I manage a coffee shop. Yesterday, a guy came in for an interview. He was homeless. I could smell it before I saw him. His shirt was stained, his hair was matted, but he had shaved his face clean.
He handed me a resume that was wet at the corners. “I’m a hard worker,” he said. “I just need a chance. I can wash dishes. I can take out trash. I’ll stay in the back.” Customers were staring.
My boss (the owner) walked out. He looked at the guy. “We don’t have a dishwasher position,” my boss said. The guy’s shoulders slumped. He nodded and turned to leave. “We have a Front of House Manager position,” my boss continued.
The guy stopped. “Sir, look at me. I can’t be in the front.” “Not in that shirt, you can’t,” my boss said. “Go next door to the department store. Buy a shirt, a tie, and some slacks. Put it on my tab.
“Then come back here and start training. You have kind eyes. I can teach you to make coffee. I can’t teach kindness.”
That was six months ago. That “homeless guy” is now our best employee. He knows every regular’s name. He’s not homeless anymore. Sometimes people don’t need a handout. They need a uniform and a belief that they belong in it.
My Commentary:
On Labor Day, we celebrate the millions of people whose work keeps our communities and our country going. But this story reminds us that Labor Day should celebrate something even deeper: the dignity of the worker.
The coffee shop owner could have seen dirty clothes, homelessness, and a man who did not belong in front of customers. Instead, he saw something more important: “You have kind eyes.”
What a profoundly Christian way to see another human being.
Jesus constantly looked beyond appearances. Others saw a tax collector, Jesus saw Matthew. Others saw a sinful woman, Jesus saw a person worthy of mercy. Others saw fishermen, Jesus saw apostles. Christ had an extraordinary ability to see not simply what people were, but what, with love and opportunity, they could become.
That is what this employer did. He didn’t merely give the man money. He gave him dignity, responsibility, a new shirt — and most importantly, a chance.
Work is about more than earning a paycheck. Meaningful work tells us, “I am needed. I can contribute. I have something worthwhile to offer.” In Christian teaching, honest work participates in God’s continuing work of creation and service.
Perhaps this Labor Day we should remember not only those who have good jobs, but those desperately searching for one: the unemployed, the homeless, the formerly incarcerated, the immigrant, the person recovering from failure and asking someone to believe in them again.
Sometimes the greatest gift we can give another person is not charity. It is opportunity.
The owner said, “I can teach you to make coffee. I can’t teach kindness.”
Six months later, the man had a job, a home, and a future.
Someone looked beyond what he appeared to be and saw what God had already placed within him. That is worth celebrating this Labor Day.
Were YOU ever in a position to do what the owner of the coffee shop did? If not, what would YOU have done?
ABIDING JOY IN YOUR HEART IS THE INFALLIBLE SIGN OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD!!
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