A Thief By Any Other Name Is Still A Thief

All too often, we hear about people stealing from charitable organizations. Recently, the big news was about theft and a huge loss of toys from the Salvation Army. Some of us say "What kind of person would steal from a charity"? A thief, that's what kind of person. It's what a thief does. A thief steals.

There is no thought to whether it's a charity, whether it's an affluent organization, whether it's an individual or whether it's his/her parent. Obviously the person is lacking in conscience and morality. A thief does not distinguish. In fact, some steal for the adrenaline rush they get just from taking what isn't theirs. Perhaps it's the challenge of trying get away with it. Maybe they think they're getting something for nothing. They don't realize that there's no such thing as something for nothing.

There is an annual event in our town "The Giving Tree" where needy children's names are submitted by various organizations. People can then go to the shopping mall and select one or more names and purchase gifts for specific ages of children, so that they might receive something at Christmas. There are 1500 youngsters on this year's list.

One of my friends selected an eighteen month old. His card said that he wanted a hockey stick and some winter boots. She searched and she searched for a small hockey stick and was overjoyed to find the only one in town. It was not an easy task and she was thrilled that it even had a ball with it. Then she located some cute size six boots in the child's favourite colours, assembled her gift bag and headed for the bank. While she was there, the bag disappeared out of her car. Someone had stolen a tiny hockey stick and a little pair of boots meant for a needy child.

It makes me angry. It makes me frustrated. It makes me disgusted that things like this happen.

So who suffers in all of this? Not my friend. It wasn't about the money. She now had less time to replace the items. She went back out, bought a bigger, not as nice hockey stick and another pair of boots, which were not as carefully and lovingly selected.

Who suffers in all of this? It's an eighteen month old, needy boy, part of a list of fifteen hundred.