Lost and Found
GOD ALONE SAYS WHAT’S RIGHT OR WRONG.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read Joshua 6:20; 7:1, 19-21.
Verse of the Day: “The honest person will live in safety, but the dishonest will be caught” (Proverbs 10:9, New Century Version).
Donna paid for her new scarf and gloves and shoved the change into her coat pocket. Then she headed out of the store with her friend Jenny into a brisk wind.
“Brrr!” Jenny said, hunching her shoulders. “That wind is cold.”
“I’m glad I wore this coat,” Donna said, zipping up her warm winter coat.
Suddenly, Jenny nudged Donna with her elbow. She nodded toward a street vendor’s cart at the curb. Steam rose from the cart, and crude cardboard signs advertised hot dogs, hot chestnuts, and hot chocolate for sale.
“Let’s get some hot chocolate,” Jenny suggested.
Donna looked longingly at the vendor’s cart. “I can’t,” she said. “I don’t have enough money.” She thrust her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out the change the cashier had given her. “I’ve only got-wait a minute.” Her eyebrows scrunched together as she counted the money in her palm. Then she looked up at her friend. “That lady gave me too much change.”
“Great!” Jenny said, leaning over to count the money in Donna’s hand. “That means you can buy us both some hot chocolate.”
“What?” Donna said. “I can’t keep this money. It would be like stealing.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” Jenny pleaded. “It was her mistake, not yours.”
“But it’s not my money.”
“I can think of a hundred reasons why you should keep the money,” Jenny said. “I can only think of one reason why I shouldn’t,” Donna said. “But it’s the only reason that counts because God says not to take things that don’t belong to you.”
Jenny jumped up and down on the curb. “Come on, Donna,” she begged. “I’m cold and I want some hot chocolate!”
Donna shook her head and gripped her friend’s elbow. “Let’s go,” she said, dragging Jenny toward the store. Inside the store, Donna walked to the counter and found the cashier who had given her the wrong change. She explained what had happened and told her she’d come to return the money.
“I’m so glad you came back,” the cashier said, reaching under the counter and pulling out a bag. “You forgot your purchase!”
Donna’s mouth dropped open. She had paid for her scarf and gloves and then absentmindedly left the store without them! “Thank you so much,” she said. “Thank you,” the cashier said, “for being honest.”
TO DISCUSS: What would you have done if you were in Donna’s situation? Why? How did Donna know which was the right thing to do? How do you think the story might have ended if she had listened to her friend?
TO PRAY: “Lord, the old saying Honesty is the best policy is true. It is true because you have shown us that honesty is right.”