A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things
when he noticed an old lady following him around. Thinking nothing of
it, he ignored her and continued on. Finally he went to the checkout
line, but she got in front of him.

“Pardon me,” she said, “I’m sorry if my staring at you
has made you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that you look just like
my son, who just died recently.”

“I’m very sorry,” replied the young man, “is there
anything I can do for you?”

“Yes,” she said, “As I’m leaving, can you say `Good
bye, Mother!’?

“It would make me feel so much better.”

“Sure,” answered the young man.

As the old woman was leaving, he called out, “Goodbye, Mother!”

As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that his total was
P4,500.

“How can that be?” he asked, “I only purchased a few
things!”

“Your mother said that you would pay for her,” said the clerk.

Do you know that you can tell a lot about a person’s character by
how he or she acts at the supermarket? Michael Josephson from the Web
Site “Character Counts” narrates his experience. Michael says:

I remember being in a crowded store that had a shortage of shopping
carts. A prosperous-looking fellow and his wife were pushing a cart when
another man stopped them. “Excuse me,” the second man said,
“but that’s my cart.”

The first guy looked annoyed and, instead of apologizing, protested,
“But someone took my cart.” His wife glared at him, and he
reluctantly relinquished his ill-gotten gain.

He had ignored the age-old wisdom: “Two wrongs don’t make a
right” in favor of a distorted version of the Golden Rule: “Do
unto others as others have done unto you.”

Then there are the folks who change their mind about buying an item and
put it on the nearest shelf, rationalizing that the store hires people
to put misplaced things back. Schools employ custodians to clean the
halls, but does that mean it’s okay for kids to throw their candy
wrappers on the floor?

Finally, there are the express-line cheaters who enter the “10 items
or less” line with 14 items because they’re in a hurry or they
love having a competitive edge. They count on the fact that no one will
call them on such a moral misdemeanor. And if someone does, they’re
ready to play lawyer: “It depends on what you call an item. These
melons are part of the fruit group so I count them as one.”

Being considerate, playing by the rules, and setting a good example are
important, even in the supermarket.

Michael is right.

Our daily actions really reveal who we are.

No matter how gentlemanly we act when we are rude to the waiters, the
security guards and the janitors then we are rude (period).

I don’t care how give a donation one gives, how charitable a person
is or how beautifully his or her press releases. The photo-ops may be
very impressive. The credentials may be very notable and the titles may
be very prominent but all you need is to look at the way the person
treats his family and you will have a fair indication as to the true
character of the person.

Another accurate indicator is the way a person responds to money. Hah!
Money is the best acid test for character.

And so, whether the issue is money, fame, power, family or something as
trivial as supermarket activities, the character shows.

Do not confuse character for reputation.

Reputation is what people perceive about us whether they are right or
not but character is what and who we really are when nobody is watching.

The Scriptures talk a lot about molding our character so that we may
become Christ-like. And this has a practical reason because as famous
basketball coach John Wooden says: “Ability may get you to the top,
but it takes character to keep you there.” The next time we go to
the supermarket, keep our eyes open not to look at others but to watch
out for ourselves

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. Philippians 3:17 (NIV)

People don’t expect you to be perfect – they already know you aren’t. What they want you to be is honest! So let them see your struggles, not just your successes. We usually grow as much from others’ weaknesses as we do from their strengths.

All of us can identify. Sometimes life just goes badly. When it does,
like Jonah we need to ask ourselves some hard questions.

Is there sin in my life? In light of Jonah’s blatant disobedience,
God had to do something drastic to catch his attention and lead him to
repentance.

What can I learn from this situation? The wicked people of Nineveh were
enemies of God’s people. Jonah thought they should be judged and not
given a second chance. He obviously needed a lesson in sharing God’s
compassion for the lost. “God saw their works, that they turned from
their evil way; and God relented from the disaster” (Jonah 3:10).

Can I display God’s glory on this? Often our suffering is not about
us but about people seeing the power of God working through our
weakness. Jonah found himself in a helpless situation, yet God used him
to lead a pagan nation to repentance.

Next time you find yourself in a “belly-of-a-whale” problem,
don’t forget to ask the hard questions. It could mean the difference
between despair and deliverance. — Joe Stowell

Though I am His sheep, I am still prone to stray;

So Jesus in love sends afflictions my way;

The lessons I’ve learned in this school of deep pain

Have taught me to follow my Lord once again! — Bosch

READ: Jonah 1
We learn lessons in the school of suffering that we can learn in no
other way.