I'm a Secret Shopper

During my time off from van living I came across an opportunity to be a secret shopper.  This has been a fun and fascinating experience.  God has used it to help us eat. Because when we moved back into the van we didn’t have a place to cook so we needed to eat out and this paid for those meals. He also used it to grow Grace and I’s intimacy with each other. We had lots of fun dates in places we would normally never go to.  This secret shopper thing has been pretty cool.

What’s come along with this secret shopper stuff is also a keener eye for things that are going on around me at a restaurant.  I have become a bit more critical of how a place looks, its service quality, food quality, stocking efficiency, music, and lighting.  I am observing everything!  And with that I feel more responsible for the maintenance of the restaurant.  I want to do my part.  I find myself cleaning up places and making sure everything is in order on my end.  I do this because I don’t want a secret shopper to say the place is a mess because of me (they walk in the bathroom and see paper towels everywhere because I threw it on the floor instead of in the trash and the cleaners haven’t yet had time to clean it!).  I don’t want to hinder the score card of the restaurant.  

This has also gotten me thinking about our relationship with God and one another.  I wonder now am I taking pains to not hinder the relationship of another brother or sister (or even a non-christian) with God through my actions around them? Is the way that I walk and talk going to uplift and benefit those I interact with? If I’m going to bend over and pick up a paper towel so a restaurant doesn’t get points deducted on a survey, surely I would bear the name of Christ in such a way that wouldn’t detour or detract others from following him!

Another thing that has come up in my mind as well is how the servers act, the place is set, and the food is presented.  All these things are on the score card and I am sure they are told to the staff that they are required to do.  It's funny because there is a rote thing that the employees say but at the same time they must be genuine in saying them (like Chick-Fil-A’s famous “my pleasure”).  To hear all these different sayings from these different restaurants (or shops) is comical.  The different phrases at the different places is kinda cool though. It shows the uniqueness of the establishment as well as the one they represent’s desire to express what they want to communicate with the people they are serving. 

Thinking about these things reminds me of our watching Father over us.  The difference is that there’s no secret about it.  We know that he is looking to and fro for his righteous people.  We should know this and act accordingly.  Not because he is watching. I only say that because it is a reminder that he is watching.  We should be doing these things because we genuinely desire to please God and demonstrate what he (and we) want to communicate to the people we serve how great our God is. We bare his name and in so doing are representatives of his character and purpose for this world.  What a privilege!

So I ask the questions, “Are you living a life that would demonstrate the goodness of God?”  “Are you walking in such a way that would promote others to trust in him?”  If not, I want to encourage you to be mindful of these things.  God is definitely worth it!

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. Romans 14:13