Written by Dynamis Ministries | March 31, 2022
If you’re ever in New York City and looking for a place to eat, you should consider dining at the Union Square Café. You’ll be sure to enjoy delicious food and experience hospitality and service like no other. That’s because Union Square Café’s unique combination of high-quality food AND service has led it to be awarded “New York’s Most Popular Restaurant” an unprecedented nine times! According to author Daniel Coyle in his book, The Culture Code, this renowned café is regarded as a model in the food services industry in part because of the culture that owner Danny Meyer has established. The staff at Union Square Café work together to create a dining experience that makes customers feel cared for in a personal way.
One way Meyer has established this culture is through creating and reinforcing several maxims that reflect the restaurant’s values. These catchphrases become guidelines the staff use to direct the exceptional service they deliver day in, day out. One of these guiding principles is the saying “make the generous assumption.” This means that when a customer acts rude, an employee should avoid making judgements and instead give them the benefit of the doubt. ¹ It inevitably leads to delivering better service and improving the dining experience for the customer.
The idea “make the generous assumption” is actually quite biblical. Check out 1 Corinthians 13:7: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” In theologian Charles Spurgeon’s sermon entitled Love’s Labours, he said of this same verse, “God forbid that I should rail at the one whom the Lord says, ‘Since thou was precious in my sight, thou has been honorable, and I have loved thee.’ True love believes the good of others as long as ever it can.” ² In other words, love makes the generous assumption. This is more than simply not judging rude customers in a restaurant. It’s about exercising grace, extending forgiveness and upholding the value of others because we are all precious in God’s sight.
Wouldn’t it be great if we too could “make the generous assumption” as we live out our generosity? Imagine how our interactions with others would grow if we treated people with love and grace regardless of how they are treating us? We would be expressing a spirit of generosity. The next time we find ourselves getting angry at someone who is acting rude, consider the stress or hurt behind their behavior. Or, when we want to argue with someone who thinks differently than us, consider the life experiences shaping their thinking and get to know the person. Further yet, when you get the nudge to help someone seemingly undeserving, consider how much God loves them unconditionally. To put it plainly, as we go about our lives and interact with people in all kinds of circumstances, instead of making a judgement, try out making a generous assumption.
¹Daniel Coyle, The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups (London: Random House, 2018), 208.
²Charles Spurgeon, Love’s Labours (Metropolitan Tabernacle: Newington, 1881).
