Ever tempted to do the wrong thing?

So I am still in this hotel and get into the elevator and find a wallet on the floor. It looks nice and thick and I solemnly take it to the front desk of the hotel and hand it over, feeling all holier than thou and good about myself. That evening, we are at a large party and I find an abandoned iPhone, which is locked, so I cannot trace the owner. Anyway, by spreading the word, the owner and the phone are finally reunited while I am thinking, "What is going on? Twice in one day. I haven't found anything in 68 years and now I do two good deeds in a day."
Is the Almighty testing me, like let's see if Vohra will do the right thing? After all, integrity is how you behave when no one is looking. I swear there were no cameras in the elevator.
I didn't even peek into the wallet.
So, with the milk of human kindness sloshing about, I begin to pick at the double flings of fortune. They say everyone has a price. What if it had been a diamond ring, huh, what then, would honesty and piety have skulked away, tails between their legs? What if it had been a chunk of gold?
I'd like to think not and can only be thankful that in all these years I have been fortunate enough not to have my price line tested. Much better that way. What if you discover you do have a Faustian streak lying dormant and when your price is met, you sell yourself down the river and order your conscience to take a hike. And you can live with it.
Seen it often enough. Folks who took a tumble from the high ground and into the ravines because the sizzle beat the steak. And is it true that we all have a price which, if met and crossed, would make a mockery of our values? A friend of mine used to say, never be a petty thief. You want to play dirty, make sure the risk changes your life, otherwise the burden of it will eventually break your back and you will spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder. If you have to, then be a super swindler. Me, he would grin, when I pull the rug, I call it business.
We talk big time of ethics and the right thing to do but, under pressure, does it all buckle? Have you ever been tempted to do something so silly that the very thought makes you flush with shame?
Would you associate yourself with a scam? Take part in a ponzie scheme? Be a bagman or a partner in a criminal activity because the gains are so high? Do that 'only this once' con on yourself to salve
the conscience?
Like swiping a cologne or perfume bottle from a home or a first class lounge, a bathrobe from a hotel. I am not stealing it, merely taking it as a souvenir. Don't think it isn't possible, it has been done. A sleight of hand shoplift, they can afford it, no big deal, we all know someone like that. No one can rationalise better than the guilty.
That eureka scream of glee because we 'found' a fallen mobile phone. No, you didn't find it, you stole it. Stay in a home and misuse their phone for international calls. A friend of ours got a bill on his landline for Dh5000 in three days.
Three very senior officers on New Year's Eve took a dare in a five-star hotel to see who could swipe the maximum number of toilet rolls. Much to their horror, the jape fell apart when a roll slipped from under a coat and unraveled right across the lobby floor with Security looking on. Visualise the scene. This way, Sir, need to discuss the situation. No laughter in this larceny. Funny and so cruel.
Does breaking your personal law require a kind of odd courage? Like the classmates who would cheat in examinations. I have been tempted, just did not have the guts to do it. Kind of silly, but admired those who nonchalantly carried crib papers into the examination hall. And got away with it.
If you found the computer had a glitch and a large sum had been credited to your account in the bank, would you pull it out and make a run for it? Not your fault, they put it there. Quick, before they discover their mistake.
Ever been tempted to do the wrong thing? Like when there is a good chance you might get away with it. Don't answer that... take refuge behind the fifth, so you do not end up incriminating yourself.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com