Christians Don’t Get to Choose Who to Serve

This is a revised version of a post in which I asked the question: Do Christians get to choose who to serve? Three years later, I’m ready to simply answer with an emphatic “No. We don’t,” but ask again: why would any Christian even think we get to choose when it comes to serving people?

I get that as a business owner, you may want the ability to choose who you do and do not serve. And perhaps at times, religious beliefs play into that.  But I don’t think you can claim to be Christian AND refuse to serve people. It’s just not theologically sound. Or as my Mamaw would say: you can’t back it up with the Bible.

Jesus never refused to serve anyone.

Not the leper

Not the hemorrhaging woman

Not the woman at the well who had been married five times

Not the Centurian solider whose daughter was dying

Not the Gentiles who didn’t keep the Jewish laws

Not the hungry

Not the blind

It’s at the very core of what it means to be a follower of Christ—loving people who are hard for us to love and serving people that we don’t really want to serve. Loving people who don’t follow our rules. Serving people who believe differently than we do. The journey with Jesus is not a cafeteria line where we get to pick and choose the things we like. It’s a great big banquet where everyone is invited…and there is cake for everyone.

So if you want to make the poor business decision of refusing service to people you don’t like, then best of luck to you. But don’t bring Jesus into it. Being Christian doesn’t give us the right to refuse to serve anyone. It means we are compelled and commanded to serve them all.

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