Where Thieves Break in and Steal
A little over eight years ago, when we were living in Alabama, we were getting ready to make a trip to Searcy to see our son and his family. The morning of the day we were leaving, our credit card company texted me saying that our card had been compromised. That’s never good news to hear but especially on a travel day. Still, we had a back-up (debit) card, so off we went.
After we arrived, my son and I made a side trip to Texas and I used the debit card at few places. When we returned to Searcy, I received a text from the security people associated with our debit card. Someone had tried to use it to make a $1,000 purchase at a Wal-Mart in Texas. Before that, they had used it to buy four $500 debit cards at a RaceTrac station and had also withdrawn $400 from an ATM there. All told, the charges amounted to a little more than $2,400.
I thought about how sad (and bad) it was that there were people who, rather than work to provide for themselves, let other people do the work and then they stole the fruit of their labor. They were stealing from the financial institutions as well as us, but they were also stealing from themselves.
God created us to work (Genesis 2:15) and recreates us in Christ for work on an even more meaningful level (Ephesians 2:8-10). When we don’t work, we lose out on the purpose and dignity that flows from it. Work is one of the fundamental ways we make ourselves useful to others and contribute to the world around us. Take that away and you’ve removed something substantial from the fabric of any culture. To create jobs and encourage work is one of the most important things any society can do.
With our credit card, we were protected from fraudulent charges but I wasn’t clear about our debit card and the security people couldn’t tell me either. The situation hung over our head for the rest of the trip. When we got back though, all we ended up having to do was to go to our local bank and fill out some forms—we weren’t required to cover the charges made by the people who had used our card. (Our bank was very understanding and responsive!).
We learned some things from the experience. We started using an internet payment company (like PayPal) online as much as possible to limit the number of eyes that saw our credit card information. And speaking of credit cards, we backed up our primary with another credit card (not a debit card) to lessen our potential liability.
We experienced some disappointment, learned some things about financial management and security, and were blessed by some very capable people who served us well. And we were reminded of the transitory nature of our possessions and how they ultimately belong to God and are to be used to His glory.
In the end, all l really had to worry about was explaining to the people at church how I lost $2,400 at a RaceTrac in Texas.
-Bruce Green