“Pity the Smith family. Poor things, they have to keep the preacher every time the church plans a gospel meeting. And Christians are always stopping in at their place. And they are about the only people in the church that ever invite people in after services. I just wouldn’t put up with it myself…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Spare your pity! The Smiths are a richly blessed family. Oh, occasionally they entertain some ungrateful scoundrel, but the blessings of hospitality far outweigh the problems.<\/p>\n
“We are hospitable,” someone says, “we often have friends from church in our home for get-togethers and parties.” That’s fine! We encourage this! But Bible hospitality goes beyond having friends in for an evening which is at least partially for our own selfish enjoyment, “I was a stranger and you took Me in<\/em>,” Jesus will say in the judgment (Matthew 25:35). Gaius was commended for helping “brethren” and “strangers” who were traveling for the Lord’s namesake, and was told by John, “If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well<\/em>” (III John 5-7). Further, the Bible teaches that we become partakers in evil deeds of false teachers when we receive them into our houses (II John 9-11). But does this not imply that we become partakers in the good deeds of faithful teachers when we show them hospitality?<\/p>\n A Christian will want to make friends with other Christians and consequently will plan enjoyable evenings with close friends in his home. But the hospitable Christian will also use his home for conducting Bible classes, entertaining visiting preachers and other workers for the Lord, getting acquainted with newcomers in the church, comforting the bereaved and troubled, and for every good work.<\/p>\n Our homes are blessings from the Lord. We must not use them selfishly, but rather to His glory. The result will be an occasional scratch on a chair, or a stain on the carpet, or a chipped glass–really a small price to pay, though, for the warmth that comes to the home from new friends, good influences, rich Bible discussions, participation in the Lord’s work, and the satisfaction of knowing that one is pleasing God and preparing himself for eternity. No, it is not the Smiths whom we pity; it’s those who do not know the joy of hospitality.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bill Hall via\u00a0Gospel Power, Vol. 15, No. 15, April 13, 2008. “Pity the Smith family. Poor things, they have to keep the preacher every time the church plans a gospel meeting. And Christians are always stopping in at their place. And they are about the only people in the church that ever invite people…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1149],"class_list":["post-59342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-hospitality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61721,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/count-it-all-joy\/","url_meta":{"origin":59342,"position":0},"title":"Count It All Joy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton It's not what happens to you that matters so much as what you do with what happens to you. Who would have thought that Helen Keller would have mattered so much with all the handicaps she was dealt in life? Great people of great faith learn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94921,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-case-for-god-from-his-goodness\/","url_meta":{"origin":59342,"position":1},"title":"A Case for God from His Goodness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ken Marrs via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 4, December 1994 The existence of God can be proven in a number of ways. For instance: Teleologically (the design of the universe demands a designer) Cosmologically (nothing can come from nothing, everything must have an antecedent clause) Mathematically (if being mathematically\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88349,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/remembering-jesus-daily\/","url_meta":{"origin":59342,"position":2},"title":"Remembering Jesus Daily","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richard Thetford Those of us who understand the authority of the Bible and are guided by it, because we respect what God has said to us, realize that Christians do not celebrate December 25th as the birth date of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian brethren and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1359,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-glorification-of-mary\/","url_meta":{"origin":59342,"position":3},"title":"The Glorification of Mary","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A notable difference between Roman Catholicism and other denominations is the veneration of Mary \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is not a question of whether Mary existed or even her role in the birth of Jesus. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The question more revolves around what honor Mary deserves. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Was Mary sinless? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Catholics teach that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56461,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/giving-up-on-the-little-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":59342,"position":4},"title":"Giving Up on the Little Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert E. Speer via\u00a0Think on These Things, April-May-June, 2011, Volume 42, Number 2 Many years ago - Ouch! Has it really been that long? - my family and I responded to a plea from another family to join them in a work they were trying to establish on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/LittleChurchInTheWoods.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3797,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-poor-in-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":59342,"position":5},"title":"The Poor in Spirit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey Hamilton Text: Isaiah 61:1-3 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The good news is a message to the afflicted - Isaiah 61:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This is the passage Jesus chose to read in his hometown - Luke 4:16-21 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When John began to doubt Jesus, Jesus again referred to this passage - Luke 7:22-23 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus declared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/hospitality.jpg\")
The Bible speaks of some wonderfully blessed people along these lines. For instance, we do not pity Mary and Martha for\u00a0having<\/em>\u00a0to have Jesus in their home; we pity those who, not wanting Jesus, were deprived of this blessing. We do not pity Mary the mother of John Mark, in whose home “many were gathered together praying<\/em>“, we pity those where Christians never assemble for Bible study and prayer. We do not pity Philemon who was to prepare Paul a lodging; we would love to have Paul as a guest in our home. Christians need to learn the joy and blessings which come to those who are hospitable.<\/p>\n