The Talking Lab

             An old joke goes like this:

            A guy is driving around and sees a sign in front of a house: Talking Dog For Sale.  He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard.  The guy goes out and sees a Lab sitting there. 

            “You talk?” he asks. 

            “Yep,” the Lab replies.  

            “So, what’s your story?” 

            The Lab says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young and I wanted to help the government.  So I told the CIA and in no time they had me eavesdropping on spies and world leaders.  For 8 years I was 1 of the most valuable spies.  But I got tired and I wanted to settle down.  I retired and was awarded a batch of metals.  I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m retired.”

            The guy goes back and asks how much for the dog? 

            “$10,” he’s told. 

            "Why so cheap? The dog is amazing."

            “He’s a liar. He didn’t do any of that stuff.”

            Think Jesus was addressing situations like this when he said, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’…”?  :)

Honesty IS the Best Policy

            A couple of decades ago, Pauline Nichter, 46, and her husband Tom, 44, had both lost their jobs. They were living out of motels with their 11-year-old son. They were in danger of losing their car because they couldn't make the payments.

            One day, Pauline found a wallet in a LA mall. It had a credit card, an airline ticket to New Zealand, and $2394 in cash.

            For a second, she thought about taking the money. But instead she took the wallet to the nearest police station, where the owner reclaimed them. Word of her honesty quickly got out and the community responded.

            The Nichters received more than 10 job offers and an apartment rent-free for six months. An anonymous donor brought the car payments up to date. Other people gave cash. One elderly couple walked into the police station, asked how much cash and had been in the wallet, and the left them a check for the exact amount.

            At a news conference Pauline, with tears, said, "Never in a million years would I have thought this would happen to us. What we have received is far more than what was in the wallet."

            This is a neat story. However, it would have been a neat story even if the Nichter’s had not been blessed by others.

            Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways (Prov. 28:6.)