Nineteen-year-old Joey Prusack was on duty at the Dairy Queen counter in Hopkins, Minnesota, when a blind man placed an order. As the man paid, a twenty-dollar bill slipped from his pocket and fell to the floor. The woman behind him quickly snatched up the bill and stuck it into her purse. When she stepped up to the counter, Joey asked her to return the money to the blind man. She refused, claiming she dropped the bill herself. Joey knew better and when she still refused after his second request, he declined to serve her and told her to leave the store. He remained calm as the woman blasted him with an angry tirade and stormed out the door.
Joey went directly to the table where the man was eating, explained what had happened, and gave him a twenty from his own billfold. A customer who witnessed the scene emailed an account of it to Dairy Queen. The store posted the email, someone photographed it and put it on Facebook, and the story went viral.
Why did this teenager’s heartwarming deed draw so much attention? Because while we live in a world where cutting moral corners is the norm, our hearts know we were made for better. We long for a world in which integrity is our way of life, and deeds like Joeys are the norm.
We may not see that world in our lifetimes, but we can create that world within ourselves. That’s what we do when we strive to live with integrity. Stories like this remind us that if a nineteen-year-old working at a Dairy Queen can live with such integrity, we can too.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I am far away. Search me O God and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Psalm 139: 1-2, 23-24
