A Matter of Dignity

The parson was dog tired. He'd been working at his church's food concession at the regional fair since mid-afternoon. For some reason his church's facility seemed to be the most popular place to dine. Maybe it was the sit down screened porch; maybe it was the variety of food; maybe it was the rumor the parson actually cooked some of the food. Whatever the reason, the parson and his folks worked nine to ten hour days each day but Sunday while the fair was open. About an hour before closing the parson made his way to the trash receptacles in front of the dining porch. He pulled one bag from the container, tied it off and replaced it with a new one. The filled bag was carried to the far side of the facility to be stacked for pickup after the fair closed.

Returning to a second container, the parson began to lift yet another filled bag of garbage. He was interrupted with a call.

“Hey, Parson, what's up?”

The parson looked and was surprised to see Gregory Ballinger sitting on the porch with a Bar-B-Que plate in front of him. “Hello, Greg,” greeted the parson. “What brings you to this neck of the woods?”

Greg lived a couple of counties up the expressway. The parson knew him as a somewhat discontented pastor. He didn't particularly like the church to which he'd been assigned. While he was doing an adequate job there, the parson knew he was but biding his time until he could be sent elsewhere.

“Linda has a sister who lives in the area. We came up to spend the day with her and they decided to bring the kids here to enjoy the rides. I decided to take advantage of your eats being available.” Greg patted his every growing belly and smiled.

“Well, we're glad to have you come by, Greg. Thanks for buying the food. Every plate helps with our ministries.”

The parson sat at the table with Greg. They talked for more than a few minutes about colleagues they both knew. They talked of the new superintendent and the positive impression he was making. And the conversation finally turned to the appointment Greg was serving and how he was planning to move on soon. After a while the parson excused himself.

“Great to see you, Greg. Excuse me, I've got to get this garbage emptied before it gets scattered everywhere.”

“Parson,” said Greg, “look I know you're a hands on guy but isn't carrying the garbage out a little beneath your dignity.”

The parson rose and said to Greg, “You know, after all these years I've lived I've discovered the dignity isn't in the job I have to do. The dignity results from the way I do it.”