What's right and what's wrong- and the difference is $.86

What's right and what's wrong- and the difference is $.86

What's right and what's wrong- and the difference is $.86

No, nobody got sent to jail here... Rather, I looked to avoid it- and do the right thing at the same time.

You see, I had a number of things in my Wal-Mart buggy yesterday.  I had some chips and other small stuff, but I also had some 12-packs of drinks and a couple of other large items.  Not wanting to put every single item on the counter, I pulled one of each out of the buggy and had the cashier scan it.

I paid for things and all was well...or so I thought.

I made my way to the parking lot and unloaded the buggy- and what do I see when I lift the last 12-pack of Sun-Drop out of the thing?  You guessed it- this 2-pack of needles.

So what do you do?  Wal-Mart won't notice, right?  The things only cost $.86, right?  I made it past their high-tech buzzer/alarm and theft detector thing- so I should get to keep the goods, right?  Sort of like a "finders/keepers, losers/weepers" deal?

Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong....

I went back in with the needles.... stood in line to pay my $.86 ($.92 with tax and all).  Why?  Purely and simply, it was the right thing to do.

I could've walked with the loot.  Probably wouldn't have been caught- except by my conscience.  Doubt they would've called the cops for 92 cents- but times are tough and Wal-Mart is Wal-Mart and you never know.  But I'd know I took something without paying- and that it was wrong.

It may seem a little old-school, but I couldn't have done it.  I couldn't have bailed and been good with it.  We teach our kids not to steal- so we have to set an example.  I look at news footage of New Orleans circa Katrina and call those stealing Air Jordans instead of food a bunch of thugs- and if I stole these 92-cent needles I'd lose any moral high ground I may have ever claimed.  

Wrong is wrong- no matter the price.  Former Texas A&M Head Football Coach R.C. Slocum once said that "your character is what you are when no one's looking"- and truer words are harder to find.

Whether it be in real estate or the rest of the world, if we're going to demand honesty and integrity from others, we must first demand it from ourselves.  That's what's right.