Why Your Sunday Lunch Matters

I had the opportunity and privilege to work all day yesterday (Sunday (at CiCi's)). Usually I don't work Sunday's (No, I'm not super-holy, I just like having one day off and it happened to be Sunday (usually)), but I did work yesterday from before the doors opened to after they closed, and combining what I observed yesterday with what I've observed back when I used to only work Sundays (yes, it was a very un-holy life back then (totes kidding)) and it was not pretty and it still isn't, folks.
You see, before I worked in food service I had always heard that the "Sunday lunch crowd" was the worst to wait on in restaurants, but I really didn't believe it until I experienced it. And I can say that the Sunday-just-came-from-church-still-carrying-their-Bible crowd is usually (not quite always) horrible and embarrassing. Why? Because these people come barreling in dressed in their church clothes and are the most demanding, rude, cheap people we see all week.
Honestly, I had hoped it wasn't true. I had hoped that people were sorely overreacting to people that they didn't want to like in the first place. But in all honesty, they're not.
And let me just say, my non-Christian co-workers notice. Even they can see that there's some kind of strange disconnect that happens when they leave the church building where they proclaim that they will die to themselves and their desires and when they walk through our doors where their desires seem to be all that really matters. They look at me and say, "See, your God thing really doesn't make a difference. I'm nicer than these people."
And then I have to do so much damage control, it's seemingly impossible (I know, "with God all things are possible" (don't miss my point please)). You see, when you're impatient about your favorite pizza not being on it's way into your belly already or when you leave a huge mess and don't tip (or better yet- leave a tract AS a tip (I seriously have no patience for that (don't even get me started))) or when you demand to be waited on hand and foot while we're clearly being slammed by 100 other people who want to be waited on hand and foot, my co-workers see you and in their mind- you are Christianity. You are what an average Christian looks like and when they're already a better person than you without God, why on earth would they want God in their lives? And really, how do I explain this to them? How do I tell them that this isn't what Christianity means? I'm left sweeping up the shattered image of Christ in their minds. I'm left answering the why-are-they-so-blind-to-us questions. And that's really hard.
You probably think I'm exaggerating the impact that you have when you do these things. But I can promise you, when a Christian comes in that actually lives out their faith inside a restaurant (meaning, they were respectful, humble, generous, and patient (that shouldn't be so hard, right? like when Jesus has changed our lives from ashes into beauty, it should be almost natural, right?)), my co-workers notice that too. In fact, sometimes we count them.
There were six this Sunday.
Six.
Out of the 200 church folk that came in, 6 actually were actually the church to us.
And two of them were my best friend and her boyfriend. If they hadn't have come, it would've only been four.
Six. That's 3%.
Are you grasping the seriousness of this issue yet?
I'm seriously begging you to please live out your faith in every moment of your life (especially if you're coming anywhere near my non-Christian friends). Because the way you go down a buffet line, matters. Because the way you tip, matters. Because the way you speak to those who are serving you, matters. It matters to my co-workers who take a step back from God every Sunday. It matters because people seriously are always watching you. It matters because your life is not your own, you were bought with a price, so honor God with your body. It matters because God can use you when you least expect it. It matters because you have influence to impact people's eternity. It matters because my co-workers are real people with real souls that need real Christians to show them that God does make a difference in your life and the way that you act and speak.
Please remember that no matter what you are doing, no matter how small or menial you may think it is, you can either do it for God or yourself. For the sake of all the people who do not yet know Christ as their Lord and Savior, please choose God.
Let's turn 3% into 100%.
You. Your life. It matters. Don't defame God's good name because your stomach is growling.