Today is National Waitstaff Day. I’m writing this nearly a month before the celebration, but my wife and I went out for supper tonight and, sure enough, we had a waiter. The timing of the writing of this devotional could not have been planned any better!
According to Zippia.com, there are over 1,609,224 waiters/waitresses currently employed in the United States. Of those, 80.1% are women, while 19.9% are men. The average age for those serving in this profession is 28 years old.1
For those who think this is an easy job, think again! You’ve obviously never done it before if you would say something like that. You’ve never dealt with demanding people who have you running all over the place to meet their whims. Some customers will take advantage of you, believing “it’s your job” to constantly be running for them. A few customers can get aggressive (usually men) or turn into a mob of Karens!
Let’s not forget about the mess they have to clean up. Some diners seem to forget all table manners. And the parents who come in with children often leave with more food on the floor than in the child’s mouth. Guess who gets to clean it up.
Sitting diagonally from us, we watched a little girl put most of her meal on the floor while the parents did NOTHING to stop it. The parents weren’t even apologetic about the mess. I would have been horrified if I saw that my kid had done that!
Those serving in this profession are facing an even worse issue. “The federal minimum wage for waitstaff in 2024 is just $2.13 an hour.”2 They make up the rest of their wages in tips. With soaring food prices, the meal that once cost $10 is now $15 or higher. Portions are smaller. When your final bill arrives, grumpy customers will
leave minimal tips – if any – thinking that they are sticking it to the restaurant. However, it’s the waitstaff that gets hurt. They could work a hard, demanding shift and walk away with very little money to show for it.
In the economy as it is, “an estimated 87% of restaurants are operating with insufficient staff.” And, restaurants “have an annual turnover rate of 74% — the highest of any industry in America.”3
The first portion of this devotional is just a friendly encouragement to treat waitstaff with courtesy, respect, and dignity. Tip well – in fact, you may be making up for some skinflint earlier who thought he was being cute by leaving a penny. When you tip well, leave a Gospel tract with the tip. When they see your financial generosity, they might be more tempted to consider your spiritual generosity in sharing the Gospel.
As Christians, we all are a part of God’s waitstaff. Isaiah 40:29-31 says, “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. (30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: (31) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, 
and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
What does it mean to “wait upon the Lord?” Consider first your restaurant waiter. They don’t sit over in a corner playing games on their cell phone, idly chitchatting with coworkers, or leaning against the wall. They are always BUSY. You will see them occasionally glancing at their tables to see what the customer might need. They wait to take your order and while they wait, they bring your drinks, refill them, supply the complimentary loaf of bread and things like that.
Now, what does it mean to wait on the Lord? Same thing only with a greater eagerness and anticipation. We are looking for His soon return. We serve Him by doing whatever jobs need done while we wait for His specific directive. When He is ready with His “order,” we’ve been paying attention, listening for His call, and we are ready to respond accordingly.
Christians, we are God’s waitstaff. As we wake up each morning, we need to approach Him with a smile and ask, “How may I serve you today?”
1https://www.zippia.com/waitress-jobs/demographics/
2https://www.businessinsider.com/restaurants-america-eating-out-crisis-your-fault-labor-shortage-tipping-2024-2
3Ibid.
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