Word of the Week - Hospitality
"Show Hospitality to one another without grumbling” 1 Peter 4:9
Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Hospitality can also refer to the act of being friendly and welcoming to guests and visitors. It can also refer to food, drink, entertainment, and lodging that an organization provides for guests, customers, or business colleagues.
Core Principles of Hospitality – At its core, hospitality is about creating a warm and welcoming environment where guest feel valued and cared for. The fundamental principles include:
Warmth and Courtesy: Greet guests with a genuine warmth and politeness to make them feel at home. This includes greeting people with a smile and a physical connection such as a handshake or hug if you know them well and apprpriate. This makes people feel seen and valued and it is a key to making them feel welcomed and accepted. This helps take down their natural defense barriers and allows them to be more open. This enhances relational connection.
Personalization: Hospitality is enhanced when we can customize and personalize it. First and foremost is using the person’s name. If we start by warmly addressing the person by their name, we are starting down this path. If we have a deeper relationship and start to learn more about their family and personal preferences. We can ask them about their spouse and kids or cater to their personal preferences as it relates to food, drink or topics of conversation.
Attention to Detail: Details really matter, and the little things can make the biggest impression or create the most friction. Trying to ensure that every aspect of the guest/client experience is done well and above expectations. Thinking through every aspect of the interaction from the guest’s perspective to ensure you are attentive to their needs and will be able to exceed their expectations and delight them in the process.
The heart of hospitality is well defined by Eleanor Roosevelt who said “True Hospitality consists of giving the best of yourself to your guests”. Hospitality is simply serving and loving people outside of your family/business/church in a way that makes them feel like they are part of the family. Of course, we should love those inside of our family/business/church etc. at an even higher level so they feel loved and accepted. A healthy person should not sacrifice internal relationship to serve outsiders in the name of being hospitable, which at times can become a challenging balancing act. One of the biggest blessings of my upbringing was the fact that I grew up in South Louisiana in an area known as Acadiana. This is the heart of Cajun country where many of the Acadians settled after migrating to the U.S. from France via a stop in a few other places on the way where they were not welcomed. What is interesting about Acadians/Cajuns is they are some of the most Hospitable and fun-loving people you will ever meet. They/we have a way of making guest (nonfamily/outsiders) feel fully welcomed and accepted. They will go out of their way to welcome, feed, entertain and love people who they don’t even know simply to make them feel welcomed. This is a blessing and gift that has served me and my family very well over the years. It is one of our Donner family values.
Biblical Hospitality, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” Hebrews 13:1-2 One of the distinctives of Christian hospitality is the guests. We extend hospitality to strangers as well as friends, seeking not only to deep fellowship, but also to draw people into the light of Christian community. We can use Hospitality to reach the lost. We can extend love through Hospitality to people who are unable to reciprocate. Hospitality is a way to give of ourselves to others expecting nothing in return. This is an effective way to win favor with others and allow them to experience the love of Jesus with the hope that they will be drawn into the family of believers.
Biblical Hospitality is also about honoring God by loving and serving the church and our fellow believers. “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” Romans 12:13 It is about loving other believers within our faith family. A little different than the concept of entertaining, Christian Hospitality does not have to be a special occasion, it is more of a lifestyle. It is simply opening up our homes and resources to our extended faith family. This can be as simple as preparing meals to take to people going through challenging times or inviting people into our homes for a prayer meetings and small groups. This allows us to deepen our relationship with other believers. As people feel more welcomed, they become more comfortable, which allows them to open their hearts and share areas of pain and struggle. This allows us to go deeper in relationship and minister to each other and build each other up in Christ. This strengthens the Church and is pleasing to Jesus. God uses Hospitality to build His Kingdom both inside and outside of the Church.
God is so loving and gracious that He has accepted us into His family and made us co-heirs with Jesus to His eternal Kingdom. He invites us to sit at the table with Him each day and eat our daily bread through abiding in Him. The response God desires for us as believers is to extend His love and grace to others. I love this quote “People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” – John Maxwell. Hospitality is simply a tangible way to show the love of Christ to others and live out the great commandment “Love God, Love Others”!
Have a great week…..
Duane