From The Pastor’s Pen – By Brian Horrobin
The 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral may be more famous but for a few days anyway the 2022 version at the Golden Corrall seems more legendary.
I am talking about the big brawl that broke out at the Bensalem, Pennsylvania buffet restaurant where a man who ordered a rare steak received his portion first, rather than the man who had previously ordered a well-done steak.
It seems that the man with the well-done order felt he should be served first, even though his steak took longer to cook.
What ensued was complete mayhem with about 40 people throwing tables and chairs at each other.
This all began because one man felt he should get his steak first!
If he had just thought about it for a moment, he would have realized a well-done steak takes just a wee bit longer to cook than one that is cooked rare.
The need to be first can be very ugly and cause lots of division and conflict.
The apostle John spoke about a man in a church who was infected with this “me first” virus.
Here is what he said in the Book of 2 John, verse 9-10: “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.”
Hmmm, this is not the guy you want to be best friends with, is it?
The need to be first usually ends up stinking up the joint and leaves everyone on edge.
Humility is a much more fragrant scent, so let’s try that one on for size on our next visit in public.
