A Twenty-two Dollar Lesson

A Twenty-Two Dollar Lesson

Mohammad held open the door of his yellow cab to me, but when he heard my destination, he was visibly irritated. Everything about his body language quickly changed when I said, “Gaylord Texan.” He slung my bag into the back and slammed the door. Now unsure that I was willing to be his passenger, I paused and said, “Your choice. We don’t have to go.” He corrected me in a huff: “Yes. I do. If I refuse you, I can lose my license.”

All of a sudden I wasn’t feeling at all warm and fuzzy about our transaction. If there had been another yellow cab right behind his, I might have taken it. But Mohammad had a corner on the market, so I climbed in. In the backseat, I read the fare rate, although my driver had already said, “Twenty-two dollar minimum” twice. For the first mile or two I considered offering a well-chosen word about the importance of good customer service. But I’m glad I didn’t.

I decided to see what I might learn from Mohammad, instead of what I might teach him. I studied the inside of the cab. I watched the route he took. In a matter of just a few minutes we arrived at the hotel. He stopped the cab, and I reached for my credit card. “That’s twenty-two dollars,” he said for the third time. “It wasn’t very far,” I ventured. “I don’t understand why you didn’t want to take me.”

He softened visibly. “I should apologize,” he said. “I’ve been at the airport all morning. You were my first fare, and it was only twenty-two dollars. If it had been longer, I could have made more. I will barely break even.”

Now I got it. “Apology accepted,” I said. And I meant it.

As I signed the ticket, I added a tip that was at least three times more generous than the grudging twenty-two-dollar ride I’d received warranted. I didn’t say anything more to Mohammad except, “I hope your day gets better.” Then I pulled my bag into the hotel lobby and said a silent prayer of thanks for him. Without even trying, he taught me to love extravagantly. Give without demanding reciprocity. Understand that I, too, have been a recipient of unmerited grace.

And be grateful.

Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

John 1:16-17, NASB