Good morning Church!
Because Ms. Selina and I have done all our banking in Griffin for the last 6 years, we have seen no reason to change even though the bank is 20 minutes away. You see, they know us there. When I went to bank last week, Ms. Lesa, the teller, called me by name and asked me which account I needed to access. As she completed her task, we talked about how automation has tried to take over, well, everything. It took 60 seconds to complete her task, but 5 minutes for us to quit talking. We bemoaned the “younger generation” who sees no problem with ordering your groceries online, letting some stranger pick them out, a stranger either delivers it curbside or a stranger brings it to your door. My kids do that. It’s not wrong but just not for me. Sorry, I want to pick out my own bananas. I want to see the cashier at Ingles, who by the way, know Ms. Selina and me. Brother JJ ate lunch with me at the Waffle House last week and he said, “They know you in here.” Yes, they do. And I know most of the staff. You see, I want to go somewhere (someone que the music) “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.” But as I drove away from the bank, I thought…
Have we as a society lost that desire for human interaction? I’ve heard the phrase many times, “I’m done peopling.” While I have had days where I felt the same way, it just seems to roll of the tongue way too easily far too often. We can order everything online, and it’s convenient, but where are the people? I can’t talk to my computer because it talks to “the cloud.” This won’t shock most of you, because we grew up in a time before computers. There was no Walmart. There was a Sparkle market or a Piggly Wiggly. Your mechanic was probably somebody’s uncle who owned his own gas station, where they pumped your gas, cleaned your windshield and checked your oil. You paid for everything with cash or check because credit cards weren’t even a thing. And no, I’m not just an old guy whining about the way things used to be, or maybe I am, but there is just a coldness by isolation that can only be warmed by seeing someone who recognizes you, greets you and asks you if you’re going to “have your usual?” So my point? Don’t stop peopling. You never know, if you let your light shine, it may be the first step to influence someone who doesn’t have what you have, happiness in Jesus. You just can’t share that on your computer.
In him,
Brother Bob
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