Pat’s
first job was working on the night crew at a grocery store. After closing time,
he and the other employees stocked the shelves. Pat’s boss had instructed them
to always turn the soup cans forward so that the label could be read easily.
But he had gone a little further by saying, “Make sure that they’re facing
forward—three cans back.” One night as Pat was arranging the shelves, his
co-workers began to scoff, “Just make sure the front can is turned the right
way. Who’s gonna know?”
It was a
moment of decision for the teenager. Should he obey what his boss had asked him
to do, or just do what was easy?
We’ve all
been in similar situations where we’ve had to make a choice. The apostle Paul
encouraged his fellow believers to be obedient even when no one was watching:
“Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with
eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God” (Col.
3:22).
Doing the
right thing should not be dependent on whether our employer is around or if
anyone else is watching. It’s not always easy or convenient to be obedient. But
it’s right.
Remember,
“to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James
4:17).
Our
character is measured by what we do when no one is looking. (RBC)
