Dear Fellow Children of God,
I recently had an experience with a large business that
was frustrating and maddening and left me shaking my head. I had trouble with my cell phone and I
experienced a run around I couldn’t believe.
I walked into the location where I had purchased my phone in December in
order to deal with my problem. After
waiting about 40-45 minutes, I had someone help me, sort of. The representative looked at my phone and
told me I had not damaged it. This person
and their supervisor, however, then told me why they could not help me. They also could not put my on the line to
talk to someone else who could help me, unless I paid $20.00. I had to go to Anchorage to deal with another
business partner of theirs.
Being very busy in the coming week, I went to Anchorage
that night, assured this would take care of my problem. When I arrived at the Anchorage store the
manager of that store told me why they could not help me. Their rules required an appointment and I had
just showed up, encouraged by the first company to do so. I would have to return to Palmer and come
back the next day. When I said I was
willing to stay late, the man looked at the phone and then told me, contrary to
my first stop, that I had damaged the phone and there was nothing they could
do.
However, this 3 ½ hour period of time was not the
end. I went home and, using my computer,
communicated with someone with the first company who tried to help, but did
very little. Finally, the next day, with
more information in hand, I returned to the first place of business, and, after
3 hours, had a new phone, and some help for the problem. I believe that from when I left my home to
when I returned, including time on the computer, I spent a minimum of 9 hours
trying to be helped. After this
experience I was worn out, frustrated, and even a little angry.
I can tell you this story because I had the exact
opposite experience with another business.
My boat needed some work for 3 small problems, so I went to where the
boat was built. The owner met with me
personally for 2 hours. We not only
fixed those three items, but he found 2 other areas of need and took care of
them. We didn’t just talk the technical
issues of the boat, but talked fishing, and life, and faith. At the end of two hours of time, where more
problems were fixed that I knew I had, the charge was minimal for the
parts. Actually, this experience
refreshed me to return to the phone store and finish my business there.
The lesson I learned by experience is that it makes a
difference how we are treated, and how we treat others. A willingness to listen and some common
kindness go a long way. This is not just
true in business, it is true in all relationships. Sometimes all of us struggle with kindness. But, God reminds us the real source of
kindness. Ephesians 4:32 says, 32 Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ
God forgave you. In other words, God has been forgiving and
kind and compassionate to us. His
kindness and compassion are the power and the example for our relationships
with others.
Our relationship with
Jesus, our Christian faith, is not just something to talk about inside a church
building. Because we are loved by God,
we can put love and faith into practice throughout our community. What a blessing it would be if we remembered
God’s love and were always able to treat others in the same way.
A Child of God, Blessed by God’s Kindness and that of His
people,
Pastor Jonathan
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if
you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me
their e-mail address.
****
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