Is up to you
June 24, 2011 (Friday)
Yesterday Dwight and I had lunch at a local restaurant, and the server brought me a much larger order than I had requested. She apologized for her mistake, and charged me only for the smaller order, even though I had the much larger order sitting in front of me. There was a significant difference in the price, but she insisted that I not pay for the big meal I was about to devour, paying only for the smaller meal I had ordered. She assured me she would not be charged the difference herself. I then ate as much as I could, taking the balance home in a big box. I will eventually eat it all, I’m sure.
I wonder, how many times in our lifetimes do we get more than we pay for? When we get it, we enjoy it to the fullest, but perhaps someone else paid for it.
It happens a lot when we are infants and little children. Everything we get, from food to medical care, is paid for by someone else. The reason is simple: we are totally unable to provide for ourselves in those early stages of our lives. Our parents are expected to do it for us, and they expect it of themselves.
What about benefiting from the labors of others when we get older? What about letting someone else pay for what we ourselves receive? If you stop and think about it, this happens all the time. Sometimes it’s just the way things work. Sometimes it is by design. When we don’t pay our fair share of taxes, or don’t do our part in supporting churches and charities, or cheat on insurance claims, etc. etc., we are asking someone else to take up the slack and do what we should have done.
Many people were raised to shoulder their fair share of responsibilities and always do their part. Others were not as fortunate; sometimes the result is not good.
I enjoyed my meal. But I still feel guilty about it.