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 I
like to think that the person who stole a nandina bush from our
lot was conscience stricken as he dug it up. He was a
hard-working man, with a large family, and it took every cent he
could earn to buy groceries. There was no money for Christmas
gifts, so he swallowed his pride and got a few toys from Good
Will for the children. But his wife was ill, and when he saw the
colorful leaves on our nandina he remembered how she had longed
for flowers she could not have. If only he could plant such a
bush on the barren ground outside her window. We could take the
loss very nicely under those circumstances, regretting only that
he did not ask for the bush so there would be no theft, and we
could help dig others to go with it.
But
when we think the bush was taken by a shrub thief, who sold a
truck-load of stolen bushes for a bottle of gin; or by a woman
(they do it, you know) who just wanted shrubbery without paying
for it; or by a “drop-out” “cop-out” kid, who dug it for
“kicks” and then threw it away — well, that makes it
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a capital crime. Capital —
not because the bush was of great value. (I thinned it out of
our front yard, and threw it away —- then, retrieved it and
stuck it out on the vacant lot just to see if it would grow.)
But capital — because of what it says about great and growing
segments of our society.
Integrity
is not measured in dollars. Character is not dependent upon
clothing or business position. It seems many have decided it is
all right to steal a few dollars, or the company tools, or an
employer’s time. And it is O.K. for big political figures, or
VIPs of the white-collar world, to steal large sums — just so
they don’t get caught and embarrass their party or company.
But in the process, people made in God’s image are selling
out themselves.
The
hand that tore a worthless bush from the ground, may have torn
an immortal soul beyond repair.
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