Pssst...Hey, Homeschooler, Is Your Slip Showing?

I'm gonna skip preaching and go right to meddling. Don't worry. I won't have time to take up an offering given how I'm gonna be run of out town on a rail and all. If I don't have to go into witness protection for writing this post, I hope someone will thank me for it.

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. I had heard rumblings of this kinda thing from friends who work in the restaurant industry. The first one to tell me how the real world works was, in fact, a Christ-following homeschool mom who waited tables on weekends.

We shared a meal at the restaurant where she worked. When it arrived, one of our group offered to say grace. My waitress friend snickered and said, “Oh good grief! Just don't join hands when we pray. If you do, the waitstaff will start betting on whether we are gonna leave a tip or not.”

My innocence peeked out. “Whaddya mean?”

Seeing my 'deer in the headlights' look, she led me along gently lest she spook me. “Oh, honey, you learn when you wait tables - the family that comes in on Sunday, holds hands, and says the blessin' is gonna be the most cantankerous, cheapest customer you have all week. Cheap and mean. You can count on it.”

Courtesy A. Hughes

She regaled me with stories of how her cheapskate 'brothers and sisters in Christ' had treated her like the enemy while the 'unwashed heathen' were easy to get along with and tipped generously. I should have paid closer attention, I guess, given what happened this week.

In my homeschool community, I facilitate PR for classes, trips and activities. I pass along word of events when I hear of them. Lately, I've done PR for a fella whose faith differs from mine in notable ways. I have been mindful of that reality as we've worked together. I could tell he was watchful and quietly curious about how we differed from one another and why. I wanted to be salty and exude light as we interacted. I hoped he would eventually ask, “Why are we different?”

My PR efforts led to the expansion of his classes to a nearby city. The fee structure for the two hour class was phenomenal. A fee cap afforded opportunities to larger or cash strapped families. I glowed with excitement knowing my PR, simple as it was, had helped this fella's business grow. I was proud of my rocking homeschool community!

That glow turned to a burn of shame this week. I discovered the other class had folded. Clients behaved unfairly asking for additional tuition breaks. I pondered how much cheaper his class was than the local YMCA and how these same folks would not have haggled with that organization. All I could do was shake my head.

Courtesy Mad Penguin Creative

When asked to expand to a 3^rd city for the convenience of some clients, he agreed even though the venue was over an hour from his home. He raised the tuition a modest amount to cover his extra time, gas, and effort, including transporting a large amount of equipment.

The same folks who asked for the class (and had haggled over tuition already) failed to register for the class they had requested. They opted to continue to attend at the original location because they balked at the tuition increase. In the end, the instructor opted to close the 2^nd location as well. He'd had enough.

I get it. I do. We are a one income family with a son in college and medical bills that drove us to file chapter 13 and lose a home. Gas and food prices have gone up. I feel it in my coin purse too. We are all doing what we can to afford what we can as long as we can.

Courtesy D. Ahola

I understand the need for good stewardship. I struggle, however, when stewardship becomes an excuse for taking advantage of someone who has already gone to great lengths to accommodate our learning community.

As the details of the story came out, I sat in stunned disbelief. I thought back to when I was younger. One of the most embarrassing experiences for a teen girl was for her slip to show beneath her hemline. I felt exposed and embarrassed. It was as if someone hissed, “Hey, you Christian homeschooler, you! Your [spiritual] slip is showing.”

No. I haven't heard the 'other' side of the story nor have I met the folks in the other city. Still in all, I am sad. As he told me the story, I could see the same sense of disdain and disgust sweep over his face that I had seen on the face of my waitress friend of years ago. Inwardly, I wept. I fear my saltiness and light have been tainted by his experience. Any chance I had to share my faith has been torpedoed; the damage will take months and months to repair.

So, on this day of Sabbath rest, I have to ask, “Hey Christ-following homeschooler, is your slip showing?” The world is watching. Oh, how I pray we give them something to marvel at...and for all the right reasons. 

Matthew 5:13-15 (The Message)
Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.