Saturday, April 26, 2025
I’ve never waited tables, but I can only imagine the challenge. The customer is king. And so the king demands petulantly. With a contrived smile, the waiter grits her teeth and says, “Anything for you my Lord!” Then, she spits in his food. The King senses this retaliation and calls her back to the table. A vicious circle ensues. How can the servant be nice if the King is a tyrant? When you realize you are both King and Servant – the fight stops.
The root of the word wait means – ‘to observe carefully’, and ‘to be watchful’. A good waiter is attentive. A good lord is not demanding. So, this delicate act – both Lord and Waiter – is playing itself out in you. You aren’t the King, in terms of tyrannical finger-snapping. You aren’t the slave, in terms of being punished for your so-called sins. It’s not until you recognize this mysterious duality that you’ll attend to my words and incline your ear. The power is unlocked in humble service to your highness; both you. Your highness is you; but you cannot be King in a monarchical way. Your servanthood is you; but you cannot be duplicitous nor feel victimized.
Both Lord and Waiter will get priorities aligned. The world is at your fingertips. It’s self-serve, buffet style. But no need to snap; spit in your own food; or demand. Waiting on the Lord is not what you think. You are the Lord – King and Waiter. But you can’t act like the master slave-driver. You are The Waiter, but you can’t act like the shackled slave. Love is served freely. There’s plenty to go around. No shoving. No demanding. No spitting. You’ll get the hang of it as you attend to serving and incline your ear to stillness.