So, you think you’re pretty honest, heh? Let me lob one of those “If you were in a boat, and you could only save one person..”, heart-revealing questions over to ya’. And we’ll find other whether there’s a boy or girl scout in you or not.

The setup: You are having ice cream at the Town & Country’s Cold Stone Creamery one summer evening. The place is packed, crawling with teenagers everywhere. You only hope a few of them leave, so that you can get their table and consume your fat calories for the week without having to stand up (Ice cream tastes a ton better sitting down, don’t you think?).

The Water Bottle Test: Okay, you’re down to the last few bites of your waffle cone sundae, and your mother-in-law notices someone left one of those aluminum water bottles that look like it’s made by SIGG on the table.

Question: Y’all have been sitting there for at least twenty minutes shootin’ the breeze and no one’s come by to claim it. You are a water chugging camel who can always use an extra water bottle.

Would you claim it? Do you live by the adage “Losers weepers, finders keepers”?

My three year old son was asked that question by his grandma. I held my breath. C’mon, son. Make momma proud!

TJ’s eyes dart over to me. Mine quickly look down. No helpers. It wouldn’t count, you know?

With abated breath, TJ hands down his verdict.

“No. I won’t take it,” TJ announces.

Yeah! On the outside, I remain calm and unassuming. Inside, I’m doing three cheers and cartwheels like kids do in commercials.

“Why won’t you take it?” I jump in, finally free to speak.

“Well, because they might come back and look for it,” TJ explains.

Now, now. Before you accuse me of being self-righteous and a smug moralist, I gotta tell you why TJ learned this from me.

You see, TJ has been on plenty of hair-raising, close to-the-maximum-speed-limit rescues to recover that forgotten wallet at the checkout stand or the mislaid set of car keys that fell out of my hands, onto the shopping cart. And yes, we have even successfully retrieved my precious waterproof picnic blanket I paid way too much for, after leaving it at the park 24 hours earlier.

All because somebody, in the mercy of their heart, decided to just leave things where they found it.

“Praise be to the God .. of all comfort, who comforts in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”  2 Cor. 1:3-4

How about you? Are you a scatter-brain, losing stuff wherever you go?

Would you have claimed the orphaned water bottle?  Do you live by the adage “Losers weepers, finders keepers”?