Rivalries End Where God Begins

Today’s reading: Leviticus 19:15-18

A few weeks ago, a friend asked what I would charge to mow his and his neighbor’s lawns. I quoted him a price, and he all-but hired me (pending a quick consultation with his neighbor, of course).

But then I talked myself out of the sale.

“Who does your yards now?” I asked.

“Oh, we have a guy who has done a good job for us for a couple of years, but the problem is he’s just too unreliable. He hardly ever shows up when he says he will.”

This bothered me.

“Well, most people I know in the lawn business are like me,” I said. “They do many other things for a living, too. So it’s often hard to stick to a precise schedule. I can’t always do it myself. But, if  a customer ever tells me that timeliness is important to him, I always make it a priority to accommodate.”

My friend nodded.

“Yes, that’s the way it should be,” he said. “And when I hire you, I want you to know that I’ll be understanding if you were to call and tell me that you’ll be late by a couple of hours — or even a day. I just like to know what’s going on.”

“Well,” I said. “Have you ever mentioned that to your current yard guy? Have you ever explained  that you’d just like him to keep in touch when he’s late?”

My friend thought about it a while and finally decided, “No. I don’t think I have.”

I realized God was not yet ready for me to take on this job — even though it would have been very nice to have two customers on the same block.

“As much as I would appreciate your business,” I told my friend, “I need to decline until you’ve had that chat with your current guy. If you talk to him, and his service doesn’t improve, then I would be honored to start doing your yard.”

The next time I saw my friend, he reported that things are now going very well with his yard man.

“I’d still love to hire you, but I’m not going to do it as long as my guy is still doing a great job. I finally did have a talk with him, and he’s been very punctual the last two times we’ve called. We are still his happy customers.”

Today’s reading makes me glad to have missed out on this job.

“… and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor…” (Verse 16)

My friend and his neighbor are two potential customers I am praying will not hire me.

Thanks be to God for endless opportunities for peace — even amongst rivals.