the encounter

A missionary in Jos, Nigeria shared this story on his blog – I believe it’s a real life example of grace – trading a cell phone for a man’s life.

He said, “Oh yes, and my mobile phone was stolen while I was in Lagos. But I’m not upset, I learned from it! You see, I was sitting on the bus, riding through Lagos, and I had such an uncomfortable feeling about the man sitting next to me. At the back of my mind, I sensed something was not right. I got off the bus in central Lagos. As soon as I got off, I realized my phone was missing from my pocket. I rushed back to the bus, but the man had just gotten off also, I’d missed him.”
So far, so good, I was expecting to hear just that he had learned some patience, or not to be attached to his things, or to be more vigilant, but then he added, “Actually, I could have caught up with the guy–I could see him–and gotten the phone back. But then I thought, if I catch him and demand my phone back, the crowd will see that he has it, that he stole it, and will kill him right there. [It’s true, the jungle justice of Lagos.] I thought, ‘which is more important, the phone or this man’s life?’ So I just let it go.”

In a country where people have next to nothing, a cell phone is still a big deal. Yet would you be willing to sacrifice your own material goods to save another man’s life – even after he stole from you?