Always good
June 1, 2010 (Tuesday)
Here in Houston we have some stores called “King Dollar Stores.” When I first moved here, every item in one of those stores was priced $1.00, regardless of what it was. Inflation has caused a price rise to $1.09. Every once in a while I visit one of the stores and I always buy something. I can’t pass up a big bargain. I don’t know why everything is so cheap, but I’m sure they do, and it works for them.
The other day I needed a stereo adapter plug. I checked in at the King Dollar store, just to see if they had anything like that, and, sure enough, they had a set of things made for a cell phone to be used as a headset, complete with a microphone, ear pieces, and a number of adapters. I later saw much the same thing at a popular electronics store for around $30.00. It cost me $1.09. Now that’s what I call a bargain.
I like honest bargains. I don’t like to see people cheated. I’m talking about the bargaining that takes place when a price is negotiable. I have in mind the situation where a person knows the true value of what he is buying, but the seller does not. The seller is like fresh fruit on a tree, ripe for plucking. The Bible describes the negotiation like this: “’It’s no good, it’s no good!’ says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase” (Proverbs 20:14 NIV).
Many people say the buyer is smart and to be congratulated. I say he’s not very different from a thief. In some cultures, haggling is a way of life. Here is the U.S.A., it is appropriate when making certain kinds of purchases, but it is never right for a Christian to cheat somebody out of their rightful compensation. “Business is business,” but a Christian is always to live as if the Lord sees his every move, because He does. Jesus says, “…in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).