I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me
March 5, 2010 by cloften
Filed under Bible, Church and Leadership, Family and Parenting
So our Worship Pastor, Jason Merrick, AKA Dr. Worship, and I are having lunch at Quiznos yesterday. (I call him Dr. Worship, because he leads worship at our church and is by profession a medical doctor). Anywho, we are sitting there and “Somebody’s Watching Me” comes on, and of course, I stopped talking. I had to take a moment. So, I offer Merrick 2 points to name the artist. How many points you get is based on difficulty. I offer you the same points. (Points can be redeemed for discounted blog posts on cloften.com)
That song at Quiznos reminded me of one of my favorite stories that happend to Merrick and I at Quiznos. I have told this story before in sermons, so I apologize to those that have heard this. (However, one of the benefits of cloften.com for me is that it becomes a repository for my favorite stories).
Merrick and I eat there almost every Thursday. Whoever gets there first gets in line and orders the sandwiches. (That’s right we eat at the same place every week and order the same sandwiches every week. You have a problem with that?) Typically it’s me, what with him being a doctor and all. This time he was there first and there was a line. I go to stand next to him and after a minute the dude behind us starts getting angry. I won’t say that he was yelling, but suffice to say it was loud enough for everyone in the small Quiznos to hear it. “Oh I guess you guys just get in line wherever you want, huh?” Merrick tries to explain to him that he was there first, we order together, etc. “Whatever you want to call it, (obnoxious noise like a phhhhh)” Just as Merrick was about to explain it to him a little more forcefully, Rufus there mumbles something else at us. I look at him and apologize and have him get in front of us. He shoots us a smug look and orders.
If you don’t know this, Merrick and I are both high justice and quite competitive. That was hard for both of us. I leaned into Merrick and said, “The people that work here know that we eat here all the time and that we plan worship services here. They are watching.” We calm down, order, get our food and sit down.
The guy in front took his sandwich to go. After he left, the manager comes over to us and thanks us for how we handled that. She explained that he is a regular and he gives people trouble all the time. She appreciated the grace and humility that we showed and thanked us again. She walks away and I look at Merrick. He says, “OK, you win.”
If you are a follower of Christ and people know it, know this–people are watching you. People want to see if you live the same way you talk at church. I always feel like somebody’s watching me, and they are. Unlike Rockwell (there’s your 2 pt answer), it is not paranoid. It is reality.
Don’t forget that Michael Jackson sang backup on that song. I really wish I could think of something besides that pile of money with googly eyeballs when I hear it – thank you GEICO!
Good job you two. Yes, I have heard the story but it is still a good one so keep telling it! One of my favorites that usually throws people off – they either get very defensive or just shut up — is ask them if they are a Christian. One example, I was at Cabot Tires N More and this customer came up and started complaining loudly about everything. Nothing the people behind the counter said seemed to help and he was getting worse by the minute complaining about the price, and everything else under the sun. There were a handful of people in the waiting area. I walked up and said, “Excuse me. Are you a Christian?” He paused, looked at me and said, “Yes.” This has actually been the response from everyone I have done this to. I told him that if all Christians acted like him, no one would want to be one. I also told him that he needed to calm down and show some respect. He started to complain to me so I then asked him to do me a favor. I asked the employee behind the counter for a pen and paper. I wrote down my name and cell phone number and told him to go home, pray and read his Bible for one hour. If at that point he was still angry and did not want to pay his bill to call me and I would pay it for him. He calmed down, put my name/number in his pocket and quietly left. The staff and others thanked me. This man never called me for which I am thankful because his bill was more than $300 but I would have paid it. I have some defensive reaction stories too but that’s for another time. Try it, you will get a reaction from others — good or bad.