Biblical Hospitality
by Annie Yorty
Many of us think of hospitality as a gift we either have—or not. In a world where opportunities for in-person human contact dwindle daily, people crave connection more than ever. Believe it or not, God addresses this modern issue in the ancient text of the Bible. The answer is found in biblical hospitality.
Biblical hospitality is using our God-given resources to invite people into our hearts and homes for His glory. #annieyorty Click To TweetFallacies about Hospitality
When I was a kid, my family didn’t have much. My mom, keenly ashamed of our poverty, almost never hosted others in our home. Later in life, when she had more, she occasionally invited people over, but only after planning every single detail followed by an immaculate cleansing.
As an adult, I lived in the south for many years. Boy, did those southern women seem to have it all together when it came to hospitality! Wowed by their beautiful presentation and attention to every detail, I hesitated to even attempt to measure up.
Both my mom and I allowed Satan to use one of his most conniving schemes—comparison. We judged ourselves against others. The verdict—inadequate to offer hospitality.
Perfectionism is the enemy of hospitality. I wonder how many of us believe we cannot host others until we have all our ducks in a row. Do any of these excuses echo in our heads?
My apartment is too small.
I don’t have much time.
I’m a terrible cook.
My house is always a mess.
It costs too much.
We’re in the middle of home improvements.
Sites like Pinterest offer a wonderfully wide variety of hosting ideas, but Pinterest Perfectionism can destroy our confidence. We put off inviting anyone over until we can do everything “just right.”
Perfection is the enemy of biblical hospitality. #annieyorty Click To TweetWhat Does the Bible Say about Hospitality?
Wait, what? The Bible isn’t Southern Living magazine. Why would God care about the subject of hospitality? Surely, He has more important issues to tackle.
We can define biblical hospitality as using our God-given resources to invite people into our hearts and homes for His glory. Through this lens, we can see why God promotes biblical hospitality throughout His Word.
I like how Apostle Peter describes the purpose of our resources.
Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (1 Peter 4:9-10 NLT)
This understanding of hospitality relieves the pressure that my mom and I, along with so many others, felt when inviting people into our homes.
3 Groups of People Who Need Biblical Hospitality
God expects His children to show hospitality to others to demonstrate His love to a lonely world. Specifically, we find that His directions about biblical hospitality target three groups of people.
1. Foreigners
You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 22:21 NLT)
God’s chosen people, the Jews, were—and in some cases still are—forced to live far from their designated homeland. God’s heart sympathizes with anyone in this situation. That’s why Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross to be the Way home for sinful mankind, including you and me.
2. Brothers and Sisters in Christ
When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. (Romans 12:13 NLT)
When we look out for others in the family of God, we become instruments of His provision to fill needs. Just as importantly, we also exemplify God’s love to a watching world.
3. Unsaved People
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8 NLT)
Inviting people into relationship through biblical hospitality offers opportunities to spread the good news of Jesus to people who are lost in sin.
Biblical Hospitality Shines the Spotlight on God
Peter concludes the earlier section of Scripture about our resources with an exhortation.
Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. (1 Peter 4:11)
We have no valid excuses to resist biblical hospitality when God has empowered us. Let’s take stock of the gifts God has given to us and open our hearts and homes to shine His love.
Join the conversation:
What benefit have you seen from the application of biblical hospitality towards one of these three groups of people?
I welcome your comments!
Copyright ©2023 Annie Yorty
*Parts of this article were adapted from Ways to Use Your Gift of Hosting at Crosswalk.
I recently had the privilege to chat with Peggy Ployhar at Empowering Homeschool Conversations about how to keep going when the going gets tough. If you’re not a homeschooler, please pass it along to someone else who may benefit from it.
23 Comments
Katherine Pasour
I admit to using some of the excuses you list for not sharing hospitality within my home. But I have worked hard to plan and implement hospitality events for our community to be hosted within our church. But I need to try to do better at home too. Thank you for your encouraging and inspiring message, Annie.
Annie Yorty
Our churches need to be hospitable too, Katherine. I love that you’re intentionally working on that quality. Thank you for visiting and adding to the conversation.
Barbara Latta
Thanks for shining the spotlight on this often misunderstood way we can share with others. We do tend to think of hospitality as something only certain people are gifted to do. We can all offer a piece of ourselves to bless the world with.
Annie Yorty
Barbara, thank you for adding to the conversation. Opening our lives to others is indeed at the heart of hospitality.
J.D. Wininger
Even here in Texas, we don’t see true biblical hospitality like we used to Ms. Annie. I learned from my adopted mom and dad. The greatest example was the first Thanksgiving with my new family. While mama was busy roasting the turkey, fixin’ all the sides, and making what seemed like twenty-seven different pies, my dad went and picked up someone who would come into our service station for gasoline or repairs from time to time. He was a single, black gentlemen. We all “knew” Mr. Charles Holland, but only socially when we interacted with him as a customer. This day, dad invited him to join our family for dinner. What a raucous time we had entertaining Mr. Charles and he, in turn, sharing stories from his childhood with us. What a fun day that was. I remember asking dad later that evening, after turkey sandwiches and another slice of mom’s chocolate pie (dad had cherry), why did he invite Charles? He explained that he knew that Mr. Charles lived alone and probably wouldn’t be celebrating the holiday. He said, we don’t have a lot, but God tells us to share what we have with others, in His name. I remember that lesson to this day. I don’t have nearly as much as others, but if a Christian brother needs it, I’ll gladly share what I have. If a non-Christian, then it comes with a testimony to God’s grace and greatness. 🙂 So enjoyed this post and the memories you stirred my friend. Now I’m hungry for pie. 😀
Annie Yorty
I believe I would have enjoyed getting to know your parents, J.D. And your mama sounds like a woman after my own heart with all those pies! Thanks for sharing this story with us all. It serves as a great example of an easy way we can open our hearts and homes to others. And you were rewarded with a fun time. What’s your favorite pie? I’m torn between sour cherry crumb and shoo fly pie.
J.D. WIninger
Honestly, mama’s chocolate pie was my very favorite, but I’m a sucker for a nice slice of apple pie with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla on top. LOL Mama sure made a great mincemeat pie too, but only she and I ate that one. All by ourselves. Oh, those smiles we exchanged.
Annie Yorty
Good times!
Joanna Eccles
Thank you for this challenging blog post. I have definitely made excuses like I don’t have enough parking spots, or my place is too small, or I’m not a good cook. Maybe I need to pray and see who God wants me to have over. I need to rise to the challenge.
Annie Yorty
Joanna, thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I suspect you’ll find hospitality is not as daunting as it seems. Start small and enjoy!
J.J. LeVan
This is the 3rd time I’ve heard a “hospitality” encouragement in the past 24 hours. I’m feeling so convicted.
The Lord knows I have a bit of an attention problem, but this I’m hearing LOUD & CLEAR! Thank you, Annie, for really making it hit home.
Annie Yorty
J.J., I sometimes need a 2 x 4 to the head to get a message. I hope you follow wherever He’s leading. And if He ever leads you to my neck of the woods, I’d love to host you here. Blessings!
Maggie Rowe
Annie, I’m glad you wrote about this topic. While hospitality is a gift, it’s also of course a command. I am often struck by how the Shunammite couple in 2 Kings made room in their home for the prophet Elisha, and yet all they had was a bed, table, lamp and chair. Yet Scripture says they were well-to-do for their time! Offering others hospitality has more to do with the size of our hearts than it does our homes. Thank you for highlighting how important this is!
Annie Yorty
Maggie, you’ve perfectly summed up the precondition for biblical hospitality. We need to trust God enough to open our hearts to others. God bless you!
Candyce Carden
I once fell in the same group as you and your mom but now see hospitality as a way to show others the love of God to. What a difference this perspective makes.
What strikes me from your post is the three groups of people you mention include just about everybody!
Annie Yorty
The sky’s the limit, Candyce! God doesn’t want anyone left out of His place of belonging. Thank you for visiting.
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Sylvia Schroeder
Thanks Annie! Hospitality has always played a big part of our family dynamic. My tendacy leans toward hosting with the a big dose of anxiety, but I find if I make it a regular practice I stress less. Thanks for a great Biblical reminder and foundation to build on.
Annie Yorty
I’ve learned that lesson over time too, Sylvia. The more I invite people in, the less I worry about myself. Thanks for visiting, Sylvia!
Yvonne Morgan
Sometimes I do get too lazy to offer true hospitality and I have used some of your excuses. It’s so easy to let life pull us away from what could bring us joy. Thanks for sharing this wisdom
Annie Yorty
Hospitality isn’t always convenient, Yvonne. But when I think about the lengths our Lord Jesus went to as He laid out the welcome mat for us, I’m reminded to open my heart and home too. Thank you for visiting. You’re welcome anytime!
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