“Don’t accuse people falsely.”—Luke 3:14
We were putting things in place in our new home when I noticed that a box of silverware was missing. I searched for days—and then I suddenly remembered that a friend’s son who had helped us move had a theft record.
Oh, well, there really isn’t anything I can do about it now, I thought. I wrote off the loss in my mind—and, yes, I “wrote off” the young man, too.
Years later, while cleaning out the bottom of a cabinet in the basement, I heard a clang. What was that? Using a flashlight, I saw a fork. I also saw little flat wooden feet—parts of the silverware box! Apparently the box had upended and become wedged there in the cabinet when we moved.
As I polished the newfound silverware, I confessed my sorrow over the unjust accusation I had made and I asked God to cleanse my tarnished heart.
