Honesty

Honesty is perhaps the most undermined, undervalued and under-appreciated concept in society today. All individuals battle with honesty and some haven't got a clue what it means to be honest. I pride myself in honesty and I am deeply moved by those whom openly and unashamedly display honesty in their actions.

I want to share with you a small story about honesty and how it affected me. 

For the past two months, I have been rigorously working on an Information Systems project which comprises nearly a third of my total course mark. It involved hours of work and today was presentation day. I drove down to the printing store to collaborate my project,printed my project documents, got them bound and payed the clerk. Shortly after paying the clerk, I asked the man where I could get my poster laminated. He pointed me towards a second shop, not far from his own. I ventured down the street and In the process, realized that one of my documents needed reprinting. Luckily, the store that I was heading to had printing facilities. Acting under the assumption that the prices would be similar, I reprinted the document and proceeded to pay for it. To my horror, this clerk charged me nearly 6 times the amount I had paid at the previous store. I kicked up a huge fuss. After a few minutes, the entire store had shifted focus towards my fit of rage, which had now involved the store manager, the clerk and some shocked bystanders. Slamming the receipt from the previous store upon the counter, I yelled, "Look here! How on earth, can you charge me R140, when the store up the road charges R28????!!!" 

The store manager picked up my receipt, examined it and calmly pointed out that the previous store clerk had completely forgotten to charge me for printing. I felt extremely embarrassed by this and realized that I had kicked up a fuss for no apparent reason. In my effort to stand up for my rights as a consumer; I had completely overlooked the error in price. 

After sheepishly paying the full amount for my printing, I felt a small sense of retribution.I figured that at least, I had not been ripped off twice. However, my retribution was overshadowed by a compelling desire to go back to the first store and pay for what was now, a seemingly useless printout.


I found the look on the first store clerk's face oddly amusing as I pointed out his error. He did not thank me for my honest action. Instead, he was completely taken aback by my need to pay for something I had essentially been given for free. 

I am sure that this scenario plays itself out in all our lives. The fundamental question here is this: Do you take joy in benefiting from the mistakes of others or do you take joy in rectifying them? Personally, I found it completely uplifting to act out of honesty. The rewarding feeling overwhelmed my embarrassment and far out-weighed the amount of money I was subject to gain from the clerks miscalculation.

   

Deuteronomy 25:15 - You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Proverbs 3:27 - Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.

Proverbs 16:8 - Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice