By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist & Reflector
I recently stopped by a fast food restaurant and entered the drive-through line to purchase a sandwich. The sandwich totaled $4.10 so I gave the cashier a $5 bill and two nickels. The teenage girl (or at least early 20s) rang it up and then gave me about 40 cents.
I explained to her that I gave her $5.10 so my change should be $1. She looked at me and replied, “This is what the machine says.” I explained it to her again and this time, she showed me the printed receipt (as if I did not believe her word) and said once more, “This is what the machine says.”
Lonnie Wilkey
It was a no-win situation, so I just smiled and said, “Okay, but the machine is wrong.” She apparently still was not convinced, but to her credit, she went to the manager, probably to tell him about the crazy old man at the window. He came up and looked over the “machine,” actually the cash register, and handed me a dollar bill. I declined, partially because I had put the change in my pocket and couldn’t remember how much it was. He gave me a reason why the mistake happened, but he probably should have counseled his young cashier that a “machine” is not always right.
I fear we are raising a generation who will rely too much on machines and technology in the future instead of relying on their minds and education. I am still astounded that the cashier could not figure out for herself that my change should have been a dollar bill, but in her mind, the machine could not be wrong.
The same principle applies to the world which we live. The world tells us that abortions are okay. The world tells us that sin (you name it, a sin is a sin) is okay. The world tells us that “it is all about me.” And, the list can go on.
God’s Word, however, should be our plumb line. What the world says is okay does not always conform to what God deems acceptable.
Remember, machines and the world can be wrong. God is never wrong. His Word lasts for eternity. “But the Word of the Lord endures forever. And, this is the that was preached as the gospel to you (I Peter 1:25, HCSB).
