Sermon Illustrations
Needy Man Returns $125,000
NBC news ran a story about Joe Cornell of Fresno, California. While out watering the plants of his residence, the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center, Cornell heard some commotion in the street—a car honking at a Brink's truck. When he went to investigate, he found a "Santa Claus bag" left behind from the truck. It was filled with $125,000 in cash.
Joe Cornell is in a drug and rehabilitation program and has no cash to his name, but he did the right thing by taking the money to his supervisor at the shelter. But it wasn't an easy decision. He said, "I thought about it, it was a good-devil-bad-devil thing on your shoulder, but taking the money wouldn't compare to what my grandkids would think of me if I did something like that. This shelter is trying to change my life. I tried to do the right thing."
For his honesty Brinks is giving Joe $5,000 and the Rehabilitation Center $5,000. What would you have done? $125,000 can do a lot of things for a family, but Joe chose go for integrity and for his legacy rather than a quick payoff.