Article July 11, 2011 Issue

‘I give you my wallet’

The refusal to become a victim of theft clears the deck so that peace and restoration can occur.

By Gwenn Gurnack

Several months ago, as I arrived home in the late afternoon, I heard the phone ringing. On the line was a representative from my bank informing me that there had suddenly been high activity on my debit card.

As we spoke, I reached into my purse and discovered that my wallet was gone. My heart sank. I was so alarmed that I inadvertently hung up on the caller. Fortunately, the bank put an immediate stop on the debit card. In those few seconds I knew that I had to make a choice about how I was going to address this situation, and as is my usual custom, I chose Christian Science.

The first things that entered my consciousness were two sentences from the Bible: “Lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60) and “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). I did not wish the individual involved to suffer as a result of this apparent thievery.