Yesterday, I was shopping at Lowes Home Improvement store [One of my favorite stores.] I dutifully had my list of items I needed to purchase but when I came across the clearance rack, I found my favorite plant, Lantana. Clearance price?  $1.00! So, I quickly took advantage of my good fortune!  

While loading my items in my car, I discovered I had seven plants but had only paid for six. I had miscounted. [I never was good at Math.] So, I what do I do? After all, it was just a mistake; I was not attempting to steal anything and  Lowes wouldn’t go bankrupt if I didn’t return it. I started to rationalize:

• It was a long walk back to the store and I was tired.
• I could return it later the next time at the store.
• It was only a dollar item! No big deal!
• People deliberately shoplift; so Lowes expects to lose a certain amount of product.

All those reasons made sense to me but the reality was still the same. I had something in my possession that did not belong to me and my conscious wouldn’t  let me keep it. When I returned the plant and explained my the situation; the Lowes associate looked like they had just seen a green, one-eyed Martian!  

I share this story, not to post on my own piety but to show us that honesty and integrity have become as extinct as the Do-Do bird. I want to be a person of integrity and I hope this is your goal. 

Disclaimer: This story is what I felt that God required of me; you may have responded differently and I do not judge you. Allow the peace of God rule in your hearts. Colossians 3:15