Left and Right Hands

Left and Right Hands

Cast:  One manager, one friend, and several (at least two) assistants make up the cast.  Assistants can rotate through if there are a shortage of cast members but two scenes require two assistants on the set at the same time.  Only the manager and friend have speaking parts.

Set:  Anywhere that has easy on/off stage access for assistants.

[Manager and friend are standing next to each other.  Manager is on cellphone.]

Make sure that those trucks arrive precisely at 1:15. If they get there early they will back up traffic.  If they are late, we will jam up the airfield.  On time.  Got it?  Good!

[Assistant 1 walks quickly towards the manager.]

[Manager puts phone in pocket to take paper from assistant.  Looks quickly at 3 pages and hands them back to the assistant.]

Yes, to items 3, 4, 6, and 9.  No to everything else.  Tell them to read my guidance again and hit the target!

[Manager looks to friend and smiles.]

Busy day?

The usual.  Sorry, I am not a good conversation partner at the moment.

No problem.

Assistant 2 and assistant 3 race to get to the manager.  Assistant 3 jumps ahead of assistant 2 at the last moment.

[Manager smiles.]  Good hustle. 

[Assistant 3 hands clipboard to manager.]

Everything is good except the last item.  It is three and a half cents a cubic foot above market price.  Don’t bring this back until they knock off a nickel a cubic foot.  Don’t back off.

[Assistant 3 departs in a hurry.}

Good hustle.

[Assistant 2 hands a new phone to the manager and takes his old one.]

Thanks.  Now I can burn up the airwaves for another 12 hours.

Wow.  You are on top of everything.  I saw you at the cancer fundraiser last night.  How much did you give them?

Don’t remember.

Oh?

[Assistant 1 comes with a tablet and a stylus and gives it to the manager.]

[Manager looks quickly at the screen and signs with stylus. He gives both back to the assistant with instructions.]

Tell them the funds are in place and I want a return on investment report every Monday for the next 6 weeks.  No exceptions.

[Assistant departs.]

You sure spent some time working on the Habitat for Humanity project.  Do have any idea how many hours you gave to that?

Not really.

[Raises hand to beckon an assistant.  The assistant arrives immediately.]

Coffee, my regular and one of those cancer-causing pink sweeteners with a touch of cream, stirred for my friend please.

[Assistant hustles to get coffee.]

You remembered how I take my coffee.

Of course.

But let me guess, you don’t remember how much you gave to that orphanage last week.

Can’t say that I do.

[Assistant arrives with tablet and stylus ready to take notes.]

Tomorrow I need to be into Washington DC by 9:30.  Get me the direct into Dulles.  I don’t want to mess with connections.  I will go out of National on the 2:15 p.m. with a two hour layover in Denver.  Book the usual meeting room in the main concourse.  Get me something that gets out of there by 7:00 p.m.  I need to be plugged in for my video chat in San Diego by midnight.  That should put us in business hours in Tokyo.

And yes, our own jet would be more convenient, but this is still the most economical.  Text me only if there are difficulties.

[Assistant hustles off having to dodge the other assistant coming with coffees.]

Thanks!

[Assistant that delivered coffee hustles off.]

[Manager turns to friend.]

Sorry, I haven’t given you much time.  Tell me what’s going on with you.

The usual.  Got my golf score down to a 14 handicap.

Not bad.

I am not sure how you keep up with everything that you do and still have a 6 handicap.  Amazing.

Not too amazing.  Just focus and concentration.

And yet you don’t remember what you gave to charity or how many hours you donated or what you gave to the families of the fire victims or Red Cross or to the Christmas baskets.

Nope.  Don’t remember.

To me that’s more amazing that your golf handicap.  You keep up with a thousand details an hour and you can’t remember what you gave to your church or the homeless people in the downtown area.  It is always the same story.

I just follow directions.

What?

Jesus said don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing when it comes to doing the right things and giving and being generous and the like.

Wow!

It is really a simple thing.

But don’t you want a little recognition?

I’m sure that my Father in heaven notices that I follow his lead.  There is more satisfaction in obedience to God than in public recognition.  If there is a reward, it is stored up for later, but for now, I have all the satisfaction I need knowing that I have been blessed to be a blessing.

But what about…

Taxes?  One of these guys records it.  I don’t want to be distracted.  Once a year when I sign my tax return I have to glimpse at what I gave but that’s all the attention that I give it.

And you are good with that?

Better than good.  I am blessed, obedient to God, and I am sure that whatever treasure that I have in heaven is was better than any personal recognition I will claim in this life.

I will drink to that.

[Both hold up coffees in salute.}

Cheers!

Amen!

[Manager pulls phone out of pocket but speaks to friend before answering.]

Amen and Amen!

The end.