Recently, a friend of mine wrote about a conversation he’d had with someone who worked as a cashier, and he was saddened to hear just how badly most people treat staff at grocery stores and in the service industry in general. I think it can be hard to live out the truth of the Bible as we run errands, encounter obstacles in getting through our To Do List, or talk to customer service staff about problems that we are facing. These may be relatively short encounters, but they have eternal weight.
Buy truth, and do not sell it;
Proverbs 23:23
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
Proverbs tells us to seek God’s truth and wisdom like we’re searching for treasure—look for it diligently and recognize its value. When we get that truth, we ought never to sell it. We ought to showcase it, even to those we may interact with for only a brief time, such as all those wonderful cashiers out there.
Today, I’m going to tell you about a time when I sold the truth. It’s a painful story to share, but for me, it stands as a reminder of how easily it can happen when I am focused on my own agenda rather than what God is doing around me.
Nearly 10 years ago, I had been planning all day to take the kids out for a fun time of play at a play place we’d never been to before. I had told the kids how much fun we were going to have—we were going to buy drinks from one vendor, snacks from another, and then head over to our final destination for an hour of play. I had no idea what prices were like, and I knew that it was prime time on a Saturday evening, but I had decided it was worth it.
I walked into the play place, asked politely in Chinese how much it would cost, and the girl proceeded to ask how many people we had, and try to sell me a 3-hour time slot. I was able to explain that we just wanted to pay for 1 hour. She told me the price: 35 RMB. That sounded like a great price, so I handed over the money. A minute later, it happened. The manager came over and explained that it was now 6:00pm, which meant that we would have to pay the higher price for our hour of entry. I looked at the price list—95 RMB! I looked at my phone—5:58pm.
I was familiar with this situation, and it was a rather common place thing to see people yelling at each other on the street about some kind of injustice in price. I went into “Chinese bargaining” mode, with a heavy dose of “I’m not an idiot—don’t try to trick me” tactics. Because this was happening in Chinese, my line of argument had to be simple and clear: “She told me 35 RMB. I gave her 35 RMB. The time is not really 6:00 yet.” Whenever he argued with me, I just kept going over those facts. Of course, he explained that their computer had a different time: 6:03pm. I just stuck with my line. After all, they had already taken my money. Didn’t I deserve the promised services?
Finally, the manager gave up, but not before reaming out the young girl who had taken my money. I couldn’t understand what he said to her, but his tone of voice, facial expressions, and gestures gave me some clue: “You are an idiot!” and possibly, “This is coming out of your pay check.”
That’s when reality hit. I had just won the bargaining game, but that meant that someone else was the loser. The receipt I signed said 95 RMB, and it was very possible that that girl had just lost 60 RMB from her pay check. I am ashamed to say that in my pride, I turned around and finished out my preplanned evening with my kids. It wasn’t until later, lying in my bed that night, that I worked it all out in my mind.
I felt bad about what I had done. I knew from my students that at that time young people in low-level jobs might make just 100 RMB per day. In my stubbornness, I may have cost that girl her job, or half her daily wages. And I certainly hadn’t given them a good impression of foreigners (and possibly, Christians, since many Chinese assume all Americans are Christians).
What should I have done? Just quietly agreed to what really did seem unjust? Given up and cancelled the activity with my kids? That’s when it hit me—60 RMB. That was about 10 USD. Whatever I “should have done,” what I had done was sold my testimony—sold myself—for $10. I asked God to forgive me. I had sold the truth that I should be kind to others (not demanding just because I’m in a culture where you are expected to bargain and negotiate). I had sold the truth that people are more important than things—even girls I don’t know working behind a counter.
I had sold the truth that every word is meaningful, and every word actually reveals my heart. I had used my words as a battering ram in the war to get what I wanted. I had pretended that these things didn’t really matter, that I was just trying to get what I deserved. But I pray that in the future, I can remember what God says is the reality:
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Matthew 12:34-37
What moments in your life remind you to show care for the people around you? What verses help guide your actions and heart in these areas?
This article is part of a series through the book of Proverbs. You can read more meditations on Proverbs on other pages of this site. Also, please consider joining the Proverbs Reading Challenge!
A good reminder to mind every word we say and think what the real outcome may be. You never know who it may affect directly or indirectly, or who is watching and listening.