Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

• Mark 1:16-20

I am sure you have heard the story about providing someone with a fish dinner, and the different ways you can help someone in need, but I have added a twist.

Three executives went into a restaurant that was known for its excellent fish dinners.

The big boss asked his friends, “Did you see that charity box near the entrance?  They are going to be using the donations to feed the unhoused of the area.  I put in a couple hundred-dollar bills.  That should feed a few people.”

His assistant said, “Sir, they may have a good organization here that is streamlined.  But most charities like that have disproportionate overhead.  We trim our overhead as much as possible to improve our profits, but when it comes to the indigent, they do not seem to care as much.  Good thing it wasn’t a government job.  Millions goes to oversight and bureaucracy, and the poor man may only get the aroma of a fish dinner.  But as for me, once a month, I go to the unsheltered and find someone and offer him a meal.  We don’t come here, but I take him to the family style restaurant and pay for his meal.  We get to talk awhile.  That way I know the money I spent did not go to something he sniffed up his nose.  Giving to a charity is a lot better than giving to the person, but feeding and talking to the person is better.”

The third executive had been the training manager, and they moved him into an executive position that covered all company ancillary services.  He said, “I do one better.  In the spring, when the weather is good, I will visit the underside of bridges and find someone that looks fairly clear-eyed.  If he is willing, I will take him to the sports store and fix him up with a tackle box, fully loaded and a rod and reel.  I take him out to the lake, and I teach him when during the day to fish, how to cast the lure, what lures to use with what fish.  When the day is done, he will have the skills and knowledge to not only catch fish for himself but catch enough to feed his family and more.”

The big boss snickered, “And then two days later, he has sold the fishing gear to buy something he can snort up his nose.”

Their conversation shifted to work related things.  The big boss paid for the meal, but he did not leave a tip.  The waiter was a bit slow bringing it out and time was money to these three men.

But thinking of the meal, the assistant dropped his silverware on the floor, and when he looked under the table a minute later the silverware was gone, and clean silverware was next to his plate.  The former training manager did not have a napkin, but when he tried to get the waiter to respond, the big boss said that there were two extra napkins on the table.

All the executives saw was the waiter who was too busy serving the people at a table, two tables over from them.  The customers at that table were young, available females.  The executives left no tip for such poor service.

But the busboy had retrieved the soiled silverware and replaced it with clean silverware.  He saw the lack of napkins and took care of that problem.  And when he bussed the table and found no tip, he knew the waiter would accuse him of stealing it.  But he had to hurry.  He bussed the table with expert precision and let the maître ’d know the table was available.  The chef had discarded a fish dinner that was not acceptable to serve a customer.  The chef let the busboys and dishwashers have a bite each.  With the restaurant slammed the way it was that day, it might be the only thing he would have to eat, if he could get there before his ‘friends’ had eaten it all.

As he slowly chewed the piece of fish, he thought of three types of customers.  The executives were three kinds of fishermen, but the busboy’s three types of customers were those who tipped well, those who noticed the hard work and tipped a little, or like this group of executives, they never knew he was there.

But even in being ignored, he had done as the restaurant manager had trained him to do.  He was to make the customer’s meal as pleasant and perfect as it was in his abilities and responsibilities, and when done right, they would not know you were even there.

But who was the servant as Jesus describes in His teachings?  The executive that only throws money at the problem while bragging about how much money he throws?  The executives who brag about getting their hands dirty, but not getting their hands dirty that day?  Or the one that was never noticed.

Sometimes, people just want to be seen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.