Week 30 2013 Whitewashed Tombs

One of the last regular jobs I held as a television technician was in the cleanest, most efficient shops I had ever worked in or seen.  This store sold used consumer electronics, and, while there was not a particular brand name for sale, it was a warranty station for nearly every brand on the market.  We repaired anything that was brought to the shop.  The owner ran it like a finely-tuned machine.  Each technician had his own workspace with everything at his fingertips.  Large, expensive, diagnostic equipment was on wheels and easily moved from station to station as needed.  The foreman saw to it that parts were quickly delivered to each tech as required.  When we repaired a piece of equipment, be it a television, stereo, VCR, or anything else, we listed the parts used and the work done on a blank piece of paper.  The foreman filled out an estimate worksheet, delivering it to a salesman who would sell the repair to the customer.  All work was guaranteed with a quick turn around in order to please the customer.  As I said earlier, a very clean operation with an eye to detail.  Everything was geared to maximize profit.

Unfortunately, there was a dark side to this shop.  For starters, while there was a parts room with new parts, there was also a warehouse with row after row of used parts.  This would not be a problem if it was disclosed to the customer when a used part was put in their set.  However, this was not the case.  Not only were all parts listed as new, there were often parts billed that were not used in the repair.  I once saw the foreman scurrying about looking for the old parts that were not actually taken out to give to a customer who asked for them.  As stated earlier, the foreman put together the estimates.  All of these were skillfully written as to make them major repairs, regardless of how minor the repair actually was.  He depended on his salesman to sell the job.  If the repair was covered under a manufacturer recall policy, and the customer was unaware of the policy, both the customer and the manufacturer would be billed and collected from.  Televisions that were too old and not worth repair were still repaired because the customer would be sold on the merit of repairing versus discarding.  Thus, while the repair work was completed efficiently and done well, the customer was nearly always being overcharged or ripped off.  Yet, this shop continued to flourish and prosper!

I was reminded of the Lord’s words concerning whitewashed tombs.  He was referring to the Pharisees and teachers of the law who self-righteously displayed all of their righteous deeds while they were rotting internally.  They stood in judgement of others who didn’t live up to their standards, while those under their scrutiny humbly put their lives in the hands of a loving God who is able to forgive, cleanse, and sanctify.  Beware of pharisaical religious people who force their letter-of-the-law doctrines on others.  Jesus welcomed those who were rejected by the law keepers.  He was reviled for doing so, but it didn’t stop Him.  With Him and His followers what you see is what you get.  There is no deception or hypocrisy.  Love, not law, is their guiding principle.