When we arrived, my husband was surprised to find that the tires weren't just "like new"...they were BRAND NEW!  Knowing that the fellow worked for a tire store, he began to question him further.  Were these tires brought back by a customer? Were they defective? How did he come to have them for sale?

The other man chuckled, "Five finger discount," he said, admitting he had stolen them.  He was rather proud of himself and eager to get the cash for the tires.

"Sorry," my husband told him, "but I can't buy something that's stolen. I'm a Christian and that would be wrong."  He witnessed to the fellow as much as the other guy cared to hear, and the other man got in his truck and drove away. 

Sitting in the car, we both felt a little shaky.  We weren't comfortable with that whole situation, and were sure our response was the right one.  No deal was a good one if it involved stolen merchandise. As we headed home, we neared a big intersection near the shopping center.  Flashing lights were everywhere, police cars, fire engines, and two ambulances.  An officer guided us past the scene of broken glass and crumpled cars. On the news that night we learned that the accident had been horrible. Someone drove out of the shopping center full speed and into the path of an oncoming car.  The driver and passenger in the oncoming car died instantly.

Hearing that, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.  Had we just bought those tires with no questions asked, we would have been back on the road a good ten minutes earlier...and WE would likely have been going through that intersection when the accident happened.  We were both very grateful that the Lord prompted my husband to ask questions about the tires before buying them.  We felt that standing on principle probably saved our lives.