We’ve all read those articles about the coffeehouse patrons who pay for the person in line behind them. Then, that person pays and on and on it goes until several people have been paid for this way. My question is this: where can we find those people?
If you’re anything like me, you never would have been a before-the-break kind of girl in the Benson. You probably would have chosen a seat in the back-middle among a group of your friends, where you could chatter, halfway listen and do homework. Then one semester you would have gotten the insane idea to sit in row F (!) and wondered why the songleader is always so loud. I am here to tell you — this shift forward is probably the most dramatic one you can make at Harding. The singing is just … well, it’s better! There is less temptation to check out or scroll through Instagram.
This Monday in chapel, junior Jason Lightfoot gave a really excellent chapel talk. During it, he said something striking: he said that often, we are giving compliments to people based on what they do for us, not on who they are. He suggested that in these situations, we must pour out our hearts for people and give from the source, which God alone can give.
In a way, what Jason said has a lot to do with moving forward in chapel, and even the Starbucks good Samaritans — it has to do with how much you are willing to give of yourself in order to reap the benefits of the bountiful life which is around you. Acts 20:35 says “… it is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is so easy to get selfish and to retreat into the comfortable and mild, but we can be so much more.
So this week, I hope you go big and bold with what you are willing to contribute to the places and people around you. And if you’re about to start a Starbucks pay chain, I’d be more than happy to let you stand in front of me.
