The Easy Street to Cultural Currency

I don't mean to brag, but last night, I came home with quite a bit of coin.

In fact, I'll go so far to say that what I brought back from my new job at Easy Street Cafe amounted to the best 18 bucks I could have hoped for.

What's so impressive about the 18 dollarinos? I'm glad you asked.

A major portion of the answer revolves around the fact that, when you're training as a server, you're not supposed to walk out the door with any money whatsoever. The basic idea is that you know nothing, so you follow someone who does (kind of like a lost puppy), and you use that time to figure out what that particular restaurant's soup of the day happens to be, or what fries come with what sandwich, etc.

As you might expect--or know from experience--it doesn't take a superabundance of shifts to feel like you have a pretty good grasp on what you're supposed to be doing when the restaurant sets you loose on their patrons. So after two or three shifts, you're serving tables all by your lonesome, only to find yourself bequeathing all of your newly earned riches to the aforementioned server who knows way more than you do, but nonetheless has been doing very little work to earn the tip that you've just handed over.

My manager from Macaroni Grill had a kind way of reminding me of this when I was first starting out. As I was running around hocking wine and lasagna, Cliff took time out of his busy schedule to stop me and say, "You know what stinks about tonight? You're doing aaaaaalll of this work, and making no money."

Thanks, Cliff, I really appreciated your comment, and am in no way bitter even four years later...

Where was this blog going? Ah yes, the 18 bucks I made last night.

As I was saying before, you're not supposed to me making any money while you're training, and since I was still in training mode last night, I didn't go to work even expecting to cruise with 18 Washingtons. So, my low hopes were more than exceeded when both servers that I had been working alongside of approached me and offered me some 'atta-boy' cash.

What those 18 bones stood for was much more than just a couple dollars shy of 20. What they say, along with the actual words of the servers dealing them out, was that--at least for a night--my hard work had not gone unnoticed, and that my status as the new guy had been somewhat upgraded.

What those 18 dollars really stand for is forward movement toward cultural currency, the right to speak into the lives of others. It means that incremental progress has been made (if only a little) in building a platform for the proclamation of the Gospel in my workplace, and that thrills my heart.

You see, I really want the Lord to use me in this job--as long as He has me there--to be involved in the lives of my co-workers, to get to really know them and care for them, and to invite them into the life of my family--both home and church.

I really want them to see Christ as the all-satisfying Treasure that He is, and to know the joy of being called the sons (and daughters) of God.

If this motivation is true, then my pattern of work has to remain consistently Christ-centered. It means that I need to be careful to ask the right questions at my tables and pay attention to detail when I communicate the order back to the kitchen.

I really think there's few things more detrimental to the Gospel taking root in our workplaces than our failure to work hard. It's laughable at best, but blasphemy at worst to think that I can be a half-hearted employee and lousy co-worker, yet expect anyone to want to hear about the hope that I have within me.

It means that when everyone else stands around complaining about the heat, cold, humidity, slow night, slammed day, demanding boss, that I need to do all things without grumbling and complaining, and so shine like light in a dark world.

In short, all I'm talking about is living out our old friend, the Puritan Work Ethic, which is to say that the way we work reflects the way we think of our God. If we think lowly of God, then we will join the host of slackers and whiners that the world is chalked full of.

But, if we think highly of God, then we will realize that He put Adam in the Garden to work the land. That means that God created everyday work, blesses it, and desires for us to live out our passion for Him through our so-called Joe jobs.

Can you picture Jesus, while living out the active righteousness that we owed to God, working as a carpenter? It's not a glamorous job, to say the least.

Picture the One who not only spoke oak trees into being, but currently holds together by the word of His mouth, carefully crafting a cabinet or a table. Do you think He did shoddy work in His Nazareth storefront? Not likely.

For my part, I know I have been rescued by a great God who has done all that is needed for my salvation and my sanctification through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. And if this is all true, then it applies at Easy Street Cafe.

Pray that God would give me the strength to live this out, and I'll be praying for you.