A matter of character

J.C. Watts

"Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught."

-- J.C. Watts

I've written many times about the goodness that flows from my Tuesday night routine -- bowling with friends as members of the Broken Taco Shells. Today I write about something that could be dismissed as trivial but also as something that reveals a person's integrity.

And I do so with a quote from an unlikely source: J.C. Watts, a former star quarterback at the University of Oklahoma who went on to become a Baptist minister and a member of Congress, serving eight years in the House as a Republican.

Here's the situation:

Background: We bowl in an unsanctioned league, another way of saying it's just for fun. $10 a week buys you three games, a chance at a raffle prize (typically a T-shirt with a beer logo) and a share of the season-ending cash rebate to each team, depending on where you finish in the standings. Last season, our five team members shared a whopping $100.

Scoring error: Last week, we bowled terribly and lost all four games. Yet, when we came in to bowl again this week we saw we'd been credited with two wins, two losses -- enough to keep us in second place. Eventually, I realized why. A math error gave one of our teammates 100 points more than she actually scored, enough to give us the edge in two games.

So what? We could let it go on the assumption that either of two parties made the mistake: a) Our opponents, who filled out the score sheet and turned it in with the bad numbers. b) The league secretary, who may have received correct data but recorded it incorrectly. With several more weeks of bowling, it's unlikely that two more or two fewer wins will make much difference in the standings or in the season-ending payout.

What to do? I'm the one who noticed the error. I said nothing to the front desk on the way out. (By the way, we won three of four games this week, so I'm sure we'll still be near the top of the standings.) Is this one of those instances where a cashier gives you back too much change? What's the harm in keeping it? Does the amount matter? Does your conscience demand that you give it back?

Resolution: As I turned this around in my mind, I came to the conclusion that there is some harm in keeping quiet about the error. It cheats the team that beat us fair and square -- and rather soundly -- out of two wins. If we'd been wronged in that way, I would want to see the record set straight. So...when Tuesday comes around, I'm going to the front desk to make things right. I'm going to make a point of tracking down the team that beat us and congratulate them on two more wins.

And I'm going to thank J.C. Watts for reminding me that it's right thing to do.