I don’t ever remember being the winner,
although I think I made it to three chairs once. Winning is not something that we humble Christians
are supposed to intentionally go aggressively after. And maybe that’s why the Christian message
has fallen out of favor; it’s not about winning at life against all adversity,
or being the best and lording it over all the other contestants. I know I am a dreadful competitor, I really
want to win. Last spring I was in several contests for Toastmasters, and
finding my way into a humble mindset was really difficult. I didn’t like how competative I became, or
even entitled and selfish I felt. In the
end I reminded myself that I was doing it for fun.
So much of life can become a competition. Where we sit at a banquet can certainly be a
part of that. How close to the bridal
party will we get to sit? Where will our
table be at the Rotary Dinner or the Chamber of Commerce awards night? What
about the AU President’s Breakfast or the Mayor’s Lunch? Who will we sit beside
at the Senior’s pancake breakfast?
They can be ways we measure our status and importance to other
people. That’s what Jesus saw when he
was invited to dinner one evening. He
probably was remembering Proverbs 25:6-7, which says “Do not put yourself
forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is
better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a
noble.” Wise words from the scriptures
that he saw in action that day. Here he
was, guest of a pharisee, invited for supper and the nerve he had, reminding
them that scripture taught not to be pushy and aggressive. Not to treat dinner like a game of musical
chairs, where you try to win status and importance before everyone else.
I suspect some of you might be saying, “So what? I’m not going out to dinner parties with
famous movie stars or politicians. I’m
not dining with the rich and famous these days.
Even before Covid, I didn’t do that.”
We might not be dining or hobnobbing with important people,
but I dare say we may still feel the itch to prove ourselves as worthy or
important or influential. We may feel
like we are entitled to being treated as the special individuals that we hope
we are. When I talk to hairdressers,
they tell me that the clients who can be demanding and finicky are even more
demanding and finicky since Covid. We
hear stories of the ‘mass resignation’ of people in the restaurant and retail
industries because they are fed up with being treated like servants to be
ordered about. Others are doing what
they are calling a ‘silent resignation’ where they stop going above and beyond
in doing their jobs. No more overtime,
no more working through lunchbreaks to prove that they are committed to the
company, that’s not happening anymore. About
24% of employees think that their bosses care for them, which means that most
working people feel their bosses don’t care at all. Getting to be at home for folks meant a break
from the hustle, the harassment, the watercooler gossip sessions, the entitled
customers. And they don’t want to go
back.
It sounds like they are tired of playing the adult version
of musical chairs! Yet it’s easier said than done. We may be thinking that we’re entitled to
more respect than we actually are. Like
the average driver who thinks that they are above average in their driving
skills, we may assume that we are better than others because we are us!
Jesus taught us that the game of musical chairs is not what
God wants us to play. This game assumes
that there’s scarcity we must compete for, including scarcity of influence.
Jesus said our seeking importance can become an idol. In our craving for status, we can be actually
embracing fear, fear of others, fear of the unknown, fear of our own ability to
deal with life’s challenges.
How do we let go of this game of musical chairs? Our
reading from Hebrews suggest we do it through worship, community, ministry of
hospitality. We do it through sexual
relationships that are not competitive or dominating, and through money decisions
free from status seeking and influence peddling. Perhaps donating to a charity instead of
buying a vote. Remembering that God is with us, we shall not be afraid, what
can mere humans do to us? Nothing can
separate us from God who loves us, not even our seating arrangement and we sit
beside.
Someone wrote: If you are sitting in public and a stranger
sits down beside you, simply stare straight ahead and say, “did you bring the
money?” Christians have a reputation of saying to strangers, “that’s my pew” or
“that’s my chair.” God calls us to say instead, “come sit with me and be
welcome in this pew”.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a game of musical chairs
where the music never stops, the chairs face inward so we can see each other and
there are always enough chairs for everyone. Thanks be to God for this
blessing.
