Let Us All Have One Purse

One Sunday after the morning service Rachel and I went home with some friends.  We spent the day with them.  They had two girls – Brittany was my age and Shelby was about Rachel’s age.

When it was almost time to leave for the evening service, we were talking and decided that we would really like to stop by the corner store and buy some candy on our way.  We asked their parents, and they said that if we could find the money, they would take us.  We were a little discouraged at first, but Brittany said that the money wasn’t a problem – she knew where we could find some.  So we all eagerly followed her… she went upstairs to the place we always played – it was a sort of storage area.  She told us if we dug around in the boxes we would be sure to find some money – so we started digging!  Every few minutes there was a shout of triumph as one or another of us unburied a few coins.  Soon Brittany and I decided to get a purse to put it all in – we had been saying that whatever you found was yours – but Brittany and I decided that it would be better if we just put it all in one purse.  We ran downstairs, got a purse, took it back upstairs, then proceeded to explain to Rachel and Shelby the wisdom of everyone putting all they found into our bag.  They were a little hesitant at first, but they finally agreed to it and poured their findings in.

When it was time to leave, Brittany and I took charge of the purse.  Their parents asked if we had found enough money, and all four of us eagerly told them that we had found plenty.  So, we stopped at the corner store.  Brittany and I jumped out and ran inside, bought several different kinds of candy, ran back out, and jumped in the van.  They pulled out and we went on down the road to church.  Rachel and Shelby were eager to see the different kinds of candy we had bought, and we proudly showed them.  Then, before their amazed and unbelieving eyes, we HALFED all of the candy!  Brittany took half and I took half!  Rachel and Shelby were in an outrage!  They were very angry, and very insistant that we give them each their share.  We paid no attention to them , but went on blissfully enjoying our candy. After we reached the Church, I guess we got convicted or something because we ended up deviding it again on the air conditioning unit, and this time in fourths…

Strangely enough, Rachel and Shelby never stopped trusting us.  Our injustice and cruelty didn’t shake their faith in us or their devotion to us, and unfortunately Brittany and I went on to enjoy several more years of their service.