), and took my place in line in order to check out. The poor fella working behind the counter was a bit stressed as he was obviously doing the job of two or three employees. Usually there is more than one, but apparently not today. As he rushed about grabbing cigarettes for some and lottery tickets for others, all while consistently welcoming every person that walked in with a “Welcome to Quick Trip”, he began to cough. I watched him and greatly appreciated that he covered his mouth with his arm each time a coughing fit came about.

When all others were helped and I finally had made my way to the counter, I said something observantly clever like, “Wow, you sure are busy”. He grunted something under his breath and then began coughing again. This time, however, when he removed the crevice of his arm from covering his inopportune and unrelenting hacking, he had unknowingly smeared a bit of something on his cheek. The something that I’m talking about was not pretty. It was a greenish-yellow color and seemed to have the consistency of tapioca pudding.

Perhaps you think this is a made up story? I guarantee you it’snot.

I realize now, I was being presented with a test.

You see, if I was the one with a glob of gelatinous sinus scum on my face and I was completely unaware that it was glistening in the gleam of the fluorescent lights and jiggling for all the Sunday morning world to see, I think I’d want to know about it. But would the embarrassment of being told, by a complete and utter stranger, that a slippery secretion produced by mucous membranes had escaped the safety of his nostrils be too much for him? Would it not be best for a friendly co-worker, who would more than likely be coming back from break any moment now, be the one to share the precise details of this unfortunate phenomenon? What was I to do?

Ruthlessly fighting the urge to regurge, I paid for my shake and left. I stared at the counter the whole time. I said nada. I wimped out. I just left the kid in his slimy, unknowing bliss.

Now I’m haunted. Did I do the right thing? I’ve always said that if I was in a similar situation with my zipper down or a nagging piece of spinach between bicuspids I’d desperately want someone to clue me in. But don’t I want that to be somebody that I know? Don’t we earn the right to talk into one another’s lives?

What about the snot of sin?

Is it our place to walk up to complete strangers and tell them that they have a sin problem? Or should we earn the right to talk to them by building relationship with them first? I mean, everywhere I look I’m faced with people who are in blatant sin. Those who call themselves ‘Christian’, and whom I have relationship with because of the mere fact we are brothers/sisters in Christ are ones that I feel I can more openly discuss sinful issues with. However, those not in ‘the family’ per se, those not having made a commitment to follow Jesus, what about them? Is it my job to point out what awful sinners all the sinners are? I’m not so sure.

What did Jesus do?

Some Christians believe that the way of the Master was to point out people’s precise sin problem. But when I read of how Jesus behaved with sinners, I see Him responding differently. I see Him lovingly living out His Message.

For example, remember the midget in the tree? This height-challenged tax collector was a pretty bad guy. A sinner. What did Jesus do? He simply told Zack that He wanted to have lunch with him. The next verses describe this horrible sinner completely turning his life around! Jesus even says, “Salvation has come to this home today” (you can read this cool story for yourself in Luke 19).

Sure, when the religious folks – those supposedly already following Jehovah – were sinning, Jesus was all over them. Telling the truth in love is definitely one of the ways of the Master, but it is important to look at who His audience was at those times.

So yeah, maybe I wimped out. I probably should have done that kid a favour and clued him in on the gloop clinging to his cheek. However, it has reminded me that entering in and building authentic relationships with others is extraordinarily important and desperately needed. It’s needed, if for no other reason than to occasionally have someone who loves me and shares my desire for pleasing the Lord, hold a mirror up to me from time to time.