Perception

Our church just completed a coin drive to help our children go to Kids Camp. I am thrilled that we have 25 kids leaving Monday to have a great time at camp. My responsibility today was to take the big jug of coins and cash to the bank to be deposited. Being a bank, I figured they had the stuff to count coins accurately, if not happily. The jug of coins weighs around 50 pounds, so you don't want to carry it further than you have to, and you have to use both hands. I made it through the front door and someone was standing at each teller window, so I asked one of the workers if there was someplace it would be okay to set the jug down while I waited for an available teller. One lady smiled and pointed to a clear area of counter space and I headed that direction. Just prior to being relieved of the load of coins another lady said quite urgently, "Are they separated?" The jug is clear, so I thought it was a rather silly question, but I answered "No". She replied, "We can't take them unless they are separated", to which I replied, still carrying the full weight of the jug, "I was told that you have a coin counter." With a matter of fact expression, she said, "We do but we don't sort coins. They have to be separated." With that matter settled, I thanked her for the information and headed to the door. However, it is more difficult to pull the door toward you than it is to push it away when you are carrying a bulky load of coins. No one made a move to help, and I got the door open and made it to the truck.

I was not angry that the bank doesn't sort coins. I should have called or gone in empty handed to make sure. My feeling was that the bank had missed a golden opportunity to display helpfulness in excess of policy. One person saying, "I hate that you have had to carry that jug of coins for nothing" as she reached to help with the door would have given me a completely different impression of the entire bank. What I got was information. I needed the information but a little grace would have turned a frustrating experience into a pleasant one. I would not expect them to sort the coins for me if their machine doesn't do it, but I did expect them to show a little sympathy for my situation.

Maybe that's how we as church people should be. In stead of giving someone only the truth, which the person may not want to hear, we can add a little grace to the truth and possibly get a much better result.