The other day, before we left for our quick trip to San Antonio, our van needed to have the oil changed. It actually had about 800 miles to go, but the first oil change was “free” at the dealership we bought it from, so I took it in a few miles early.
It is somewhat amazing what you can overhear at a car dealership...and not just from the sales staff.
For example a man and a woman were playing cards when I arrived. The woman had played the game before and the man was “learning.” They would play for a while, then he would ask a question. After 10 minutes, he finally said, “It sounds to me that you’re making up the rules as we go!”
He was teasing her (they were “together”), but I found it odd that the one who did not know how to play “accused” the one who did of “cheating.”
As is the case in many car dealerships, the service waiting area is within ear shot of the service desk. A call came in and they asked to speak to, I guess, the service manager. The guy who answered the call asked if he could say who was calling and the man on the other end was named “John.”
The person John was asking for said, “Tell him I got fired.” The phone answerer looked a bit taken aback by this response. He asked if he was serious and was told, “He was in here two weeks ago and wanted me to buy service rags. I declined, but he got belligerent.”
After waiting about 30 more seconds, the one who answered the call got back on the phone and said, “Sir, I just saw him coming out of our general managers office. He didn’t look happy and was carrying a box to his office.” After a couple of minutes of assuring the caller that he was telling him the truth, the call ended and everyone behind the counter had a good laugh.
This got me to thinking about how prevalent dishonesty is in our culture. Everyone seems to think that, if the end is justifiable, the means just doesn’t matter. You can lie, cheat, steal, or whatever, so long as the “cause” is right.
Jesus tells us that we should be known as honest people. In the Sermon on the Mount, He talks about oaths and says not to take oaths at all, but, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (see Matthew 5:33-37).
Are you known as an honest person? Can people trust that what you tell them is the truth? That’s the type of person Jesus calls you to be.
It is somewhat amazing what you can overhear at a car dealership...and not just from the sales staff.
For example a man and a woman were playing cards when I arrived. The woman had played the game before and the man was “learning.” They would play for a while, then he would ask a question. After 10 minutes, he finally said, “It sounds to me that you’re making up the rules as we go!”
He was teasing her (they were “together”), but I found it odd that the one who did not know how to play “accused” the one who did of “cheating.”
As is the case in many car dealerships, the service waiting area is within ear shot of the service desk. A call came in and they asked to speak to, I guess, the service manager. The guy who answered the call asked if he could say who was calling and the man on the other end was named “John.”
The person John was asking for said, “Tell him I got fired.” The phone answerer looked a bit taken aback by this response. He asked if he was serious and was told, “He was in here two weeks ago and wanted me to buy service rags. I declined, but he got belligerent.”
After waiting about 30 more seconds, the one who answered the call got back on the phone and said, “Sir, I just saw him coming out of our general managers office. He didn’t look happy and was carrying a box to his office.” After a couple of minutes of assuring the caller that he was telling him the truth, the call ended and everyone behind the counter had a good laugh.
This got me to thinking about how prevalent dishonesty is in our culture. Everyone seems to think that, if the end is justifiable, the means just doesn’t matter. You can lie, cheat, steal, or whatever, so long as the “cause” is right.
Jesus tells us that we should be known as honest people. In the Sermon on the Mount, He talks about oaths and says not to take oaths at all, but, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (see Matthew 5:33-37).
Are you known as an honest person? Can people trust that what you tell them is the truth? That’s the type of person Jesus calls you to be.
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