In all honesty, I wasn’t worried about him running my day. I was worried about him ruining her day. The day was to be all about her, my bride. Right?

This was the day that all little girls look to. It was the day she got dressed up like never before, wearing a dress she’ll never wear again. The makeup, the hairstyle, the nails, the planning, the excitement, it was the day she was to wear white…and she was to be the only one wearing that dazzling white so that in a spotlight glow everyone knew it was her day, so that all eyes would be on her. I wanted her to have that…and I didn’t want anything to get in the way of it. Nothing.

So when the time came to announce the big day and we went about ensuring we passed out those ever-important save-the-date cards, we gave them to friends, family, and certain co-workers. We were intentional about to whom we gave them…and to whom we didn’t.

I worked with this guy. He was given a low-paying, grunt work job. Let’s be straight: he had the job so the company could feel good about hiring him. He was given a job that kept him mostly “in the back.” Truth is, he didn’t do much work – he spent more time talking to people. People, in an attempt to maintain good form, mostly tolerated the awkward conversation and uncomfortable social interactions. We liked him in our lives because he made us feel like good people when we talked to him…but we also liked that we only saw him at work.

My wedding date soon became public knowledge. It also became apparent who got the invite – and who didn’t. People know that not everyone gets invited. Some co-workers are just acquaintances and really don’t want to give up their Saturday for someone they just work with. It’s cool. We know it.

And so when he approached me about coming to my wedding, I did what any bride-honoring man would do: I lied. I lied and made up an excuse. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. When he asked me about it again the following week, I lied again. And I lied and made up excuses when he called me at home; then I lied some more and again the week after that and eventually…I just started avoiding him.

He didn’t get an invite and he didn’t come to the wedding. How could I have let him come? Surely he probably would have made a scene, stolen the attention from my wife, we would have had to distract our attention away form each other and onto him, or I’d have to designate a friend to entertain him and that would have been, well…anyway, he didn’t get an invite.

The day was as beautiful as my bride. There were no glitches, mishaps, …or distracting people. It was all about her, as it should have been. Right?

…and that’s why I didn’t invite Jesus to my wedding.

Matthew 25:45, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'”