The ultimate judge

My friend David Shaw helps me edit my weekly column. A year ago, he sent me this story about a poor man who found a wallet containing $7,000. A few days later, he read a notice from a man who had lost the wallet and was offering a $500 reward for its return. The poor man returned the wallet, but after counting the money in it, the owner, a rich man, said, “I see you have already taken your reward.” The poor man was stunned when the wealthy man explained, “The wallet had $7,500 in it when I lost it.” To which the poor man replied, “I am sorry, sir, but your wallet contained only $7,000.”

The two argued about the promised $500 reward, and their disagreement ended up in small claims court. Both presented their case to a judge. The poor man went first, and the rich man second, concluding, “Your Honor, I trust you believe me.” The judge smiled and said, “Yes, of course I do.” The poor man was devastated until the judge took the wallet from the wealthy man and gave it to him.

The rich man angrily demanded an explanation. The judge replied, “You are, of course, an honest man, and if you say your wallet had $7,500 in it, I’m sure it did – but if the man who found this wallet were a liar and thief, he wouldn’t have returned it, which means this wallet must belong to someone else. If your wallet is found and returned, that person will get your reward – otherwise, this wallet stays with the man who found it.” The rich man asked, “What about my money?” “You’ll have to wait until someone finds your wallet with the $7,500 in it.”

This story reminds me of a somewhat similar story where Solomon had to judge between two prostitutes who had both recently given birth. One of the babies died, and both claimed the living child was hers. The Bible records the story this way: “Then the king said, ‘Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. All right, bring me a sword.’ So a sword was brought to the king. Then he said, ‘Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!’ Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, ‘Oh no, my lord! Give her the child – please do not kill him!’” (1 Kings 3:23-26, NLT) The other woman said that seemed fair. Solomon returned the baby to its mother.

Both the small claims court judge and Solomon were wise. Yet neither is as wise as God. Our ultimate judge knows not only what we do but why we do it, and according to Scripture, we all ultimately answer to him.