After waiting on hold for nine minutes, I punched nine to receive a callback when the next customer service representative became available. The music playing while I waited had pushed me close to the edge. I couldn’t listen to it a second longer. It wasn’t nice, soothing music. It was country music. And it was awful. I’m not sure why a business would think that noise would be appropriate for customers waiting on hold for far too long. Now. I’m not against all country music. Just that song. Whatever it was. It was awful and unnecessary.

Later that morning, I had to contact another service provider to contest the balance on my account. The first contact was with an automated bot. The answer it gave wasn’t a thorough explanation, so I asked to chat with a live person. This individual was able to provide me with a thorough and satisfactory explanation. I appreciated his help and let him know.

That same day I sat waiting for an appointment. When I walked in, the person I was meeting with was helping someone schedule their next appointment. It was taking forever, but she was kind in helping this poor gentleman who was struggling with health issues. Once she got him scheduled and took his payment, she walked around the counter and gave him a big hug. She said she would see him in two weeks.

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. Proverbs 3:27

Our service matters to God, because when we are serving others we are serving him. We may not see him, but when we do the least to others we are doing it to him. Some people work only as hard as they have to. If the boss is watching, then they’re giving it their all. But as soon as the boss leaves, or if they think no one is watching, then their true work ethic comes out.

And how we treat others matters. If our work involves serving others, we need to serve others well. Even when we’re having a bad day and we show up to work, we need to show up and work. We can set aside the bad mood and hurt feelings. We can treat others with respect and perform our job well, even when we don’t feel like it. Sure. It may be hard, but we can do hard things. Perhaps those we’re serving are also having a rough day. The worker is being paid to perform their job well, so it’s on them to provide good service regardless of what else is happening in their life. And, yes. The customer should be kind, as well. But life is never as we want it. Things go sideways, and people have bad attitudes. Something goes wrong, and we tell ourselves that someone has to pay. And I have to ask. Is the customer still always right?

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Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Colossians 3:23

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“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46

Serving others can be a thankless job. Many people who are treated kindly do reciprocate or even acknowledge your efforts. Others don’t or can’t. Perhaps they don’t know who helped them, or they don’t know how to contact the person. It doesn’t really matter, though. The onus is on the one who is in the position to help someone in need. When we’re in a position to help others, we need to help them and help them well.

Consider the story of the Good Samaritan in the book of Matthew. A Jewish man travelling alone was robbed and beaten and left alongside the road to die. Different people passed him by, but they didn’t stop to help. And they were of the religious sort who would be expected to help someone in need. But they didn’t. Then a man from Samaria walked past him. When he saw the injured man, he felt compassion in his heart and stopped to help. He took him to a nearby inn and asked the innkeeper to take care of the injured man. And this Samaritan paid all the expenses. So. What’s the catch, you ask? The Jews and Samaritans despised each other. They wanted nothing to do with each other. Yet, this Samaritan laid aside all his political and religious thoughts and helped a wounded Jewish man. Can’t we do the same when we see someone in need? Even when we differ on anything, can’t we still serve someone well in their time of need?

You can read the story of the Good Samaritan at Matthew 10:25-37.