So recently the teams and I have been frequenting a coffee shop in the city. We have formed community and a bond with the owner. One day, I was at the coffee shop and decided to order a new drink, a juice! Fresh juiced fruited seemed very refreshing and filling at the time. I was working on a new creative project and need the energy, so it sounded perfect. Later, that day, I finished my creative work and went down to pay. As I walked back with one of my teammates, he mentioned the fact that I paid slightly higher than him, this was a difference of 2 Dirham (approximately 20 cent). I mentioned the juice that I got was slightly different and dismissed the discrepancy in price. Days later, I went back. I greeted the owner per the usual and decided to be adventurous and order a new drink…a Hot Chocolate! I used the WiFi to complete the task I had slated for my allotted time and went down to pay. Upon payment, I gave 20 Dirham (approximately $2). It is important to note, that at this point, nothing that I’ve bought, except food, has ever cost more than 20 Dirham. I handed the owner 20 and waited for change, only to be instructed that I owed more…without reaction, I went into my wallet to pay the remaining 3, said thank you and headed out. To give you more context, a cheeseburger and fries at the local burger spot cost 26 Dirham, a Moroccan Breakfast with eggs, bread, yogurt and tea/coffee cost 22 Dirham and I was just charged 23 Dirham for a Hot Chocolate. (For 10-30 cent more, I could have had significantly more) After paying the requested price for my drink, I headed out with the team. We returned home and had a conversation about the pricing of items. Generally, I order the tea, so that was the first item that I asked about regarding price. To my amazement, my friends had been paying 10 Dirham for tea, and I had been paying 12, a difference of 20 cents.
Now, I fully understand that the context of the financial value being discussed is minimal, based on our American view. However, for me it felt significant based on principle. I found myself, not in a space of anger, but a space of hurt. When you find yourself in sensitive spaces, it’s easy for the enemy to try to influence you in the spaces. Was the shop keeper intentionally over charging me? Did he like my friends better? Had I done something to offend him? Did I break a cultural norm or address him incorrectly? What had I done? Realizing, that the enemy was trying to bait me into his questioning spiral of influence me, I went to the Lord in prayer. As, I prayed about simply frequenting another shop, the Lord provided a very distinct ‘No’. Upon receiving that ‘No’, I asked, but what if He continues to overcharge me? The Lord responded, you will pay it with a smile.
What do you do when the Lord’s plans to use you in a place or for a person, goes beyond your feelings or comfort? In all this there was always one simple truth that I constantly overlooked, that shouldn’t be missed…God can’t use me in spaces I refuse to go. If I’m not at the shop, I can’t be used as a force of influence in that space. If you aren’t on the job, you can’t be used as a force of influence in your space. In addition to that, if WE show up with an attitude in the spaces of influence that we have been called to, we immediately negate any and everything the Lord wants to do through us in those places. I love the parable of the yeast.
“He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.””
??Matthew? ?13:33? ?NIV??
As Kingdom builders, inheritors and workers, we are called to spread Kingdom everywhere we go. Just as yeast has impact on its environment when activated by water. We have been activated by the living water and been charged to impact our environment or surroundings.
Are you willing to be the yeast, or are you content being flour?
