A Player Outside the Door

It was well after dark Monday, when we stepped outside to go to the car and drive to a poker tournament.  Four people were chatting in two separate conversations near or apartment door.  We thought little of it, said "Hello" when someone greeted us and walked on by.

"Hey," one of the four people then said when we were halfway down the sidewalk.  Instinctively we stopped, knowing he was talking to us.  It was based on years dealing with beggars whose path we crossed -- strangers who summon up the courage to get your attention, so they can make a pitch for money.  A few times, they've even gone door-to-door at our apartment complex.

We turned around, walked back a little -- and found the man who called us was someone who attends other poker tournaments.  He explained he used to live in our apartment complex.  "I wondered why you didn't say hello to me," he said.

Well, we had in a quiet way.  But we never looked at the group, to see who was standing outside the door.  (It was hard to see in the darkness, anyway.)  We also presumed the four people outside were talking with a neighbor -- and that none of the people in his circle of friends would also be in our circle of poker players.

We drove to poker night and became increasing upset -- with ourselves.  By simply walking past a group of people, we had failed a command of Jesus:

You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.... let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:14, 16

One way to be a "light" is to be friendly toward others.  Yet for some Christians, who read their Bibles closely, this can be a challenging concept.  Why?

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendly with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. - James 4:4

The man who stopped us Monday has challenged our belief in God at times.  Some might contend he's no "friend" at all.  But consider the example Jesus set....

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." - Matthew 9:11-13

We never even looked to see who any of the people outside the door were.  We actually didn't want to interrupt them.  But Jesus probably would care enough to check, and engage with that group -- doing the work of calling people to walk with Him.

Based on the population of our area and the number of regular poker players we face in live tournaments, the odds of a "regular" standing outside our door on a Monday night were about 4,500:1 -- far higher than the odds of hitting a "one-out" straight flush on the river.  Yet it happened.  And not only did we miss it, we were totally unprepared for the possibility.

When we see that man again (wherever it might be), we plan to ask for his forgiveness.  And we hope to learn a lesson from it: "checking" and "reading" other people goes far beyond the poker table.  It can be all about building good relationships.

As we finished writing this, we heard an old song on Christian radio which seemed perfectly timed to put an exclamation point on this personal lesson.  Maybe you could use it, too....

NOTE: We'll have more to say about "light" in a future post.