Tonight my husband and I have the joy of having some long-time friends of ours over for dinner. I know I have written before about having people over for dinner and how much I enjoy it, but it bears repeating.
The Bible tells us that we should be hospitable people, but this is a commandment that most of us could do better at. We know we should be hospitable, we may even really enjoy having people over, but so often our good intentions slip between the cracks of our busy lives. Let's be honest: it takes some effort to have someone over for dinner. First of all, you have to find a night that works for both of you. This seems to be much harder than it should be. One of my friends and I have been coordinating for three months trying to get a date, and we finally found one that works for all of us later on this week. After you get a date there's a menu to plan, groceries to get, a house to clean, and food to prepare. Yes, there is effort involved. However, I propose that there is not as much effort as we think there is. I think that the reason that people do not practice hospitality more is because they feel like it is a lot of work-work that they don't have time for or are too tired to even begin to attempt. What if we looked at it differently, however. What if we didn't look at the tasks involved with having someone over for dinner as different tasks than the ones we do everyday. Let me explain. Over the course of the week I need to get groceries, clean the house, and make dinner every night. It's pretty easy to get the groceries I need for the dinner with friends when I do my regular shopping. I need to clean the house this week, and it's pretty easy to do it today instead of tomorrow. I need to make dinner tonight anyways, and it's pretty easy to make it for four people instead of two. Now instead of feeling like a big to-do, having someone over seems more manageable. I am just doing what I am normally doing, on a slightly bigger scale.
The reason I broke this down is because I don't want people to miss out on the joys of hospitality because they are worried about how to get everything done when inviting someone over. Your house doesn't have to be perfect, your table doesn't have to look like Martha's Stewart's and the food doesn't have to taste like Julia Child made it. Just do what you normally do, be a blessing to someone, and be blessed in return.
May you find joy in hospitality.
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