“These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy” – Leviticus 7:1
In December 2020, a Texas man paid off his boss's 48-year-old Corte Madera Library overdue book fine as a holiday gift. It was in 1972, a young boy named Tony Goodman borrowed a book about pirates from the Marin County Free Library. But, he never returned it and has been living with the guilt of his misstep for nearly half a century. That is until recently when a Good Samaritan named Kenny Newell paid $58 to clear Goodman's name. Newell worked for Goodman as an employee of Goodman, CEO of PeopleFun, a mobile game development company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and wanted to do something fun for him for Christmas.
“Obviously, it was almost 50 years ago and (the book) has been lost to time, but I was wanting to pay the late fee or replacement cost for the book as a joke and giving him a confirmation receipt for Christmas,” Newell said in a message to the library. Marin County Free Library Director Sara Jones said that she would like to see the good deed go viral so it inspires other people to match Newell's gesture. “In a way, we hope hundreds of people find overdue books, become overcome with guilt, and get inspired to make peace with their local libraries,” Jones said.
Guilt is the realization of sin. But thanks be to Christ that He loves us and forgives us when we confess our sin and desire reconciled to Him. Today in prayer, praise Christ that He has paid the price for all of our sins and removed our guilt and shame.
“Guilt is the very nerve of sorrow.” – Horace Bushnell
God’s Word: “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” – Hebrews 10:22
Mostly Cloudy, 61°
