The Grocery Store Triple Test

            It was Friday. I was done for the week and done with the place where most of my spiritual challenges are and were that week. I just wanted to relax. Was that too much to ask?

            Well, no, it wasn’t too much to ask, but—as  I was often told when I was growing up—you can ask for something, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get it.  Now that I think of it, I’m not even sure I asked. I simply expected stopping by the grocery store on the way home to be pleasant and uneventful. God, however, can and will use anything to teach us and ultimately bring glory to himself.

            I had very little in my cart this trip, but I did have two bags of apples on the tail end of the conveyor. As the cashier whipped them across the counter, I was only somewhat paying attention. Then my mind snapped to attention. Those two bags were different kinds of apples—a Gala for $2.99, and a Honey Crisp for $3.99. I was sure she rang them as the same.

            It’s that split second that makes all the difference in life, isn’t it—that moment when the reality of a situation slams you, and you have to make a decision. It’s only a buck, we can think.  I’ve probably been overcharged before, we rationalize.

            “Those are two different kinds of apples,” I said.

            “Oh, they’re Golden Delicious and Gala. They’re the same price.”

            Split second two hit me. Well, I tried, and she didn’t get it, would have been the easy way out. Did I have to have a double-barrel test?

            “No, one is a Honey Crisp, and they’re a dollar more,” I countered, as I looked at the faces lined up behind my cart.

            “Let me do a price check,” she said, looking more carefully at the bags and scanning through electronic prices. “Oh yes, there it is.” She added a dollar to my bill. As she completed the transaction, she added, “Thanks for your honesty.”

            But I knew it wasn’t enough. Lord, haven’t I done enough already? I didn’t steal from the store by my silence. I insisted on the Honey Crisp apples. But was I about to steal from his glory? Morality wasn't the main reason for my insistence. Yes, it was the right thing to do, but there was an even more important reason. I want to honor Christ. There was more to say.

            “I have to answer to God for things like that,” I said, as the cashier dug change from her drawer. And perhaps it wasn’t my best response (I thought of many better ones later), but it was what came to mind in split second number three.

            As I took my receipt and my change, I received something even more important than either. The cashier gave me the biggest smile and said, “Be blessed.”

            I think she is a member of God’s family, and her words reminded me that when we obey, we are blessed. Today I could have an extra dollar in my pocket—four measly quarters—and be soul poor. Instead, God has been reminding me of the importance of faithfulness in little things. And I am blessed.