Seven Dollars and Forty-Three Cents by Larry Davies

    The check-out at the local grocery store was long and I was in a hurry. Seeing another line nearly empty, I walked over and stood behind the only customer still to make a purchase. A young twenty-something woman was holding a small basket with fifteen to twenty jars of baby food. There was nothing else in the basket: just baby food.

    “This is great,” I thought. “She’ll only be a minute and I can be on my way.”

    The clerk took the woman’s check for seven dollars and forty-three cents and efficiently typed in the numbers and slid it in the proper slot on the register. At this point the cash drawer was supposed to open and a receipt printed, but not this time. A light began to blink: “See Manager.” The clerk called on the intercom for the manager while running the check through again on her register. The same sign kept flashing: “See Manager.”

    “Oh no!” I thought. “Not another delay. I’m in a hurry and don’t need for the cash register to break down.”

    When the manager arrived, however, he didn’t even look at the register, but instead picked up the check and began to talk to the customer. I could feel the muscles in my stomach tighten as the reality of what was happening struck me.

    The check for seven dollars and forty-three cents was no good and the manager was quietly saying she could not buy her baby food here. The clerk quickly set the groceries aside, closed her account and began to ring up my purchase.

    “She should manage her money better!” I tried to convince myself while leaving the store. “She’s probably an alcoholic or a drug addict.” But my flimsy excuses would not erase the picture in my mind of a grocery basket filled only with jars of baby food.

There are no acceptable excuses.

    Jesus teaches: “You are the light of the world...we don’t light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead we put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine so they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

    Every day, all of us receive opportunities to help someone in need. Our light shines when we use those God-given opportunities to witness our faith by reaching out and getting involved. There is nothing dramatic about these day-to-day encounters, but they emphatically tell the world what kind of Christians we really are.

    At this point, I want to finish the story by writing how I approached the manager and offered to pay for the purchase of the baby food. It was the right thing to do. I don’t have much money, but I can afford seven dollars and forty-three cents. Instead, hiding my light under a bowl, I turned my head and walked away. There are no acceptable excuses. I had a great opportunity to help someone and walked away. Next time, I will do better. God has taught me a valuable lesson today.

    What we believe as Christians only works if we turn our faith into action. How about you? How many opportunities have you missed to let your light shine and instead hid it under a bowl? The next time you are in a check-out line at your local grocery store, instead of worrying about your schedule, look around you. Maybe God will give you the opportunity to help someone who needs seven dollars and forty-three cents to buy some baby food. Please, in the name of God, let your light shine and give them a helping hand.

Questions to Challenge:

1. Are there times when someone needed help and for one reason or another, you missed the opportunity? Write it down and share the story with someone.
2. Jesus commands us to be “the light of the world!” What are some other ways we can be light?
3. How can we get involved and help those who need it?

Afterword: Larry’s open sharing reminds me of a term we use at Westover, “goober.” We’ve learned that some our best lessons are learned when the Lord convicts us about our “goobers"—a “goober” is our affectionate term for our sins for which we are deeply sorry that God has used to teach us lessons that will ultimately make us better disciples. I’m beginning work on a book with several other folks called Goobering our Way to Heaven. While we can fill it with our own goobers, we’d love to have stories about your goobers and how God has used them to make you a better person. If you’d be willing to share one, send it to phil@heartlight.org with the subject listed as Goober. We’ll even change the names to protect the “goobering” if you’d like. Thank God for grace and the Holy Spirit so we don’t have to stay where we’ve blown it, but can confess our sin and let God make us better people.