Let’s begin with attitude. If you work with the public, it is easy to have a bad attitude at times. I remember working my way through graduate school as a teller in a bank. We were only allowed one thousand dollars in our main till and nine thousand more dollars in our secondary till. If we went over that amount, we’d have to transfer money out, which took both time and paperwork. That meant we did not enjoy customers who came in with a lot of cash.
We had one customer who was a concert promoter. Not only did he deal in large amounts of cash, but he was often demanding and sharp-tongued. Inevitably, he would come into the bank late afternoon on a Monday (our busiest day) and deposit tens of thousands of dollars, which meant we had to count every bill as he watched intently. Then, he’d push across a bag of coins. That bag might contain a hundred dollars-worth of various coins!
The whole time with him was so unpleasant that tellers would close their windows when it was his time just so they didn’t have to deal with him. Others would extend their time with another customer to make sure they didn’t get him at their window. Sadly, I fell to the temptation of extending time with other customers as well so I could avoid working with him.
In hindsight, I fell victim to temptation because my commitment to my theology was not strong enough. That man was worthy of dignity and respect based on the image of God within him. If I truly believed that he was made in God’s image (and that meant I showed him the dignity and respect he deserved), then I should have welcomed him with a smile and sought to help him any way I could. (Note, he was never abusive, just abrasive.)