The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-03-27
WATERS SUNDAY.
Subject: "The Responsibility of The
Waiter"

Tie L. Brown and Ruth l.. Seymour and
Mr.. Jos. W. Rollins, students of the Com
mercial Department at Western Univer-
sity, Qundaro. Kans.
i want to invite your attention very
briefly to the words found in Nehe-
miah. first chapter and the eleventh
verse; the last clause of that verse
reads, For l was the Kings cup
bearer" The subject which / have
selected from that verse is, The Re-
sponsibility of the Waiter"
While l am preaching this morning
to the congregation in general, / am
speaking in particular to these men
who serve as walters and am taking
one of my own experiences as has
been limited by our distinguished fel-
low townsman. For five summers |
served as a waiter in different hotels
and never miss an opportunity to
refer to it. The very best education
that | received came from my exper.
ience as a waiter not only as a waiter,
but as bell boy and as pool room
boy in the hotel; so when l speak to
yo umen this morning, l want you to
feel that | am speaking as a brother,
as man the back ground of whose
life is largely made up of experience
gained as hotel man.
hae elected this morning to speak
to you fro mNehemiah, and this pro-
phet, this man, in speaking of him
self, says, 81 was the Kings cup
bearer" THE Kings cup bearer"
AS the words suggest, his particular
duty was to hand the King his wine as
he sat at the table, to wait upon him.
1t was in the age when men were
distrustful of one another, possibly
not any more than they are today
but they had crude way of showing
that distrust, Kings have always been
fearful of being poisoned. Uneasy
lies the head that wears the crown"
So fearful were the kings in that age
of which l speak of being poisoned
that the cup bearer, the waiter, was
compelled to taste his wine before the
king drank it, and to taste his food
ere he ate it. You can imagine the
personality, physical and moral make
up OF that man the king selected as
cup bearer, or waiter You can
imagine the makeup of that man
after whom the king could drink wine
after he tasted it and eat his food
after his waiter had tasted it.
The business of the cup bearer, or
the waiter was not only one of re-
sponsibility and trust, but it was one
of large influence. No matter how
burdened a man may be with I the
cares of his business, or with the
cares of state, he relaXes when he
comes to his meals in order to en-
joy them. His mind is open for new
impressions. He relaXes and is apt
to study the waiter. It was true in
the case of Nehemiah who was man
of bright, active appearance, pleas
ant to look upon; but upon. this oc-
casion, he came before the king with
a sad countenance. His heart was
heavy. He had spent the night in
weeping; and his weeping showed it.
self in his eyes, in his face. No man
can spend the night in weeping, in
sorrow without giving evidence of it
the next morning in his eyes; in his
face. No man can spend a night in
dissipation without giving evidence
of it the next morning in his eyes, in
his face; and so the observant king,
as the waiter stood by him noticed
his sad countenance, his sad eyes, his
sad face, and said, "Why art thou
sad of countenance?' Nehemiah rep
resented an oppressed people. He
represented people who were under
affliction, and his heart was heavy be-
cause of that. When the king said
to him, "Why art thou sad of coun-
tenance," Nehemiah tells of the city
of his forefathers, no wit was laid
waste. How it's gates were consumed
by fire. He made the most of his
opportunity. 1t is the duty of every
man to make the most of his oppor-
tunities not for the benefit of him
self, but for the benefit of others.
The meanest things in life is for a
man to make the most of his oppor-
tunities simply for the benefit of him
self. The noblest thing in life is for
a man to make the most of his OPP
portunities for the benefit of others. |
Nehemiah thought of others, he
thought of his native city, he thought
of the place where his fore-fathers
were buried and he requested that he
be granted a leave of absence and a
convoy of Jews to repopulate the city
and rebuild its walls.
The rebuilding of Jerusalem can
be traced to Nehemiah. He was the
kings cup bearer. For l was the
kings cup bearer" and the word
suggests personality. What is per
sonality? 1t eludes definition like
life, like love, like the atmosphere
which We breathe. 1t is easy to dis
cover its presence or its absence, but
we cannot define it. The most real
thing about any woman or man is
their personality. The personality of
waiter should be pleasant. 1t was
the personality of Nehemiah which
attracted the kings attention to him.
Through his service he gained an OPP
portunity wich brought him into in
innate relations with the king So the
service of modern waiter brings him
into direct contact with modern kings,
kings of business, kings of state; and
in every case he has an opportunity
to study them. And best of all and
perhaps worst of all it gives them an
opportunity to study him and through