WHAT’S YOUR PRICE? (Part 1)

Posted on November 9, 2017 by oneta hayes

 

 tough-questions5

On the water refill booth in Walmart  I saw eight plastic sealing strips off water bottles.  I guess someone pulled the strips off eight gallons of water, then told the cashier he/she was buying refills. Maybe there was a legal reason for them to be there, but I can’t think of any. Can you? In chatting with a couple employees about it I said, “If I sell my soul to hell, I sure want more than four bucks for it.”

Made me ask myself, “OK, then, what would I take for it?” Proverbs 30:8-9 “..(give me my daily bread)….or, I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” In this passage Solomon seems to acknowledge that one could be so poor he would steal.  

But I don’t believe that would cover the scenario at Walmart. I really don’t believe a person has to have eight gallons of purified water in order to live!

But it all boils down to this: It doesn’t matter what price we would take for our soul, the debt has been paid with the invaluable blood of God’s precious Son, if we accept his incredible offer. Thank you, Jehovah-tsidkenu (My Righteousness) for a redeemed soul and keep me in love with you to daily walk uprightly with a thankful heart. I remember your words, “If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).”

About oneta hayes

ABOUT ME Hello. To various folks I am Neat’nee, Mom, Grandma Neta, Gramma, Aunt Neta, Aunt Noni, Aunt Neno, and Aunt Neto (lots of varieties from little nieces and nephews). To some I’m more like “Didn’t you used to be my teacher?” or “Don’t I know you from someplace?” To you, perhaps, I am a Fellow Blogger. Not “fellow” like a male or a guy, but “fellow” like a companion or an adventurer. I would choose to be Grandma Blogger, and have you pull up a chair, my website before you, while I tell you of some days of yore. I have experienced life much differently than most of you. It was and is a good life. I hope to share nuggets of appreciation for those who have gone before me and those who come after me. By necessity you are among those who come after me and I will tell you of those who came before. Once upon a time in a little house on a prairie - oops, change that lest I commit plagiarism - and change that “house on the prairie” to “dugout on the prairie.” So my story begins...
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6 Responses to WHAT’S YOUR PRICE? (Part 1)

  1. shoreacres says:
    November 9, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    Your story reminds me of the tale of Robert Johnson, the Mississippi blues singer, who’s reputed to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his guitar playing ability. Whether he did or didn’t, the song about it (“Went Down to the Crossroads”) is famous, and “Crossroads” even is used as the name of a famous annual music festival in Chicago. Johnson, unfortunately, lived a hard life and didn’t get to enjoy much fame; he died at 27.

    Reply
    • oneta hayes says:
      November 9, 2017 at 9:06 pm

      Ouch, that’s young. I have an old book that has no words- just pictures. I believe they are called woodcut pictures. As you go page by page the story is depicted. Some places I lose the details but it is obvious that the protagonist is an artist who sells his soul to the devil for fame and fortune. It follows his fame and lose. God’s Man – a Novel in Woodcuts, by Lynd Ward. You can pull it up on Amazon. Third book down 1930, black and tan, $80. I bought it at a library sale for $15 I think.

      Reply
  2. Roos Ruse says:
    November 12, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    This reminds me of something someone else said recently; something about “We all tend to be drawn to all the sparkly and shiny stuff in the world and we forget it most likely won’t please God or make us happy, but we want to take it anyway.” Great post, Oneta.

    Reply
  3. Vashti Q says:
    November 13, 2017 at 11:16 am

    Hi Oneta! Interesting post today. I thought about this carefully and while I do not condone stealing, if I put myself in someone else’s shoes and was very poor and had to steal to ensure that my children would survive, I would definitely steal food. As far as the water, I doubt that was anything other than petty thievery. But there are breathing machines used by patients at home that require the use of this water, so if you didn’t have the money for say, your grandma’s or your child’s breathing machine water, is it okay to steal it? That’s why I rather not judge. You never know the reasoning behind what people do. Let God be the judge and go about your business, is what I tell myself. 😀 xx

    Reply
    • oneta hayes says:
      November 13, 2017 at 4:19 pm

      Thanks for the comment. I love discussion. I thought my use of the Proverbs scripture would show that I believe that one “being so poor that he would steal” would point out what I believe is the difference in stealing for survival and stealing purified water which I do not see as survival (at least not in Oklahoma). Some countries, probably. Taking the water at half price at Walmarts would be the same as any other shoplifting, I guess. I think that is illegal and I think it is stealing. My main issue with this series of blogs is to question the boundaries we set for ourselves. I ask myself what my limit is. So you know I will not pilfer or as you say, indulge in “petty thievery,” but will I steal if the temptation is great enough? I hope not. My grandson just got paid for three weeks of work with hot checks. The poor man who wrote the checks probably thought he was buying some time until someone else paid him – rationalizing that he could make it right. Do I judge that behavior? I can see how he might think that, but my grandson is without pay for three weeks and has little to fall back on. His boss is in jail. Do we let person one off because person two didn’t get paid by person three? Setting limits, drawing lines, and “judging” can be a complex matter as you point out. I believe the limit should be set by not pilfering in the first place. Hey, thanks for the feed back. I’m sure you will have questions about my next few blogs. Send them to me. 😀

      Reply

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