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Modern conveniences are great.

Traveling far from home we can pull over almost anytime and fill up the car with a tank of gas. While the pump is running, we can run into the convenience store attached to the gas station and buy a soft drink, a hot dog, a bag of chips, an ice cream bar and peanuts for the road.

All we need is at hand.

Is it getting late? Time to pull over and find a place to sleep?

If we are on a budget we can pull into a Motel 6, or a Comfort Inn. If we are flush with cash we can step up to maybe a Courtyard Marriott or an Embassy Suites.

Obviously the ancient world lacked such conveniences. Traveling in the days of Abraham or even in the relatively more advanced age of Jesus involved significant risk.

Survival depended upon the practice and discipline of a culture of Hospitality.

A traveler in a strange land required the support of the local people. If they welcomed them into their homes, he experienced the blessing of not only friendship, but also survival. If the local people rejected him, he would be unlikely to survive.

The practice of Hospitality recognized both the vulnerability of strangers as well as their eternal value as human beings. It required that the host embrace certain obligations, not only providing for the welfare of the guest, but for his defense as well.

Hospitality was a general practice in the ancient world for the simple reason that one never knew when one might require the kindness of strangers.

The old adage, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto to you,” is a discipline of the practice of Hospitality.

The practice of Hospitality lifted up the grace of friendship. It penetrated the loneliness of travelers and made them feel a part of the host family. It generated a sense of genuine gratitude and grace.

Today the cold, unfriendly culture of the cash economy has largely replaced the practice of Hospitality.

When we travel we try not to “impose.” We carefully plan our vacation budgets so that we will not need to appeal to strangers for help.

There is an element of sad grace in the modern practice. We are able to avoid the obligation of caring for others. We remain free and unencumbered in our financial independence.

But the avoidance of the obligation of Hospitality comes with a price. It comes at the cost of friendship.