“He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what the LORD requires of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)
Each day we haggle over prices. It is an accepted norm in some retail shops and especially with street sellers who sometimes quote different prices for different customers depending on their judgment of their ability to pay. The discussions can lead to both the seller and the buyer feeling valued. But what is the limit of how low you should go?
“Njoroge had invited his friends to supper and was cooking a succulent piece of meat for them. Suddenly, he realized that he had run out of tomatoes for “kachumbari”. So Njoroge called his son and said, ‘Go to the village and buy some tomatoes, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much nor too little.’
His son was surprised. ‘I can understand why I shouldn’t pay too much for them, Father, but if I can bargain them down, why not save a bit of money?’
‘That may seem a sensible thing to do, but it could destroy a small village like ours.’
When Njoroge’s guests, who had overheard their conversation, wanted to know why they should not buy tomatoes more cheaply if they could, Njoroge replied:
‘The only reason a man would sell tomatoes more cheaply than usual would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweat and struggle of the man who laboured to produce them.’
‘But such a small thing couldn’t possibly destroy a village.’
‘In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice abroad in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking that it was only very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today.’
Do you deal justly with others, especially the less fortunate?
“He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what the LORD requires of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:17)
“Success is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace”.