Several years ago a young priest moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride a bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him twenty pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, ‘you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it’.
Then he thought, ‘Oh forget it, it’s only twenty pence.’ Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from the Almighty, and keep quiet’.
When his stop came, the priest paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said: “Here, you gave me too much change.”
The driver with a smile replied: “Aren’t you the new parish priest in this area? I have been thinking lately about going to worship at your Church. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.”
When the young priest stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and held for support, and looked up to the heavens and cried:
“Oh my Jesus, I almost sold your Christianity for twenty pence!”
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We may never see what impact our actions have on people… Sometimes we are the only “Bible” someone will ever read, or the only Christianity someone will see. What we need to provide is an example for others to see. Be careful of how you behave, and be honest always: you never know who is watching your actions.