Hospitality is more than actions that we take, it is also an attitude that we have. When we love others we care about their personal comfort and their emotional and spiritual well being.
If we love, we are careful not to do things in the presence of another that might be offensive to them, whether it be a movie, a type of food they abstain from or language that would offend them. We do not show displeasure at their presence by ignoring them while they are in the room.
Part of hospitality is knowing the person we are serving, if it is a stranger we are careful to act in ways that are generally accepted as gentile, free from crude speech or action and especially free from confrontation over things that do not matter.
Ephesians 4:29 "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."
Showing our delight in the visit of our guest, is one of the ways we accept them, that gives them a sense that they are welcome in our home. When there is aloofness, shyness or dismissiveness, we make the guest feel as though we are a burden.
A part of hospitality is learning to be a good guest. If a host has worked to make a beautiful table and delicious food, we don't say things like "why did you make such a fuss," Rather we say "thank you so much, this is lovely." To mock the decorations or negate them in any way is a way for a narcissist to diminish the person who decorated the beautiful table and made the wonderful food. It is a form of not only ungratefulness but also a way of stripping the host of her delight in serving. The purpose in this is to hurt the host, removing her joy in preparing for her guests.
The reason to write about this in a culture that no longer understands these principles, is because we are seeing hospitality diminishing in this culture of selfishness but we can be the examples. We cannot get our guests to act as they should but we can continue to obey God in being hospitable no matter what our guests do. If we are a guest, we will not always encounter hosts who act as they should but we can be a good guest. We will never be disappointed when we obey God, even if others do not act as they should.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Without Hospitality We Cannot Please God
Not that long ago it was considered rude to neglect to offer refreshment to a stranger when they found themselves at our home. It was also an offense for the stranger to refuse refreshment when offered.
An old expression of this was: "don't ask and don't refuse", was the rule of thumb pertaining to hospitality. The one who offered was showing gratefulness for the visit and the one accepting was showing gratefulness for being accepted as a visitor.
Refreshment was a way of welcoming those that entered our home, to refuse the refreshment was insulting, a sort of rejection of the hospitality showed arrogance.
We live in a time when many people do not offer hospitality to their extended family let alone to total strangers. We also live in a time when most people don't feel an obligation to anyone who is not closely connected to them through family. They show their disinterest in us through their lack of enthusiasm for the visit.
Hospitality has always been important in God's economy. He highly values kindness extended to those who came to call, no matter who they were. To neglect this kindness is the same as saying, "I don't care about you and I have no interest in your visit, on the part of the host or the visitor.
1 Peter 4:9 "Be hospitable to one another without complaint."
Romans 12:12-13 "12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."
1 Timothy 3:2 "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,"
Titus 1:7-8 "7 For the [a]overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,"
1 Timothy 5:10 "having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work."
Hebrews 13:2 "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."
We see by these verses that God commands us to place others above ourselves, denying self is the greater part of the Christian life, without it we would never do what we should do, be what we should be in the sight of God.
An old expression of this was: "don't ask and don't refuse", was the rule of thumb pertaining to hospitality. The one who offered was showing gratefulness for the visit and the one accepting was showing gratefulness for being accepted as a visitor.
Refreshment was a way of welcoming those that entered our home, to refuse the refreshment was insulting, a sort of rejection of the hospitality showed arrogance.
We live in a time when many people do not offer hospitality to their extended family let alone to total strangers. We also live in a time when most people don't feel an obligation to anyone who is not closely connected to them through family. They show their disinterest in us through their lack of enthusiasm for the visit.
Hospitality has always been important in God's economy. He highly values kindness extended to those who came to call, no matter who they were. To neglect this kindness is the same as saying, "I don't care about you and I have no interest in your visit, on the part of the host or the visitor.
1 Peter 4:9 "Be hospitable to one another without complaint."
Romans 12:12-13 "12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."
1 Timothy 3:2 "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,"
Titus 1:7-8 "7 For the [a]overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,"
1 Timothy 5:10 "having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work."
Hebrews 13:2 "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."
We see by these verses that God commands us to place others above ourselves, denying self is the greater part of the Christian life, without it we would never do what we should do, be what we should be in the sight of God.
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