Is customer service dead?

As inflation continues with the prices of most products and services continuing to rise, does it not seem that customer service is dying? After a couple more extremely disappointing experiences with terrible customer service this week, I told my wife that I honestly cannot remember the last time I experienced good customer service, let alone great customer service.

Because I do not wish to throw any individuals or businesses “under the bus,” I will not share any specific examples. If I was selling products or services at significantly higher prices than just a few months ago, though, and I made mistakes in providing such services, I sure hope I would apologize and do my best to serve others with kindness and consideration. That kind of service appears to be dead, however.

Well, to say such customer service is dead is an extreme generalization and obviously untrue, as there are still those who care (and try). Customer service sure feels dead at times, though.

Whether my recent experiences are a good picture of reality or not, we will always have times of poor customer service. Sinful people do sinful things, including you and me.

So what should we do?

1. SHOW GRACE

When you receive terrible customer service, “Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD” (God’s command as recorded in Leviticus 19:18). Show grace.

“Whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them — this is the Law and the Prophets” (Jesus’ command as recorded in Matthew 7:12). Do you want others to show you grace and patience? Show grace and patience to others. Notice, too, that there are no exceptions to this rule.

Show grace.

2. BE BETTER

“Whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life — a ransom for many” (Mark 10:44‭-‬45). Be better and serve others.

“For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil. Honor everyone…” (1 Peter 2:15‭-‬17). Again, there are no conditions on our expected behavior. Be better and respect everyone, no matter what.

Be better.

Even if customer service to you is dying, serve others.

Be better. Respond better. Treat others better.

To experience the only change that will lead to you responding and serving as you were created, please check out The Story.

Real Faith Feeds

If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself (James 2:15-17).

This coming Sunday is Global Hunger Sunday, and Lord willing, I will be preaching from James 2:14-18 and challenging those in our church to consider, “What good is your faith?” This passage in James, as well as other teachings in the Bible, like Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46, make clear that real faith feeds the hungry. Saving faith cannot be separated from sacrificial action.

FAITH AND WORKS

Faith, of course, is where this work begins (and continues). We must believe the right things about Jesus, especially who He is and what He has done for us. We must believe that only He can save us from our sins, change our hearts, and give us eternal life. We must believe that only He can and does sustain us and enable us to live a life pleasing to God.

Believing all that, though, is useless if we do not also surrender our lives to Him. Believing the right things about God without a changed life makes us no better than demons (see James 2:19). Real faith – saving faith – leads to action, to works. If we turn away from our sins and follow Jesus, we will not only believe the right things; we will increasingly do the right things. And, that certainly includes loving others, who obviously include the hungry.

Is your faith feeding – feeding the physical needs and the spiritual needs of others?

WAYS FAITH CAN FEED

If you are a genuine faith-filled follower of Jesus Christ and are looking for ways your faith can be proven through the action of feeding the hungry, below are some ideas. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, as there are many things that can be done. Remember, too, that when you serve others, pray for wisdom from God about how you can serve them with the most important blessing – the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything else is ultimately meaningless apart from knowing and following Jesus.

Here are some things you can do now to feed the hungry:

1. Serve in a local soup kitchen.

Our church, for example, serves at the Fulton Soup Kitchen (214 West 4th Street, Fulton, MO) on the first Thursday of every month from 4 – 7 p.m. Ministry in a local soup kitchen is a very simple way to serve those who are hurting.

2. Give food to a local food pantry.

Our church has a food pantry that is filled and run by volunteers. In more than six years of serving at our church, I have never seen us run out of food, and we do not turn away those in our church family and surrounding community. People in our church sure do step up in providing food for the food pantry!

3. Give financially to feed the hungry.

I hope to challenge our church family to do this and do so sacrificially this Sunday, and if you want to join us, you can do so simply and securely by clicking HERE and selecting “Global Hunger Relief” from the dropdown menu. One hundred percent of our gifts designated to “Global Hunger Relief” go to Baptist Global Response, and they in turn distribute 100% to those in need, with $0 going to overhead expenses. What a great way to be a good steward and put your faith to action!

4. Participate in the “Happy Plate Challenge.”

Lead your family and friends to know and care about world hunger. Start a discussion about #chronichunger at your next family meal! By the time your plate is empty, your heart will be FULL! Use the below picture to spread the word on social media.

Share a picture of your family’s #GHRhappyplate and tag @globalhungerrelief to let them know you’re praying and giving for MORE happy plates around the world! #MyRichland #Richland GHR #GHR #breadoflife #endworldhunger #chronichunger #worldhunger #southernbaptistconvent

The Visible Difference between the Righteous and the Wicked

There are several differences, of course, between those who know God and those who do not. God points out a very distinct difference, for example, in Malachi 3: “So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him” (verse 18).

SERVING AND NOT SERVING

Many claim to serve God but really just go through the motions, not really serving Him at all. What a dangerous trap that is, especially when people assume they will be counted as righteous, only to find out they are among the wicked.

When I was a teenager, for example, I considered myself to be a Christian. In fact, I considered myself to be a devout Christian. I was in church services every Sunday and Wednesday. I was actively involved with our church youth group. I read my Bible often. I prayed even more often. I talked and sang about Jesus.

I was serving God, right? No, I was not. I was not following Him and thus certainly could not be serving Him. Sure, some people may have thought I was. I even thought I was. But, everything I did was for myself. I was going through the motions in hopes of impressing girls, pleasing my parents, and getting what I wanted from God (not what God wanted from and for me).

Really, I was worshiping myself and my happiness. The lords of my heart were my pleasures and my dreams and my goals. All the while, I claimed to be a follower of Jesus and claimed to belong to Him. I did not, however, “fear God and have high regard for His name” (Malachi 3:16). Rather, I feared what others thought about me and had high regard for my own name.

Although I thought I was considered righteous by God because I was a “good person,” I was headed straight toward hell with no earthly idea.

WHO KNEW?

Living in mid-Missouri, I do not often see many of the people I knew as a teenager in north central Iowa. I cannot help but wonder, though, who knew I was living a lie? Who knew I was going through the motions? How many people did I actually fool?

Of course, I cannot accurately answer those questions, but I am confident that any genuine followers of Jesus who truly knew me then surely knew I was not who I claimed to be. I wonder why no one told me, though? Why did no one challenge me with the truth? Perhaps they tried, and I just would not listen.

One who definitely did know that I was counted among the wicked and not among the righteous, was God Himself. He knew, and, thankfully, He put people in my life during my college years to reveal His Truth to me. For the first time, as a sophomore in college, I heard and understood the gospel. I turned from my sins and asked Jesus to forgive me and take over my life.

Finally, I was made right with God in and through a personal relationship with His Son.

JESUS IS THE DIFFERENCE-MAKER

The truth is that none of us is righteous. Not on our own anyway. None of us can do a single thing to make ourselves right with God. “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12).

This is terrible news! And, the terrible news is for all of us.

“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8). That is the good news.

Jesus is the difference-maker. He is the One who made a way for us to be righteous – counted righteous today and made righteous for eternity. If you have yet to experience the joy of knowing and following Him, would you consider surrendering your life to Him today? Check this out for a helpful summary of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

There are very few things I believe differently today than what I believed as a selfishly wicked teenager on my way to hell. What I do and how I do what I do with my beliefs, though, are drastically different. Not because I “have arrived” or figured out the tricks. No, I am different because Jesus is the difference-maker. Jesus has changed me.

I am no longer content to go through the motions and call that “serving God.” If and when I do go through the motions, God’s Holy Spirit convicts me to repent and follow Him faithfully. Daily I need His help, His guidance, His provision, His leadership, His grace, and His compassion.

On Sunday morning, Lord willing, I hope to preach on our “Great God of Compassion” from Malachi 3:13-18. I pray that I can encourage and challenge you to believe in and be changed by the Greatness of God.

Off to Guatemala

Tomorrow morning, Noah and I, along with 15 other followers of Jesus, will be heading to Guatemala for a one-week mission trip. While there, we will be serving the children of Casa De Mi Padre, an orphanage ministry of Child Rescue. Also, we will be serving alongside a couple churches to do street evangelism, outreach in the local schools, ministry in a local hospital, and more.

Will you please be in prayer for our team? Lord willing, we will be gone June 1-8. Please pray that God will receive all the glory and use us for the sake of honoring His name, blessing those we are going to serve, growing in our faith and advancing His gospel. Thank you!