Unexpected Christmas bonus

While two wrongs do not make a right, two wrongs can work out with everything made right. At least, that’s what happened last week in Florida.

On Tuesday, Samantha Knight, a waitress at Laishley Crab House in Punt Gorda, FL, noticed $1,000 left at a table. She scooped up the wad of bills and scurried after the man she thought had left the money behind as he was leaving the restaurant. She gave the man the money and he thanked her. The incident was captured on tape.

But, she gave the money to the wrong man. That was the first wrong. The second wrong was the man accepting the money. The man who actually had left the money, Chuck Behm, called the next day to ask about his money. That, Knight told a reporter, left her wishing she had just kept the money and waited for someone to call. “But I thought I was giving it to the right guy.”

Behm and Knight both assumed the money was long gone. However, it wasn’t.

Later in the week, a TV station picked up on the story and included taped footage of Knight handing the money to the man she thought was the rightful owner. That man saw himself on the news and returned to the restaurant to give the money to Knight. He explained that he was from out of state, had been doing some Christmas shopping, had a significant sum of money in his pockets, and had assumed some had fallen out. So, he said, he had taken the money by mistake. Along with returning the $1,000, he gave Knight $100 for what she had done.

Behm was notified that the money had been returned and the restaurant would be happy to get it to him. He declined to accept the money, saying the situation could have happened in reverse. Instead, he asked that the money be given to Knight for Christmas. Knight said she was overwhelmed and called the man to be sure that was what he wanted.

Knight said she is pregnant and the unexpected $1,100 will be a significant help to her.

Giving is appropriate at any time of year, but it seems particularly so during the Christmas season, which for Christians is a time of celebration focused on giving. Not a focus on our giving of gifts and presents, but on the gift of a Savior for mankind. It is the birth of Christ, the Savior, which is the “reason for the season.”

I hope the birth of the Christ child is remembered and celebrated at your house as it is at ours.