Dairy Queen in Hopkins, Minnesota

Joey Prusak has probably seen all kinds. Though he is only 19-years-old, he has worked for five years at the Dairy Queen in Hopkins, Minnesota. Customers come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them, Joey learned, come with few, if any, scruples.

A regular customer who is visually impaired pulled out a debit card recently to pay for his purchase. Unbeknownst to the customer, a $20 bill fell out of his pocket onto the floor. A woman standing behind him in line picked up the bill and put it in her pocket, saying nothing and acting as if nothing had occurred.

Joey saw what happened. He confronted the woman and asked her to return the money. When the lady denied taking the money, Joey asked her to leave the store. He then took $20 of his own and gave to the visually impaired man.

Nothing would have been known of this incident had another customer not sent an email to the store manager, praising Joey for his actions. "It felt like the right thing to do," Joey told his manager. It was apparently an automatic reaction.

What is automatic for us? Taking advantage of a vulnerable individual ("finders keepers, losers weepers") or doing the right thing? Would we do as Joey did?

Paul recognized the standard God has set for all of us: "Providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Corinthians 8:21). The actions of that female customer at Dairy Queen were noticed that day, not only by Joey Prusak and perhaps others, but especially by God. She got away with nothing. And that's always the case; our actions are constantly monitored by the Lord.

Long ago the prophet Micah pondered what it would take to please the Lord. Would burnt offerings be sufficient? Would it take "... thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression ...?" God's response was clear: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:7,8).

The Bible often speaks of God's expectation of us to do what is right toward others. Even though that wallet may have been dropped because its owner was irresponsible, does that give me the right to claim its contents as my own? We should know better.

"And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise" (Luke 6:31).

Timothy D. Hall.