It was a subtle but nonetheless genuine staring match. Hubbie and I were having lunch at his favourite fast-food outlet when I saw two men come in, buy a coffee and sit down. Watching them carefully as they toyed with their cups, I noticed a family of five seated two tables away. They were eyeballing the same cups.
"Hmm," I thought to myself, "wonder what those guys are going to do with the entry stickers on the side of those containers?" I saw the same question written all over the face of one youngster sitting at the competitors' table.
Time moved on. I eat far more slowly than Hubbie and I relished the thought that I still had a few minutes to track the coveted stickers. "St James Place? Illinois Avenue? B&O Railway?" I mused. "Wonder if they have the ones I need?"
The men in question hadn't made a move to peel the treasures from the side of their cups and I hadn't given up waiting to see if they would. I stifled a whoop of pleasure when my competitors left. One obstacle taken care of except that I'd finished the last of the french fries and Hubbie wanted to leave. I decided to take the highroad.
It helped that the highroad led me directly past the table in question. Pausing, I let those illustrious gentlemen know that the game boards were located next to the ketchup and that they might win a big prize. Long story short: they weren't interested and the tokens I received were duplicates of what I already had. I'd coveted in vain.
It really wasn't anything important but it made me realize how subtle is the power of greed.
"Make me want to obey you, rather than to be rich." (Psalm 119:36)
Win or lose, God keep my attitude right.
