CAN I BUY A STAMP PLEASE

“Can I buy a stamp, please?” “Sure!”, I replied.

As I reached for the stamps, I mused, “Retired? No way!” Expectations at my previous job had escalated while resources were down. I had changed jobs, hoping to balance the scale. Expectations were up. Morale was low.

On Sunday the pastor challenged, “Times like these qualify as trials. Learn to count them as joy! A great opportunity awaits to show love for the Lord – a witness to His saving grace!” All of this was true, even if I was a “senior citizen”!

I mused on, “I don’t think like a senior citizen! I don’t feel like one! I’ll do without senior privileges!” Even when given a senior discount at a restaurant, I wanted to say, “That’s nice, but I’m not old enough!

With a desk all my own, and responsibilities similar to High School days, I was actually enjoying life again.

Suddenly I was jolted into the present: “Am I getting ‘Old-timer’s’ disease?” The roll of stamps I had purchased with my own money – was gone! Accusation whispered, “You’re going too far with this love thing! A few stamps are OK – but a whole roll? My heart fought the truths of unselfish living. Was it all a lie?

Frantically I emptied the drawer. The stamps were not there! My neck stiffened in response to my injured pride. A recent robbery of laptop computers and peripherals underlined my dominant thought – stolen! I dreaded explaining this all to my wife!

But deep within, something was crying for a hearing: “This isn’t about you, it’s about Christ in you!” (Colossians 1:27)

I reported the incident to my supervisor, who e-mailed the employees, telling them I would not be selling stamps any more.

The problem seemed to be cared for. Some were sympathetic. But, I missed serving my co-employees. I sensed a gnawing emptiness, and then . . .

There they were – the stamps! The roll was on the floor, under my desk! “The thief dropped them there”, I thought. Soon I realized it had fallen out of the back of the drawer!

My supervisor had restored temporary comfort and safety, but this also cut off further opportunities to be of service! I was embarrassed that I had blamed others for my problem! Proverbs 18:9 was clear, slackness and destruction were related to each other!

My spiritual integrity had been challenged. A focus on temporary loss blinded me to the agelessness of Christian character. (Proverbs 17:4). If I was to continue being a servant/witness for Christ, I had a choice. I had to apologize for blaming someone else for my problem.

Age, position and earthly comforts are relative. Character expressed in conscientious love is timeless. When credibility is gone, words say little. Acknowledgement of failure can bring it back.

Soon employees were coming for stamps again. Others started keeping their own supply. The Word of Christ lived out in His people is more important than anything else that may surround. (Hebrews 1:1,2)