Studying the sign took a while, as I don’t frequent the fancy steak isle but I was fairly certain I was looking at a good deal … a really good deal … too good of a deal. The sign couldn’t be right. I tried squinting to see if the sign changed. It didn’t. I picked up a steak, studied it and returned it to the rack. I picked it up again and put it in my cart. Help was needed, so I set off in search of an employee. I found one over in the cheese isle. “Hi,” I ventured. “Do you know anything about the products in this part of the store?” “Which one?” He asked, stacking cheddar with an intimidating efficiency. “Umm, tri-tip? Could you come and have a look? I’m having trouble understanding the sign." “Sure!” He put on his best, I’m-here-to-help face and followed me round the corner. I pointed, “That stuff, what do you make of that?”
“Well it’s on sale.” He stated pointing to the yellow highlighter. He was skilled in stating the obvious.
“Agreed,” I declared. Two can play at that game.
He looked at me somewhat quizzically, “It says it’s…..$1.99 a pound.”
“Right again!” I smiled sweetly. “But do you think that sign is correct? It seems like an awfully good deal.”
“It does, doesn’t it? I should really grab some after work.”
“Yes, that seems prudent, but are you certain that price is right?”
“Well, sure.” He squinted at the sign, “Yep. $1.99. You’re good!” And with that, he smiled, kind of bowed and scurried back to the cheese isle to deal with an unruly Gorgonzola.
I picked up two more steaks and put them in my cart. At this point I was feeling kind of silly.
Hindsight is a tricky thing. It is easy to make mistakes when recounting stories but I’m certain at this point, I knew the sign was wrong. I was being offered something that was too good to be true and I was looking for someone to agree with me. No way was this store selling steaks at $1.99 a pound. I took a picture of the sign and walked in the other direction.
The next fellow I met was arranging cooked chickens. “Hello!” I started anew. “Could you help me with something? You have a product on sale and I’m trying to figure out the price.”
He stood up quickly, “You bet! Where on the floor?” Clearly, he was happy to take a break from the chickens. He walked beside me and chatted on our way to the beef section. When we arrived, I pointed.
“Those are on sale!” He informed me, pointing to the yellow highlighter.
“Looks like,” I smiled.
“Hey, that is a great price!” He squinted at the sign, “Wow, I should get some.”
Nodding patiently I bit my lip, “You would be a fool not too, do you think the sign is correct?”
Mr. Cooked Chicken picked up a package and studied it. “Well, I’m pretty sure, but you’re right, it seems like a great deal. Take a picture when you go to the checkout and they will tell you. $1.99 you got it. You good?”
“Ever so,” I replied. “Thanks for your help.”
I studied the steaks again. I had a summer unfolding before me. Maybe I needed some for the deep freeze. I grabbed two more packages. Now I was certain the price was wrong. I was absolutely trying to buy something for the wrong price, taking advantage of their mistake. The only problem was trying to find someone to agree with me. I decided to try one more time.
The next employee that caught my eye looked deadly competent from 30 feet away. Dressed in a coral shirt, carrying a walkie-talkie, she was striding through the store like she owned the place. I altered my course to cut her off by the hummus. “Excuse me,” I called. She stopped immediately, pivoted on her heel and put on her customer service face, “Hi! What can I do for you?”
“I need some help over by the steaks. There is something on sale but I think there might be a mistake.”
“Sure Hon, show me where.” She fell in step and we power walked our way back to the steaks, where I was now feeling like a regular.
“There.” I pointed. “That sign says $1.99 a pound…..but that can’t be right can it?"
“Well they are on sale….” She bent over the case and took a closer look. She squinted. “ Ohh noooo hooo noooo! That is absolutely not correct! Jerry!” she yelled at a fellow employee, “we need a new sign over here.”
My bubble finally burst, I looked at my cart now containing five, count them, five packages of tri-tip. I am ashamed to say that though I had now spent a full 20 minutes trying to be talked out my illicit deal, I now attempted to claw it back. “So is this a happy day for me?” I asked hopefully.
She looked in my cart. “Your happy day? I’m sorry hon?” She looked confused.
“Well you know, they were priced wrong...America…land of great deals…do I get these at the wrong price still?” I looked at her hopefully, “You know,” I pointed to the sign stating $1.99 a pound. “Is this a happy day for me?”
Surprisingly, she burst out laughing, grabbed the sign from the refrigerator case and signed it. “Your happy day! “ She chortled. “Yes Hon, it is! Take it to the front and they will ring you through. You get the the sale price. $1.99 a pound! Jerry! Bring that over here.” She gave me a pat on the arm and was off to Jerry and on to reprinting a new sign.
I was pleased with my kill. The hunt had produced results, but immediately I was struck with guilt and phoned a girlfriend to rationalize my behavior. “Well Karen, if the supervisor gave you the deal she must have felt she okay about it! You tried pretty hard in talking to 3 people.” After promising my friend a steak dinner, I got off the phone and headed for the till. I’m not going to pretend that I spent hours feeling guilty because I was really pleased with my deal. But at the very bottom of it all, was the knowledge that I had taken advantage of another’s mistake. I really blew it. Technically, there are consumer rules about these things but I’m not certain Jesus reads them. He reads hearts instead.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17
What about you my friend? Are failing like me, or are you still standing this week? Any stakes being raised in your world, making you want to cut corners? Perhaps you are being reduced to technicalities as you grapple with right and wrong. I found myself facing a serious character flaw and would have done better obeying the Lord instead of running about getting advice from clueless yet well-intentioned helpers. Life has a way of raising the stakes and simple failures can lead to complex consequences.
God is faithful. Always.
Praying for you this week,
xoxKaren
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