Living by the Book!

Single mother and Wal-Mart employee Heather Ravenstein did what she thought she had to do - stop a shoplifter from stealing a $600 computer. The suspect had set off an alarm when he exited the store without paying for the computer. Ravenstein went after him. When she caught up with him (he was walking somewhat briskly), she asked him to see the receipt for the computer. When he ignored her request, she grabbed the computer. After a brief tussle, he let go of the box and ran off. Yea Heather Ravenstein! You foiled the attempts of a would-be shoplifter, thus saving Wal-Mart (and really all of us in the long run, as costs associated with shoplifting are passed on to us the consumer) money!

But wait! Not so fast. The next day, Ravenstein was fired by Wal-Mart. According to a spokesman for the giant retailer, Wal-Mart has a policy that clearly states that only a manager or someone in asset protection is to try to stop a customer from stealing. This policy is in place to protect both employees and customers. Wal-Mart views this so seriously that to violate this policy leads to immediate termination. Ravenstein claimed that she was unaware of the policy - but that was irrelevant as far as Wal-Mart was concerned.

Now I must admit when I first read of this incident, I was a bit peeved at Wal-Mart. Here is this huge corporation firing a single mom and all she did was stop a shoplifter. But, after hearing of their policy (which does make a lot of sense when you think about it), my anger toward Wal-Mart abated. Now as to whose fault it is that Ravenstein did not know about the policy - if indeed she is telling the truth - whether Wal-Mart for not clearly communicating this policy with employees or Ravenstein for not paying attention to clearly stated store policies - I don't know. But this incident does remind me of our relationship to God's Word. In the Word, God lays out His will for our lives. He gives us clear instruction on what we are to value and how we are to live. He wants us to live life by the Book - His Book! So ... to do this, we must KNOW the Book (we cannot obey and practice what we do not know). One day ... we will have to give an account to God as to how we lived our lives in light of the Book. Claiming ignorance of the Book will not acceptable on that Day. So ... that leads me to the question: have you been in the Book today?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj