Would you return a wallet you found, let a cashier know if she made a mistake in your favour or do you use “finders keepers, losers weepers” as your motto?
My thirteen year old daughter and I were at the mall the other day. She asked if she could hold my cell phone. (Cell phones are a very big deal to my girls, especially since they are convinced that they are the only teens in Canada without a cell phone). I gave in and let her put my phone in her pocket.
When we got to the checkout line, I asked her to return my phone. It wasn’t in her pocket. She checked the other 372 pockets in her jacket (slight exaggeration, only slight). No phone. As I was contemplating retracing our steps through the store on the off-chance that we would find this teeny tiny marvel of the modern age, our cashier had a good idea. She suggested that I phone my phone to see if anyone would answer. Sound advice. I borrowed the phone at customer service and rang my own number. The familiar jingle began to emanate from my daughter’s coat sleeve! She won’t be getting her own phone any time soon.
I told this story to my hairdresser. The woman in the next chair said that she would have been surprised if a stranger would have returned my phone if we had lost it in the store. I told her that I think most people would. I would have. I’m sure that most of my friends would have. Are we in the minority these days?
Several times over the last few years, I have been the recipient of a cashier’s error in my favour. I thought perhaps that God was testing my integrity. I have always gone back to the store, explained the problem, and repaid the extra. This really freaks people out. Am I really such an oddity? One time, our grocery store had a case lot sale, and my cart was weighted down with all of the boxes. The cashier and I started yakking, and she forgot to take the boxes out to scan them. I thought that the amount seemed rather low for all the stuff I bought, but I didn’t figure out why until I got home. So I headed back with the list of all the things I didn’t get charged for and went to customer service and paid for about $60 worth of groceries.
I am not writing this to boast of my integrity (well, maybe a little), but rather to pose the question: “Would you have done the same?” Or have you been the recipient of a Good Samaritan’s generosity? Perhaps I am naive and too trusting of people. It could be that I would think differently if I were ever the victim of a crime. I hope that I would not change my thinking.
I don’t go through life worried about my stuff. Blissful ignorance, small town thinking, or stupidity? Take your pick. I’m sure that I have some of each.
I have given this topic at least forty-five minutes of intense self-reflection, and have come to the conclusion that at least part of it has something to do with a pay it forward, or random acts of kindness mentality. I had a watch that was stolen twice, and both times the perpetrator was found out and the watch returned to me. I have been in several accidents and had strangers stop to help me.
Perhaps the biggest reason that I trust people is that I first have an intense trust in God. I know that He is faithful, and that He has a whole lot of angels at His disposal, so that no matter what happens to me (or my stuff) in this life, God is still in control.
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