It’s clear that biblical hospitality requires sacrifice, but what exactly needs to be sacrificed?
-The comfort of being able to relax at dinner without worrying about serving anyone else. You have to sacrifice viewing your home exclusively as the place where you obtain personal comfort.
-The fear that there might be an awkward gap in the fellowship and you have to carry the conversation for a while. You have to sacrifice the expectation that loving others will be smooth and easy.
-The demand that there will be some sort of relational payoff or hospitality payback for you. You have to sacrifice the perceived need of reciprocity for your efforts.
-The desire that the food you prepared and/or the house you tidied up are noticed and/or well received. In this case, you have to sacrifice the desire for human recognition, knowing that God is pleased whenever there is a genuine desire to serve.
All of this is why genuine love is sacrificial by definition and it often requires a sacrifice that goes far beyond simply making more food or adding another chair or two at the table. Notice also the manner in which hospitality is to practiced in 1 Pet. 4:9—without complaint or grumbling. It should be obvious why this is here. Peter writes this because it’s natural to complain about the inconvenience of hospitality or about the messiness of hospitality or about the lack of the return favor of hospitality.
We must understand, however, that if we complain or grumble about serving others, then it’s not really serving others nor is it pleasing God. In light of the end being near, we are to love others by being hospitable to one another without complaint. In comparison to Christ’s sacrifice for us, this is a very small sacrifice to make for others (John 13:34-35).