When inquiring of two people whether a glass of water is half full or half empty, each person might give a differing reply to the question, with each answering the question correctly. Resulting from a difference in perception of the glass, a more optimistic person might observe the glass to be half full while the pessimistic person would observe a half-empty glass. While neither person is wrong, a difference in perception might cause two people to react differently to the same circumstance. Similarly, in her short stories “Vacation Bible School” and “Jesus Bus,” Janice Daugharty presents two characters, Dot Knight and Sister, who, in relatively similar circumstances, react to the circumstances completely differently. While both are Christians out to serve their God, each uses her service to Him to a different end; Dot uses God as a means by which to glorify herself in the eyes of man, whereas Sister tries as well as she can to use her service to glorify God. By portraying Dot and Sister’s divergent perceptions of godly service through such means as Dot and Sister’s character, the story’s setting, and the irony that results from their personal perspectives, Daugharty shows that a difference in perception leads to a difference in action.
The most fundamental source of discrepancy between Dot and Sister’s perception of godly service lies in their character. Dot would like to view herself and have others view her as the ultimate Christian woman, serving, praying, and saving to the glory of God. Dot is not entirely satisfied with letting God alone have all the glory, as she makes every effort to provide evidence of her self-sacrificing work so that others, particularly her pastor, will be able to see her tireless Christian effort. As much as Dot attempts to elevate herself through doing God’s work, Daugharty presents Sister as humble, one willing to serve, not trying to gain the praises of men for doing God’s work. In “Jesus Bus,” Sister is, like Dot, trying to “pack a pew,” but her sole motivation is the fulfillment of the Great Commission, to share the Word with unbelievers, not to win praise as Dot does. Dot’s quest for glory leads her to act superior to others, as if she can decide who should or should not attend church; “ ‘Now listen’ says Dot to Sister and the gang and holds out both hands. The Lord don’t expect us to put ourselves in danger, hum, he never asked us to mix with that kind” (“Jesus Bus” 2). Sister pointedly replies, “Jesus did,” striking to the core of difference between their perspectives of service. Although both Dot and Sister believe the same doctrine, they use it differently, with Dot distorting it during implementation, while Sister implements the doctrine in good faith. For each, perceiving the Christian doctrines differently causes a difference in action, beginning with a difference of character.
As the differences in the characters are important to revealing their different perceptions, so, too, are the stories’ settings. The local environments of both stories entail poor rural communities. In contrast to the impoverished local populace, Dot appears to be fairly financially secure takes pride in her possessions, such as showing off her white church pumps even while walking long hours on dirt roads. Her pride borders on malice as she vehemently compares the twins to devils, regarding their dirty bodies in her car as “Satan [having] his way” (“Jesus Bus” 4). If Dot is ostentatious, then Sister is humble. Having no material wealth, she instead focuses on doing what is right, as a Christian should. Sister may be poor, but she lives richly, making up for a lack of material possessions by living a faithful Christian life. Unceasingly through both stories, Sister can be seen taking care of her brothers and the nameless baby, all the while faithfully trying to pack her pew for church. Once again, Sister lives as a credit to God, contrasting Dot’s efforts to bring praise unto herself by showing off her possessions. As a result, Sister sees the world through the eyes of humility, while Dot looks through the eyes of pride; the differences in their perception of godly service cause their different interactions within the local community.
The irony that develops through the stories supports the idea that the characters’ differences of perception are the causes for their different motivations for serving God. Using service to God as a means of elevating herself, Dot would have asked Jesus “who is the greatest” in the familiar biblical parable, if she had the opportunity. In Matthew 18:4, Jesus says, “whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in Heaven.” As Dot is clearly not humble, her own attempts to elevate herself would be the very cause of her failure to achieve her desire. Fortunate for Dot, perhaps, is that she is not presented with this situation in the stories, but her predictable nature suggests that her lack of humility would indeed fail her if she were given such an opportunity. Sister, however, could be the “greatest in Heaven” though she does not seek it. Because she is not self-seeking, but is instead humble, Sister proves to be a more faithful Christian than Dot, having the faith of a child. The irony of this becomes apparent when Sister casts Dot as the model for Christian living, telling Dot, “When I grow up I want to be just like you” (“Vacation Bible School” 8). A primordial quality Sister has that Dot cannot claim is innocence, a freedom from the mistrust and prejudice that she will learn when she grows older and becomes like Dot. In essence, Sister’s way of living is indicative of what one would expect to come from a child of the “good upbringing” of which Dot is so fond, while Dot’s life of self-serving indulgence seems to contradict the expectations one might have of her, as Dot, in her childhood, had received the “good upbringing” Sister so obviously lacks. The juxtaposition of the expected outcomes of life with Dot and Sister’s actual circumstances is possibly the greatest irony of all in that it is the least expected of the ironies generated by the stories. Taken in the context of sharply contrasting motivations, characters, and backgrounds, Dot and Sister’s perceptions of godly service result in the differences in their actions.
By means of a pair of characters that are foils, Daugharty centers the two stories around the idea that a person’s actions are determined by his or her view of the world. Dot and Sister each use their beliefs differently, serving as illustrations of the effects of varying perception by providing opposite results. With Dot, Daugharty shows a veritable archetype of self-serving, while with Sister she provides an example of faithful, consistent service. The character faithful to that which a Christian must be is obvious, but just as plainly visible is a character unknowingly consumed by a desire to be honored by men. In both cases, however, the characters’ perception of godly service is the key to their implementation of that service.