Cultivating a Heart of Hospitality By Olivia Warner
What do you think of when you hear the phrase "practice hospitality"?
Do you picture a door open wide to a spacious home with warm food spread across the table and a smiling face to greet you? Or do you imagine a group of friends curled up on big, comfy couches, trading stories and laughter with a host who keeps the conversation and snacks flowing effortlessly? If you're anything like me, maybe you've fallen into the trap of thinking that hospitality is some picture-perfect event done by the put-together people. You know, the outgoing ones with the big house, the coffee table clear from last week's mail, and the calm, obedient children. And then you look at yourself and think, "I just can't do that," and you write off hospitality as something you can't practice. Certainly not right now, anyway.
There are a myriad of reasons we come up with. Maybe your apartment feels cramped, or your roommate is uncomfortable with guests. Perhaps a busy work schedule or small children underfoot make it challenging to share a meal. Maybe your quiet personality doesn't match the bubbly energy you think is needed to facilitate groups. Or perhaps a tight budget has held you back because there's just not money to spare for hosting. If you're looking at your life and seeing all the things that can't measure up to your image of hospitality, I want to offer you a word of hope and challenge. It's time to release the pressure of perfectionism and start cultivating a new perspective. Hospitality is about your heart – not the state or size of your home.
In 1 Peter 4, we're encouraged to live according to God's ways in every area of our lives. He tells us to love each other deeply (v. 8), and then goes on to speak specifically about hospitality.
"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 4:9-11a, NIV)
Did you catch anything significant in there? Not only is hospitality a direct command from God, but it's one we should do without grumbling. When we choose not to practice hospitality, we choose to disobey God. And when we bemoan a too-small apartment or busy schedule compared to someone else's "ideal life," we're complaining about the very resources and responsibilities He has entrusted us.
How's that for double conviction? Gulp. But the point of all of this is not for us now to be burdened by shame and guilt. Instead, it's a chance to walk in freedom, understanding how God has equipped us to show hospitality wherever we are at. As we embrace this mindset, we free ourselves from the pressure to perform and find that we can walk in obedience and joy while cultivating a habit of hospitality. That passage in 1 Peter tells us that God's grace has been gifted to us in various forms so that we can be faithful stewards.
This means we will each have different abilities and tools we can use for hospitality. It also means your unique gifts are needed to serve the body of Christ and have been given to you by God for that very purpose! For some, your loud, vibrant energy will welcome people in and keep them entertained. For others, your quiet gentleness will be the listening ear to tend to an aching heart. For some, the flexibility of singleness will allow you room for creativity and fun in connecting during evenings and weekends.
For others, involving your family in hosting will demonstrate to the world the importance of a home built with Jesus at the center. For some, a small apartment or roommates will encourage you to get out and explore new places, inviting others along to experience life with you. For others, more space at home means you could have a group over for Bible study or a potluck. All of these are blessings, and these are how God's grace and gifts manifest through us to be a light for one another.
So let's be faithful stewards and get out there to be hospitable to one another! Try out some of the ideas below if you're looking to cultivate a heart of hospitality in your corner of the world, and don't be afraid to tweak them to be realistic for you.
- Invite a new guest or someone you don't know from church for a coffee and get-to-know-you time. Bonus points if you treat them to their drink.
- Organize a potluck with your small group or other families where everyone pitches in a dish or snack to share.
- Cook and deliver a meal to a friend you know is sick, struggling, or in need of encouragement. If you know they'd appreciate the company, ask if you can join them!
- Plan a game night as a lowkey way to share some laughs and positivity with others. This is an excellent option if you're looking for free/low-budget ideas.
- Tight on space at home? Pack some sandwiches or easy-to-go foods and ask a couple of people to join you for a picnic at a local park or outdoor meeting area.
- Ask the new woman at work, church, or school to grab lunch with you. This could happen in the office kitchen, your home, or out at a local restaurant.
Whatever it looks like for you right now, I pray you are inspired to get creative and intentional to start practicing hospitality more in your everyday.
