Go with me here for a moment.
Let’s say you have just filled your shopping cart with everything on your list. You notice all the checkout lines are crowded, so you mosey on over to the self-checkout area. Under the wary supervision of the self-checkout checker/staffer, you scan and bag your items and place them back in your shopping cart.
You roll on over to the exit, where the welcome/receipt checker looks in your cart and waves you on.
Now in the parking lot, you load all your bags into your vehicle.
Then it happens.
Suddenly, you notice a loose item in the bottom of your cart. It’s a tube of toothpaste, and the box is the same color as the cart.
“Did I miss scanning this thing?” You ask yourself.
So you check your receipt, which is about two feet long, even though you only purchased about 20 items. And you discover that you did not scan and pay for the toothpaste.
What do you do?
This actually just happened to me.
Here’s what I did. And I’m not spelling this out for extra points or for pride’s sake. I’m not a perfect Christian. I slip up daily in all sorts of ways. Thank God for His grace. I’m just sharing this story because the experience made me ponder the potential impact our seemingly simple and relatively insignificant choices can have on ourselves and others.
OK, so I grabbed the toothpaste and my receipt, locked my car, and went back into the store. I walked directly to the exit of the self-checkout area, where the same self-checkout checker/staffer was standing. She asked me what I needed. I handed her my receipt and explained that I had neglected to scan the toothpaste. Then I went to an empty register, scanned the item, and paid for it.
The self-checkout checker/staffer didn’t react or respond. Maybe she didn’t care. Perhaps she was simply bored with her job. But it could be that she was pondering why someone would go to all that bother to pay for an item that cost about $5.
It doesn’t make any difference whether she even noticed.
No matter how someone else responds to our choices, those choices matter.
WWJD is still a thing. This catchphrase may not be bandied about as much as it used to be. But the warning behind it still stands.
- We live by faith, but it is demonstrated by action.
We’re not here to show off for the Lord. But what we do shows, whether we realize it or not. How often do pre-believers evaluate Jesus by what they see in His followers? (We know we don’t measure up. That’s the crux of the Gospel. But that’s a question for those who have not yet trusted in His grace..)
What if that self-checkout checker happens to spot me at church? Will she judge because of my behavior? Sure, we don’t make moral choices based on what others will think of us, but we also know that our actions can prompt others to assess not only us, but everything we stand for.
Can you imagine her glancing down the row of seats? Maybe I’d smile at her, trying to be welcoming and friendly. But she might just imagine stolen toothpaste on my smile.
Is it worth risking offending someone who might be considering Christ, just to save a few steps back into the store to pay for a small unpaid item?
You bet it’s not.
- We have to live with ourselves.
Once we trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are freed from guilt and shame because of His atoning sacrifice on the cross on our behalf.
We still have to live out this life until He calls us home to Heaven. We still have to wrestle with sin and fend off the enemy’s darts that accuse us every time we mess up. And we still contend with our own God-given consciences. I know mine can send me spinning when I make a poor choice. Sure, my eternal salvation no longer hangs in the balance, but my peace of mind sometimes does.
Because we are awed by God, grateful for grace, and eager to please Him, we consider even the smallest choices to matter.
- We live for God, if we belong to Christ.
That’s the bottom line. And He is the one who said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10, ESV).
Toothpaste is free at the dentist, but not at the store. And that errant tube only cost five bucks. But a clean conscience is priceless.
It wouldn’t matter much to God if my teeth were shiny white, if my truth was tarnished.
I stumble in all sorts of ways. I can even trip over my own
feet. But I believe that our ability to hear from God is fine-tuned, every time
we listen and obey. Lord, help me.
Image/s: Public domain photo adapted by this user
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- Will God let everybody into Heaven?
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