Conversion

My friend Kyle has a post up about Conversion in his life. It has gotten me to thinking about an incident that happened this weekend in my life.

My neighborhood had a joint garage sale. I am not really the kind of guy that does this, but I have wanted to reduce the amount of 'stuff' in my life and felt this was a good way to do it.  Amazingly enough I was right, wow so much was sold.  One of the articles was a raised toilet seat.  I had purchased it when my brother was so ill, but he had died before he could use it.  So here I had this new seat, which I had spent $70 dollars on. I decided to ask $10 and did not think that was a bad deal at all.

In the later morning a woman came to the sale, and walked around a bit and asked about the seat, when I told her $10 she balked a little and then continued chatting pleasantly as she headed to her car.  I got a little miffed thinking that 10 bucks was not so much to ask for a new, unused piece of medical equipment.  Just as she got into her car, she said that she was looking for one because 'her husbanded needed it so'.  Off she drove, before I could react to her words.

There I stood, shocked that I had refused help to a sick man over $10.  This seat just sits in a closet in my house. I hadn't even considered that she had a sick family member and that the money could have been beyond her limited means. I was hoping she would come back, but she didn't. How could I have been so greedy so to miss her obvious need?  No wonder GREED is a mortal sin, it blinds us from compassion.

Conversion.  Obviously I need it.

Comments

[Rachel]

Oh, Monk in Training, I can relate to this! There are times when I am just brought up short by my own need for conversion.

And other times when I am awestruck at the work that God has already done in my heart.

It is a process, my friend. A daily process.

I pray for the woman at the yard sale.

And for you. And for all of us who need conversion.

[Monk-in-Training]

Kyle,
It did not seem so, perhaps it was. I can only address the attitude it exposed in my own heart. That I, with God's grace, intend to do.

[kyle]

Now, it occurs to me that there's a difference between someone shopping for something a family member needs, and someone looking for a deal. Everyone I know who goes to garage sales knows that prices are negotiable. And, anytime I'm shopping for something that my kids or wife or friend Terry needs (as opposed to wants) I include that information in the haggling/negotiation. Surely, if her husband had a medical need she was committed to addressing, she could have discussed that further. A comment offered over the shoulder on the way into the car sounds more like attitude than need.