Walmart Drivers and Humility

Today my son had groceries delivered and I could tell by the Spirit, that the woman was a real woman of God. As I thought about wanting to tip her, I was reminded of an incident we had a few months back with a fellow of Arab descent. I thought it was going to be a usual delivery but after a few minutes, I heard my son using a few choice words. As I came out of my room, I asked him what the problem was to which the man kept saying that he needed help. At first it seemed as if he was refusing to do his job because my son was black which of course, set my son off. But because their interaction was getting out of hand, I immediately put on some clothes and hurried downstairs. As I approached the gentleman, who was now in his van waiting, I told him to give me the groceries to which he seemed shocked and even said, ‘You’re going to help?’ I didn’t respond but instead headed towards the trunk to assist.

The entire time, my son is spewing hate filled words down the stairs to which I told the man to simply leave the groceries at the bottom of stairs. I decided I’d take them up myself because I didn’t like the way he was being treated. I even made sure I carried the heaviest items to which he offered but because of the drama he caused, I took all the weight. As I walked up the stairs, my son soon directed his anger towards me, to which I had to explain this incident didn’t justify the police having to come out over some groceries. That didn’t sit well with my son because, as a man, he felt disrespected, which I totally understood. But oftentimes in order to keep the peace, you have to deal with a little disrespect.

After it was all said and done, I must admit, I was a little upset too. Only because the way in which the man refused to do his job seemed as if his refusal was based on race. But as I sat at my desk hashing over what had just happened, I was reminded of Matthew 5:44 which says, ‘…love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use…and persecute you.’ I realized that for whatever reason, this man was being hateful which meant I had to do something good, so I gave him a $7 tip. But even then, something kept itching in my spirit about the whole situation. That next morning during prayer I found out why.

The Itchiness of Humility God asked me to consider his position. He was a delivery driver and probably didn’t make that much. It was already a side job which meant he was already in some type of financial bind. That said, he had to deliver groceries for Walmart which meant he had to lift heavy items all day. On top of that, we lived on the second floor which meant he would have had to make several trips upstairs on this one delivery; not to mention his other deliveries for the day. But that wasn’t all I saw. God then reminded me of what the man said - he asked for help. It wasn’t that he was refusing to carry the groceries up the stairs. It was that he wanted help doing it. When I saw that, I felt bad and relieved all at the same time. I felt bad because I’d only helped to keep the peace, but I was relieved because I tipped him. And though he signed up to haul groceries up as many of flight of stairs as many times a day as the job required, that didn’t mean I had to make him do it. God was letting me know that because a person is required to do a thing, I can still humble myself and help them do it; whether I’m paying them or not. But then I saw something else. What if his refusal wasn’t just about the color of our skin? What if this gentleman was Muslim? With that in mind, what kind of a witness did my assistance leave? Especially since after it was all said and done, to find out that his most disturbing delivery for the day had tipped him, must have left an impression. Well, God didn’t have to tell me twice because now I no longer require the delivery drivers to haul my groceries upstairs. I go to them because to be honest, they’ve already done more than enough. The simple fact that I didn’t have to go to the store myself is enough to be satisfied with only having to bring them upstairs. My word to you: watch out for pride because something as simple as a delivery can be disguised as a prideful trap. Check yourself and be sure to pass the humility test when it comes....because it is coming.

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