My firstborn has a job. He’s been working at the local Dollar Tree for the past couple weeks or so, mostly handling the register, which means he’s up front and center with customers.
I don’t envy him.
It reminds me of some quotes that many (not my son, but others) who work in retail have uttered…
“They don’t pay me enough to be nice.”
“I’ll say ‘my pleasure’ when I’m not forced to serve rude people.”
“If they want my help, they better be nice, otherwise forget it.”
These are just some of the things that have been said by people who work in an industry that pays them little while asking them to be treated like dirt by many of the people they encounter. It can be hard to see beyond the dollar signs. It’s very easy to think, “why should I give any kind of an effort when the people I have to see every day give none?” It would be one thing, for many, if the pay was so incredible a person could weigh the suffering vs reward, but usually the pay stinks and the people do too.
So what’s a cashier, or a waiter, or someone working the “returns” counter at Wal-Mart (bless their hearts) to do? When does a job become so bad it gives the worker a license to be a jerk?
Answer: Never.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
(Ephesians 6:5-6)
Paul’s words were initially directed to servants who tended to the affairs of rich homeowners, as was commonplace throughout the Roman Empire. It was not uncommon, as today, for such workers to be bitter and resentful at having to wait hand and foot on the needs of someone else, and for meager pay. As today, workers back then might have taken the attitude of resisting commands, or only doing the bare minimum, or acting falsely-submissive in order to curry favor. Those workers might have thought that their bosses could “afford to take a little backtalk or halfhearted labor.” Today that same attitude is seen in the form of a worker being rude and passive aggressive (or even actively aggressive!) toward customers they don’t like.
Such things are not Christian.
The attitude we must have has to be irrespective of our living conditions or circumstances. As a matter of fact, Jesus goes out of His way to tell us to be kind to people especially when people are not kind to us (Matthew 5:46-47). Never is that command put to the test more often than when you’re in retail, either as the customer or as a worker.
The default state of the world is to be angry and entitled. Christ calls us to be different, to love our neighbor, and to be nice to all we encounter. That’s not always easy to do, but it is always commanded…even if you work at Dollar Tree.
~ Matthew