Today, with great excitement, I opened a package I'd received in the mail. To my surprise, there was an extra item in the box, a duplicate of one of the items ordered. Hmmmm.....what to do?
I'm sure you've been faced with a similar situation.
*You are given too much "change" at the retail store or the drive-thru.
*You find something valuable that belongs to someone else.
Those types of situations.
I had a very close friend who, at that time, claimed to be a Christian. He'd always say, "Oh well! Lucky me!", making no attempt to find the owner, alert the clerk, etc.
What do you think God expects of us, His redeemed ones, in those situations?
A clue can be found in Proverbs 11:1 (NET)
The Lord abhors dishonest scales,
but an accurate weight is his delight.
"Dishonest scales"....what does that mean?
In ancient times, many goods were sold according to their weight. Some biblical weights are foreign to Westerners today, things like omers and homers, to name a couple. If you'd like a handy reference to convert those strange biblical references to those you'd recognize, here's a link you can bookmark:
But, more on topic, here's what unscrupulous merchants would do. They would manipulate their scales so that when measuring out an omer of grain, for example, the scales would reflect more product than was actually there. They'd hang a weight on one side of the scale and the product on the other. Sometimes, in their bag, they'd have a smaller weight, which they'd use (just shy of an omer, for example), calling it an omer when it was not. Then, the merchant would charge the full price. In this way, the buyer would be cheated. This is mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy 25:13 (NET).
You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small.
Do we really think it is godly to profit from another human being's mistake?
When we fail to disclose an error such as those I described earlier, we are acting the same as a dishonest merchant. We are cheating someone of some thing that belongs to him or her.
To be honest, I am tempted at times to just react as my former friend did, and blow it off. This immediately leads to feelings of shame for even considering such a thing. But, seems to me the scriptures are pretty clear: such dishonest behavior is not pleasing to God. "Abhor" is a pretty strong word.
Furthermore, is this how we, ourselves, would want to be treated?
Today, I went into a certain business establishment and left something on the check-out desk. Because my information was in their computer system, the receptionist called to let me know to come back and pick up my essential oils. I was so grateful!
And, the "merchant" who sent the extra item in today's package by mistake? When I inquired, she said to keep it. Her generosity was so appreciated! Excellent customer service!
In both those cases, my loyalty and business have been earned for a long time.
There aren't enough "shekels" to buy that kind of customer loyalty!
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