Christian Foundations

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” --Matthew 25:23

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. The clerk explained that because three conventions were in town, the hotel was full. “But I can’t send a nice couple like you out in the rain at 1:00 a.m.,” he said. “Would you be willing to sleep in my room?”

The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted. The next morning, when the man paid his bill, he said, “You’re the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” The clerk smiled, amused by the older man’s remark.

A few years passed and one day, the clerk received a letter from the elderly man, recalling that stormy night, and asking him to come to New York for a visit. A round-trip ticket was enclosed.

When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street, where stood a magnificent new building. “This is the hotel I have just built for you to manage,” said the man.

“You’ve got to be joking,” said the clerk. “Who are you?”

“My name is William Waldorf Astor,” said the man. “And I’m most certainly not joking.”

That hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria, and the young clerk, who became its first manager, was George C. Boldt. The Bible says, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High…” In the end, we will be rewarded for our faithfulness to the call of Jesus Christ with a lifetime in heaven for eternity.

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Pray that you would be faithful and just in all you do.