A Lost Art

Hospitality seems to be a thing of the past.  Today it is all about entertaining.  Truthfully, I think there is a big difference between the two.

I have probably blogged on this before, but I am too lazy to go back and check, and evidently God wants me to keep working on learning this one since it keeps coming up, so you get to hear about it again.

Although their definitions are about the same when you look them up in the dictionary, the heart of the person performing each task is quite different. 

Hospitality is "being faithful to God" (vs. 5) and "pleases God" (vs 6).  It is caring for and providing for those that need it.  It is welcoming them to make them feel loved and accepted.  Hospitality is showing Christ's love to others by things you can do for them.  It includes doing these things for friends and strangers.

Entertaining, however, seems to focus more on the host or the event itself rather than the guests.  It is providing a great environment and food.  Many times it is the host trying to show their best or a gathering of friends to celebrate a certain event. 

While entertaining is not bad in any way and can easily include hospitality, you can see how it differs from pure hospitality.

I love to have people over.  I love to celebrate events, I love to cook and I love to entertain.  God has really been showing me how to do these types of things out of hospitality and wanting please Him rather than just wanting to show off my cooking abilities and the fact that I actually cleaned my house to my friends.  He wants me to invite people over that I don't know well, just so I can get to know them better and make them feel welcome, whether I know the conversations will flow smoothly or not.  He wants me to make a simple meal so that I can focus on my guests' needs rather than what I am doing in my kitchen.  He wants me to to put me last and my guest first.  He wants it to be about showing His love through welcoming others into my home.

So, you can see how hospitality has become a lost art to entertaining.  What are some ways you tell the difference between the two?