Luke 16:10-15
Jesus went on to make these comments:
If you're honest in small things, you'll be honest in big things;
If you're a crook in small things, you'll be a crook in big things.
If you're not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses: He'll either hate the first and love the second or adore the first and despise the second. You can't serve both God and the Bank.
When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch. So Jesus spoke to them: "You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but God knows what's behind the appearance.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Selling online is fun… but it can be challenging, too. Once in awhile, you will get a customer who cannot be satisfied. Even though you try to make your photos and written description as clear and inclusive as possible, there will be that person who says, “This is not what I ordered,” or “You didn’t tell me such-and-such.” Whether they are correct is pretty irrelevant. I’ve learned that the smartest thing to do is say, “Send it back,” eat any shipping expense, and move forward.
In online selling, reputation is everything. You are known by how promptly and carefully you ship… whether products are as you described… and how fair your charges are. So when a repeat customer recently paid nearly $2 more for shipping than it actually cost, I immediately issued a refund. I could have kept that overage… it would have covered my PayPal fees. And the customer had known the shipping cost when she purchased. In my defense, I had to estimate shipping cost based on a more distant destination. Since the customer lived in a nearby state, shipping costs were not as high as estimated. So I issued the refund.
In the long run, being fair and honest will get me more customers and repeat business – and this customer has left wonderful feedback for other potential buyers to read. Two dollars is not a big amount, but as this passage illustrates, small things lead to bigger things. And conversely, small gestures… like issuing this refund… will lead to bigger things, such as more sales down the road.
You may know someone of whom it is said, “If his/her lips are moving, he/she is lying.” Sadly, we probably all know someone we wouldn’t trust past the front door. But for every person who is this dishonest or untrustworthy, there are many others who walk among us who are more subtle and deceptive. I hope you are not one of these people. I hope you don’t operate in the “Who will know?” realm of sweeping little things under the rug, “putting lipstick on the pig” and making yourself look like someone you are not… basically being a phony. You may fool the people around you – at least for awhile – but God will never be fooled!
Ask yourself where and when you may have temptations to color the truth in your favor – even a little. Examine every area of your life to see if there are any corners where you are less than honest with others – and yourself! Ask God to help you be the real deal… the person He created you to be… and to focus on being genuine and serving Him well. Just like my positive feedback online, doing the right thing will bring you exponential blessings that you can’t even imagine. God knows your heart… and He will honor your best efforts. Is this what you are giving Him?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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