The following is paraphrased from a pastor and a former colleague:
Andrea Lessing recently got a job at the Goodwill store in Norman, Oklahoma so she could take care of herself and her young daughter. On March 26, 2021 while sorting some newly donated merchandise, Andrea came across two sweaters tied up together. As she examined the bundle, she first believed they were wrapped around some books. Yet, as she unwrapped them, the "books" turned out to stacks of $100 bills – 420 of them. Someone had mistakenly donated $42,000.
Did Andrea view this discovery as a long-awaited pay off, a bit of good fortune? No. Didn't she think of how that money might benefit her and her daughter? Probably. It was more money than she'd ever seen before.
Yet when she thought of her little girl, she asked herself, "How can I face my daughter if I steal this money?" She realized there are far better things than dishonest gain that a mother can leave to her child. Of greater importance than money are love and a good example of how to live. To that end, Andrea chose to do the right thing – return the money to its rightful owner.
Andrea turned the money over to her supervisors. Using documentation assigned to the donation, the supervisors contacted the donor and returned the $42,000. The donor gave Andrea a $1,000 reward for her honesty. A regional manager for Goodwill Industries presented the reward to her and thanked her for her honesty.
What would you do if presented with the same dilemma? Would you keep the money or would you return it to the rightful owner? Could you live with the thoughts of your unearned gain, faced with the probability that the money might be someone else's life savings? Fortunately, there are still many good, caring, and honest people out there who are ruled by their conscience rather than their appetites and greed. May God bless them and increase their numbers.
A Scout is Trustworthy.