The Man in the Sweater-Vest

I almost just lost it. I am sitting in a coffee shop even as I write this email and I am foolishly reading and writing without the benefit of my headphones. I say foolish because these are the times I overhear my fellow-man saying all manner of stupid things that we are prone to say.

The conversation of the patrons who are still as we speak talking loudly to one another and competing for the award of most important caught my ear when they mentioned the name of my restaurant. I will recount the details as best as I can remember them:

Dude in a floral shirt and sweater-vest: "Yeah, I went to the steak house the other day and it was ridiculous. I ordered a medium steak and it came out all wrong. I called the waiter over and I asked him what color a medium steak should be. He said 'pink'. I said 'exactly, except the steak was red!!!"

Dude's friend: "Yeah, that's crazy, I am sorry for the injustice that has been done to you and your family."

Dude in a floral shirt wearing a sweater-vest: "I know, right? I don't know why I go there anymore."

It was at this point in the overheard conversation that I started to veer over my computer screen with my disapproving waiter look that I have developed over the years. Now, of course, I was impressed by the fact that he chose one of the five approved temperatures for a steak. I was, however, unimpressed with the attitude I heard coming from the man in the sweater-vest.

I could picture this man talking like this to one of my friends. Instead of directly asking for the steak to be cooked to the desired temperature (which is always an acceptable course of action), he went the route of the self-important.

You know what route I am talking about, right? It is the way we take every day when things do not go according to our plans. The needs of others and their lack of perfection irritates us to the point that we assume they are beneath us and therefore unworthy of being treated as we would like to be treated.

The more I think about the guy in a sweater-vest bad-mouthing the place that has employed me for nearly the last four years, the more I can identify myself in him (although not in his sweater-vest). I would much rather avoid confrontation than to operate under the assumption that my roommate is also made in the image of God. If we are both in the image of God, how can I choose to see his needs as an inconvenience to me? How can I treat him any less than the way Christ would treat me when I confess that he laid down his life for me?

If Jesus went willingly to the cross (as I believe), and let his enemies kill him (as I believe) so that he could save these same enemies from death (as I also believe), how can I disregard the needs of those around me?

Jesus save me from disrespecting the ones you love.