In a matter of minutes I went from being a good guy to a bad guy to a good guy. Who am I?
Good Guy
Waiting in the self-serve line at Superstore is not my favourite thing to do on a Friday night. But there I was.
A self-serve machine came open. As I put my groceries down I noticed cash coming out of the machine.
I often shop at Superstore and use the self-serve but I’ve never seen cash coming OUT of the machine.
The customer in front of me must have wanted cash back. Looks like he also had short term memory loss. He was leaving, oblivious to his accumulating cash. I called, “Hey, sir!”
He didn’t stop. The money kept coming. He was now approaching the exit.
Finally the cash flow stopped and I grabbed the wad of money, leaving my groceries by the till.
“Hey, sir!” He kept going. As he was heading out the door I managed to tap his shoulder and when he turned, I held out the money to him. “Oh, I forgot.” He took his money, and headed off.
I don’t think he said thanks but I may have missed it as I headed back to my groceries.
Bad Guy
I felt like a “good guy.”
Then I got back to the till and realized the next customer had stepped up and was processing his groceries, with mine still on the counter next to his. I was sure he must have missed what happened and saw the open till and stepped right up.
Being in a hurry, I just gathered up my groceries, didn’t say a word, and went looking for the next open till.
That’s when I crossed paths with the next customer also heading to the open till. I guess he was next in line and I had “cut in front “ of him. Now I was the “bad guy.”
I found myself in no man’s land. No till was open. I really wasn’t in line any more. I didn’t feel like going to the back of the line, so when another till came open I just impatiently plunked my stuff down and started processing my order. Maybe I was a bad guy.
Good Guy
On the way out the door one of the employees called, “Way to go.”
“What?”
“Way to go. I saw what you did. That was kind.”
“Umm, thanks.” I was a “good guy” again.
Driving home I thought about how much of what I feel about me is based on how other people feel about me. “Good guy” or ”bad guy” I am the same guy.
How about you?
Who shapes your impression of you?
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Close friends and family especially my husbands opinion
Great blog today Pastor Bob. I know in the past, I have been a “people pleaser”, in my younger years. Now, in my 60’s….not so much. I have come to believe…that I really don’t care about what other people think about me. What is the most important to me now, is how I conduct myself. That I have those 3 things that are important to me.
1) Integrity
2) Kindness & Empathy
3) Respect for others. (Respect has to be also reciprocal..it is NOT a one-way street). Respect is earned.
I look forward to your blogs every week. Keep on, keeping on. Have a great weekend! ❤️
You’re a good guy and I”m sure God gave you an A+++ for your kindness.
Hi Pastor Bob.I have always been a people pleaser. Being helpful, thoughtful and kind is important to me. I also try to be mindful of being humble and not look for recognition from others for that act of help and kindness because it looks like you are looking to improve how you look to others, when the only one that matts is what God sees you do. I’m glad you helped that man get his money back and that the clerk recognized the kind thing you did. It’s nice to receive that. That someone noticed your act of kindness is showing how to be godly. God bless you. You are a very good guy.