“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers….” (Hebrews 13:2)
This fellow wrote to newspaper advice columnist Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, describing a strange situation….
“My wife and I received three unusual invitations. In the first, we were invited to a cocktail get-together (not a formal party) where I was told that since I do not drink alcohol, I should bring something for myself to drink.”
“The second was from a friend who insisted that he and his wife wanted to get together for dinner, but he did not want to have it at his house or at a restaurant. He went on to say he did not care if our house was not in order for a dinner party (construction is going on), but that it would be the best place for us to get together.”
“The third was from a man I have done outdoor activities with who invited me to lunch, told me he would stop by my house, and we could make something for lunch there.”
Gotta love it.
According to Miss Manners, such rudeness mocks the whole idea of hospitality. The couple should reply to these requests with, “I’m afraid that won’t be convenient,” and nothing more.
She has never heard of such before, the columnist says, and hopes she won’t ever again.
Ah, but we in the church get that all the time.
Many visitors come to church expecting to be treated royally, often carrying a list of what they require from churches lucky enough to have them in their midst. And if those conditions aren’t met, they never return and bad-mouth you to their friends.