Epworth United Methodist Student Ministries

3077 Valleyview Drive     Toledo Ohio 43615       419.531.4236

Students With A Task  

Service Worship Accountability Teamwork

                  Ponder this..... October 3, 2007

ONE ORDER OF FRIENDSHIP COMING RIGHT UP

Nothing can be more frustrating than pulling up to a fast-food restaurant and getting horrible service. From top to bottom the experience just straight up stinks! The person on the other end of the hard to understand speaker system is rude at best, you pull around only to find your order totally messed up, or worse yet you get around the corner and they ask you to pull over in a parking space because they don’t have your order ready. And just like that your “fast” food experience quickly turns into the “most time consuming and frustrating” food experience.

But then it happens…you find a rare gem, a diamond in the rough, a desert rose if you will…of course I am talking about a fast-food experience that is incomparable to any before it. A fast-food experience, for lack of a better phrase, that blows your face off! The service is phenomenal, the employees are kind and genuinely want your experience to be a good one, the speaker system comes in loud and clear, not to mention the food is great too! It is the kind of experience that keeps you coming back for more.

What is the difference between these two scenarios??

When you strip the fast food business (or any business for that matter) down to its bare essentials, the main ingredient to success is quality service! Think about it, even if the food is great, you wouldn’t go back if the staff there treated you like dirt…at least I hope you wouldn’t go back. Putting the customer and his or her needs first is what distinguishes good service from bad service.

The same is true of friendships. The question is when it comes to being a friend or making friends, which of the two “fast-food” experiences are you representing? Are you showing genuine interest in others, or are you just looking out for yourself? Do people walk away from meeting you and think to themselves, “that wasn’t a good experience at all!” or do they say, “I’d like to be friends with him or her.” If you do it right, you can have friends that last a lifetime!

The Bible has much to say in the way of serving others and being a great friend, here are a couple of examples:

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Proverbs 18:24
A man who has friends must himself be friendly…

Here are a few helpful tips to being a great friend and making great friends:

1. Give first, get second.     Nobody likes a selfish person, so decide that you are going to be a friend to others first, and before you know it you will have more friends than you thought possible.

2. Encouragement.   Everyone needs a little pick-me-up every once in a while…who better than a great friend.

3. Availability. Friendships are give and take; don’t just be a consumer, be available as well.

If you put these simple steps into practice you will not only be a great friend to others, but you will find out that making friends is easier than you thought!

7th and 8th Graders --- 6:00pm Sunday in Epworth's Family Life Center for Junior Varsity SWAT. 

Senior High --- 7:30pm in Epworth's Family Life Center for Varsity SWAT.

                    We'll be there..... will you?