Leviticus 19:11
Do not steal or tell lies or cheat others.
Psalm 101:7
No one who cheats or lies will have a position in my royal court.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Friends and I were sharing stories the other day, and one of the women in the group said she used to work at a grocery store in California called Vons. The employees were told not to so much as taste a grape from the produce bins… that it would be considered stealing. I laughed, because it reminded me of when I was a child, and my friend Shaun and I went to Mr. Hicks' grocery store one day with our mothers. The store was a small neighborhood market located on Main Street near Pizza Piezazz. Shaun and I were about 5, and we each ate a grape from the produce display. We had seen adults sample the grapes as they were purchasing them, so we thought we’d try it.
The results may have been different for Shaun, but when I got in the car, I got in a LOT of trouble. My mother had seen me eat the grape, and she let me know in no uncertain terms that this was stealing. And to this day, I’ve never sampled a grape or any other produce in the store, unless a vendor offered me a sample. When I see someone pick a grape and taste it, I always think of this incident!
So what’s the big deal about eating one lone grape in the grocery store? And why was it such a big deal for my friend and her co-workers at Vons? The point is that little things have a way of becoming bigger things. It starts with one grape, but soon, workers would be going by and helping themselves to a handful every day… or just one apple, or one banana. This adds up in a hurry. And customers are eating food for which they have not paid!
As for us, the “one grape,” becomes something bigger, and soon we think nothing of taking office supplies from work that are not ours, or stealing road signs to make a cool display in our room, or making excuses to our teachers/coaches/parents/bosses about why we were late or why we want the day off from work or a certain event. “One grape” can become a huge deal… and the cost can be incredibly high – not for us in a monetary way, maybe – but in the eyes of God.
Psalm 101:7 says that no one who cheats or lies will have a position in the royal court. In other words, God doesn’t have the time or energy for liars and cheats. Yes, He is loving and forgiving… but do you really want to anger Him or challenge His authority? He has spoken… and the rule is, NO STEALING, CHEATING or LYING… not even a grape! Are you paying attention?
©2010 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment