Thursday, March 3, 2011

The choice is yours

Some years ago when one of my nephews was nine years old, I took him shopping for a pair of shorts. He had a $20 bill and paid for his $15 purchase with cash. The cashier must have had a bad or crazy day  because he gave back a handful of coins that added up to at least $10 in change. When my nephew saw how much he was getting back, he just stared at the coins in his hand without moving for a good 10 seconds. Here was a picture of a 9 year-old being tempted by greed, and I will never forget the intensity of that moment. I pretended not to notice and waited to see what he would do.

My nephew did not succumb to greed that time. He returned the extra cash on his own accord even though it took some serious decision making on his part. After the mini-drama, I put my arm around him and expressed how proud I was of him; his face was beaming all the way home as though he won a million bucks. 

We run into similar dilemmas, not just as kids but throughout our entire lives. Usually there isn't anyone to build us up when we make a selfless decision, but you know inside it was the right thing--and that feels good; it's freeing. On the other hand, I have a theory that if a person goes the opposite way, giving in to temptation, continuously make morally bad choices, their conscience will become so callous and insensitive that eventually they lose touch with reality. I think we're watching this at work in the soon-to-be ex-leader of Libya, Col. Qaddafi. After decades of nursing his own greed, he has clearly gone off the deep end, so to speak.

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