Thou Shalt Not Steal . . .


Thursday was the National Day of Prayer and I wondered what lessons I would be taught by my Heavenly Father. Each day, I wake to the question, "What am I going to learn today?"
As the day progressed, I had a need to run down to the Dollar General store. I walked in, picked out the items I'd gone after, and proceeded to the check-out line. I noticed a woman in line but she was acting very strangely while waiting her turn.
The lady in front of me and almost sitting on the floor with a variety of items. I thought it strange that she already had a couple yellow Dollar General bags and was filling them up with some items she had scattered around her on the floor. She also had a basket filled with items. When it came her turn, she left two of the pre-filled bags on the floor (out of the view of the clerk) and asked if she could make some exchanges on items she'd (according to her) bought earlier. The clerk would not let her because she had no receipt. The clerk also told her that she should have left anything that she brought into the store at the front. They had not seen her bring anything in and she had no proof that she'd purchased the items.
The woman ended up paying almost $20.00 for some items and then walked out with everything! I was in a state of shock, and as the clerk and I talked about it, she said that the woman hadn't brought anything into the store. Another thing that gave the "shoplifter" away was the way she spoke. Words came out of her mouth, non-stop and in a nervious fashion.
Witnessing shoplifting first hand produced several emotions for me. My initial feeling was shock. I just couldn't believe that someone could be so bold to blatantly steal in front of the clerk. I then got a little angry that this person stole. I know how stealing affects all consumers; prices go up!!! That affects me and my pocketbook!
As I got into my vehicle, I started feeling sorry for the woman. I thought of how sad it was for her to go against a known law of God and man, to risk spending time in jail but more tragic, to spend eternity in hell for a few, cheap items.
As I usually do, I asked God what He wanted me to learn from this experience and this is what He said, "PRAY FOR HER!" I don't know her name but I'll never forget her and the experience. When I think about her, I WILL PRAY.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very good thoughts Beth. Anger is the first response, but as you say, we should pray for those that do such. Convicting!
7:41 PM
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