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I recently attended a Christian conference. My wife and I, along with over 2,000 other attendees, spent three nights in a hotel in a major city. It was a blast, though we sometimes had to wait quite a while for an elevator! I really enjoyed the teaching sessions, worship and free time. Of course, I expected all of those items to be good. But what impressed me was the attitude of the Marriott hotel staff. Whether serving dinner, manning the breakfast buffet, cleaning the rooms or staffing the hotel convenience store, they were all pleasant, cheerful and focused on helping us. With such a full hotel, I’m sure the staff was stretched and working hard. But their hospitality was cheerful! In fact, they were the most helpful hotel staff I have ever encountered.
Those men and women also demonstrated for me the attitude that Peter urged in 1 Peter 4:9, which says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (NIV)
Offering hospitality takes effort, doesn’t it? We have to change our usual routine. It may cost us time or money to provide food or housing for others. It is often stressful. I guess that’s why we often grumble, at least to ourselves! I’m sure Peter was not simply telling us to offer hospitality in a neutral way. I think he wanted us to do the opposite of grumbling. So, offer hospitality to others with cheerfulness!
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.