Two Pats Of Butter Could Reveal A Dishonest Brother!  
 By Mark Grant

If we as Christians are ever going to project an effective image of Christ before the world, then honesty must be woven into the fabric of our character. Even the secular world recognizes the importance of integrity.

A promising young man applied for a job at a bank. He was one of several applicants, but his credentials especially impressed the bank manager. Before hiring him, the bank manager invited the young man to lunch with several of the bank tellers. As the group went through the cafeteria line, the young man put two pats of butter on his tray and slipped them beneath the outer rim of his plate so the cashier wouldn’t see them. The bank manager, who was right behind him, observed his actions. If this fellow would be dishonest with two pats of butter, he thought, how could he be trusted at a teller’s window? Right there the bank manager decided not to hire him. Deception takes many forms, whether an outright verbal lie, or the cover-up of two pats of butter, which in this case amounted to stealing.

While some may think that this story of two pats of butter is so trivial and is making a mountain out of a mole hill, they should reflect on what Jesus taught in the parable of the unjust steward, “¹⁰He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. ¹¹Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹²And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? ¹³No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:10-13). Jesus is teaching us that faithfulness is not determined by the size of the amount entrusted, but by the character of the person who uses it. For few persons have ever been promoted to higher positions until they have given proof of their honesty and integrity a smaller positions. When Christians presume that if they were rich they would give large sums to the Church, and yet they give nothing from their smaller possessions, then they are deceiving themselves. What a Christian does with a little is a fair measure of what he will do with much. That is why Jesus extends this principle to eternity as well.

Since we are nothing more than stewards of God’s gifts, and if we choose to misuse what is loaned to us, how could God give to us, as our very own possession, such a thing as eternal life? That is why anyone who is not honest in using unrighteous mammon for the Lord can scarcely expect Him to entrust the true riches to him. Only those who faithfully use the wealth of this world for God’s kingdom will be sufficiently trustworthy to receive the true riches and a home with God for eternity. It was David who wrote, “The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?  Or who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psa. 24:1-5).

Our integrity is often put on the line in money matters because many of us will allow money to take God’s place in our lives. When one becomes afraid of not getting everything he wants, then he sometimes resorts to paying any price to increase his wealth, whether it be cheating on taxes, stealing from stores or employers, withholding from contributing to the Lord, or refusing to give to others. That is why Jesus stresses the crucial truth that ultimately a Christian can have only one master. Each and every one of us has to choose between God and mammon. No one can serve both, though many have tried and failed. The most miserable Christian is one who tries to live a life of divided loyalty. How much better it is to let God be your Master. When you choose to be a servant for God, then you will have peace of mind and security, both now and forever. So let us be honest even in small details that could easily be ignored. For only two pats of butter could reveal a dishonest brother.