I was recently part of a group of Christians visiting together and passing the time with stories. One fellow told a story about how he had to get a haircut for the first time in years. He usually uses clippers and buzzes his head. But his wife asked him to let it grow and then get a professional cut. He complied.
Having no habit of getting his hair cut by professionals, he drove around until he decided to wander into J.C. Penney’s salon. He did not inquire as to price. He also did not give a lot of guidance about how he wanted his hair trimmed.
The woman who cut his hair proceeded to use the clippers at the nape of his neck. He protested with annoyance in a belated fashion when it was too late to change course. She finished the haircut, using scissors on top and clippers around the back and sides.
As they walked to the counter for payment, he was feeling somewhat surly. She then announced the price would be $30. He was flabbergasted and let her know through his attitude that he thought the price was ridiculous. She asked if he wanted to add a tip. He said, “No.”
Now, the way he told the story, a number of people in the class were amused. I have to admit, his telling was colorfully rendered.
But my question to you is this: Did he conduct himself in the right way? Would you have wanted the woman at the salon to know he is a Christian?
January 14th, 2011 | 3:08 pm | #1
“But my question to you is this: Did he conduct himself in the right way? Would you have wanted the woman at the salon to know he is a Christian?
And my multi-part question in response to this question is:
Why should folks judge your friend’s conduct and should folks judge your friend’s conduct and are you urging folks to judge your friend’s conduct?
January 14th, 2011 | 4:42 pm | #2
No, he did not. The loving thing to do when buying a hair cut is to find out how much it is before receiving the hair cut, so that when the bill comes one can cheerfully pay it.
He made a mistake which seems was his own fault, and the rudeness implied here is not justified, though of course I would be tempted to a sore attitude if I made the same mistake.
January 14th, 2011 | 6:44 pm | #3
“Why should folks judge your friend’s conduct and should folks judge your friend’s conduct and are you urging folks to judge your friend’s conduct?”
Since the person here is not named and we will never know who it is, this is more an exercise in an ethical hypothetical, albet based in a real incident, than “judging a person.”
So, TUAD, what do you think of the person’s ethical behavior?
I’m with Albert. His conduct leaves something to be desired, and wouldn’t be the model of Christian behavior in the situation. But I also understand that not everyone is as careful going into the situation as we might be (e.g., inquiring about the price ahead of time so there’s no temptation to anger over it later) and that reacting badly to what we consider a bad situation (a bad haircut at a price we underestimated) is a temptation common to man.
So we can evaluate his conduct as falling short of the imitation of Christ, without judging with a measure we would not be willing to be judged with.
January 14th, 2011 | 6:46 pm | #4
“But I also understand that not everyone is as careful going into the situation as we might be”
By “as we might be” in this context, I mean “as we ought to be,” not “he might not do as well as I might.”
January 14th, 2011 | 8:01 pm | #5
“So, TUAD, what do you think of the person’s ethical behavior?”
If it’s alright with you, I refrain from judging in this particular instance.
January 14th, 2011 | 8:29 pm | #6
oh my goodness TUAD,
I about busted a gut.
January 15th, 2011 | 10:54 am | #7
Well, it’s fine to refrain from judging, but I think you’re implying there’s something wrong with judging. If not, my mistake, but if so, why?
January 15th, 2011 | 12:05 pm | #8
He didn’t conduct himself well. I wouldn’t have been thrilled to inform the woman at the salon that he was a Christian, but this is mostly because I know people in our culture are often itching to (hypocritically) judge Christians as hypocrites whose faith must be bankrupt whenever their conduct can be questioned. In other words, a Christian’s bad conduct is often directly attributed to an imagined lack of Christianity or a worthless Christianity, instead of being directly attributed to a person’s humanity and fallen nature.
Of course, being a Christian ought to change one’s conduct to become more Christlike over time, but it’s unrealistic to think this change happens overnight. Maybe the man was a new Christian. And even if he wasn’t new, we ought to blame the man, not the Christianity which he imperfectly practices.
(Of course one may, and I think ought to be expected to, act morally even if one isn’t a Christian. Natural law and all that.)
January 15th, 2011 | 4:14 pm | #9
To accept a service is to tacitly agree to pay the price. To do so without knowing what one is doing is imprudent at best, a violation of the Proverbs’ call to wisdom.
Also, whether there was actual intent to deceive or not, what he did has the appearance of dishonesty, an attempt to get out of paying what he agreed to pay.
It’s also dishonoring to the service worker; for after (tacitly) agreeing that the service was worth $30, in the end, without sufficient justification, he said it wasn’t.
(See Proverbs 3:27, 11:24, 28:22)
That’s one level of analysis. On another level, yes, it is the kind of error to which we are all prone. God grants us grace for forgiveness–though preferably we would allow his grace to operate through us to keep us from making errors like that in the first place.
January 15th, 2011 | 4:31 pm | #10
“$30″!?
He didn’t know it was 30 bucks, I guess.
“Would you have wanted the woman at the salon to know he is a Christian?”
Sure. Christains are sinners saved by grace.
If it was me, I would have paid the $30, and added that this is way to high a price. I shall never return for your services, that’s fo sure.
I go to a barber shop where a Vietnamese family gives haircuts for $11.
I love it. I usually give a $3 tip.
January 15th, 2011 | 10:19 pm | #11
JC Penney salon is an upscale establishment. I suppose the gentleman assumed that because JC Penney generally caters to a more middle-class clientele, the salon would be similarly moderate in price. But ideally he should have checked, so I don’t think there’s any call to take umbrage at the price even if it was more than he would have chosen to pay, unless you believe there’s something inherently unethical in charging high prices for upscale services, when those prices are consistent and available upon request (i.e., not a scam or bait/switch.) Again, that’s the ideal — not suggesting that someone’s failure to be both foresighted and self-controlled in the face of disappointment casts a shadow on his faith.
January 19th, 2011 | 2:54 pm | #12
He also failed to use his God-given reason, as well as the gifts God had likely put in his life to avoid the unpleasantness about the price. Yes, he could have asked at Penney’s about the price, but he could also have researched salons online or just asked his wife or church buddies for a suggestion before he even left home. This would have saved him the high cost, the unpleasant experience, and the time spent wandering around.
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