Yes be yes and no be no

I had a tyre puncture on Wednesday night just after leaving work at 9 pm. Strange, but when I heard the flappy sound coming somewhere from the back, I somehow knew that it was a tyre problem. Totally flat. Thankfully, I managed to drive slowly to a petrol station (without damaging the rim much) and call the AAM for help. They came to the rescue within the hour and changed the tyre.

Anyhow, I went to a tyre shop to get the tyre changed yesterday morning . I asked for a particular make of tyre. The mechanic said he would check if there was stock. A few minutes later, after a phone call or two he came and said "no stock" - but why not take the model they have. I was not convinced and since it wasn't urgent to change the tyre there and then I made a decision to 'think about it'. I was frank in telling him that it wasn't urgent to change - the spare was working ok and anyway, i would be away the weekend and didn't need my car.

At that point, he changed his tune and said - maybe the make I want is available after all - and he went back to make a quick call - and then said it is available. Well, by then i felt upset at almost being taken advantage of..........but since i was already there i went ahead with the change.

This kind of experience is new to me. For those in the 'business' world, it must be a common thing. But i never suspected the ploy, i thought they were honest in saying they didn't have the model i wanted - so i really felt upset at the thought that i looked like someone they could easily persuade and take advantage of.

Being 'fools for Christ' might feel something like this. In a world where one has to be 'street smart' to get by, we are asked to preach a message of love and forgiveness. We have a Savior who was 'taken advantage' of - who 'put himself in the hands of the world' in order to save the world. I didn't like the feeling of being taken advantage of - i guess it hurt my pride in some way - to be thought of as a 'pushover'(to use the young peoples' term) for a sales pitch. This experience tells me something about myself; far more than reminding me of the conniving 'ways of the world'. I could just shake my head at the mechanic's actions and stand in judgment at 'all these less than honest sales people'. At the deepest level, I have to remember that they just 'don't know what they are doing'.........and similarly our Lord realizes we don't know what we're doing (much of the time anyway) and therefore offers mercy and forgiveness.

Well, praise God for another graced experience that asks me to 'test my reactions'.