Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Hospitality vs. Entertaining

I've been wondering lately, what is true hospitality? Can you be hospitable with dust on your furniture and cobwebs in your corners? When you take in someone for the night and all you have to offer them is a freshly made bed with wrinkled sheets is that hospitality? What about making a dinner go from 4 servings to 8 servings just so you can share a meal? Is that hospitality? Or must hospitality be full blown six course meal, dust free house, designer fabrics, model home furniture, clean wood floors and no fingerprints on pictures or windows? I can't tell you how many times I do not listen to my instinct and invite someone over because my house isn't clean enough, pretty enough or I only have leftovers to offer. Hospitality is about the other person not about me. Hospitality should be about their needs while entertaining is all about how I want others to think of me. Mary and Martha. Without Martha the house may have been dirtier and the food not as plentiful. Somehow though I think God would have worked through that mess and those less than perfect meal servings.

Martha practiced entertaining. Mary practiced hospitality. Do I practice hospitality or only entertaining?

1 comment:

MountainCoach said...

Keep up the great work on your blog. I'm impressed with how consistent you are.