What's in It for Me?

At Home Depot, an elderly man in a wheel chair approached me with a smile on his face.  "Is there anything I can help you with, Ma'am?" I smiled back and said, "Oh, no thanks.  I found what I needed." He looked at the bottle of Round Up in my hands. "Oh, be careful with that You know not to put it on anything but the weeds because it kills everything around them."  I replied, "Oh yes, I know to only spray it on the weeds growing in the cement cracks!" He wished me a good day and thanked me for shopping Home Depot.

I could have looked at the kind man in the wheel chair thinking, "Wow!  I can't believe this old coot got a job.  He can't move around very much.  I could barely get my cart through the aisle because of his bulky motorized wheelchair!" Instead of thinking such insensitive and cruel remarks I thought about how much this employee went out of his way to help me. Now that's good customer service!  

Funny we look down on the elderly as if they aren't worth a hill of beans.  Yet, some of the best customer service I've experienced has been from the more mature workers.  They know how to treat others since they've lived around long enough to know that a smile on the face with a willingness to help someone in need is not only good for business but good for mind, body and soul.

Many times when we help someone we may have a second agenda on our minds.  As the old saying goes, What's in it for me?  In our materialistic and individualistic world, we tend to think of people and situations around us in terms of how they can satisfy our wants.  We are prideful and selfish creatures by nature.  (Well, at least most of us!)  It's a fall-out from original sin.  

Several examples of "what's in it for me?" come to mind: 

A man marries a woman he doesn't love because she comes from money.  He'll inherit a fortune if she dies.

A married woman hooks up with one of her coworkers.  He husband doesn't fulfill her sexual needs so she goes outside the marital bedroom.  

A so-called friend is always asking for loans.  He says he will pay them back but never does.

A woman decides that having a baby now will hurt her career progress.  An abortion is the answer so she can keep up her high end social life.

I remember throughout school being used by boys because they knew I was smart and made good grades.  In junior high, one particular guy only spoke to me if he needed an answer to a class assignment.  I had the biggest crush on him and really wanted to be his girlfriend!  But, of course he only saw me as one of the geeks who could help me out with Earth Science.  Then, I remember my junior year in college at A&M.  Two guys said they would take me out on a date if I'd help them study.  Of course, they totally lied and never took me out.  I didn't really mind because they were clearly not my type.  I helped them out of my own kind-hearted nature knowing very well the only reason they even spoke to me was to help them boost their academic grades.

Instead of thinking, "What's in it for me?" we should think, "How can I help someone as a disciple of Christ?" In other words, how can I be less selfish and more selfless?  I think placing God in the center of the Universe and trusting in His divine word is a starting point. We are all one big community of believers.  We all breathe and bleed.  We all laugh and cry.  We all get sick.  We all eventually die.  So, why can't we partner up with others to uplift and inspire instead of use each other for passions and profit?

Let go of the urge to throw out the question, "What is in it for me?"  Let go of the ego which places self as the king of the universe instead of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Help our fellow men and women to the best of our abilities without expecting anything in return - true humility and charity.

-J.