Short Story: Covering for another person
@innertalks (21889)
Australia
April 18, 2021 9:06pm CST
John Johnson was at work, and he was feeling rather stuffy in his head, and so he went outside of the building, for a short walk, to clear his head, a bit, but during work time.
On the way back, though, he got lost.
John had ventured down some nearby laneway, but he had gotten disorientated, and then made a wrong turn, into another street, and walked the wrong way down there, away from his office building, and so he was now going to be very late back.
His five-minute break, might now stretch to being one hour.
Eventually, by his asking a passerby, he was told the right way to go back to his office block again.
He decided to get on a tram back, to speed it up a bit, his getting back, but the first empty tram drove quickly past with the driver, pointing backwards, indicating that there would be another tram following closely, after him.
But, this next tram was so crowded that John could not get on it.
So, he ended up walking all of the way back again, and in the foyer, he saw a fellow employee, named Paul, who asked John if John could help him to deliver some mail, envelopes, and small parcels.
John grabbed some, and they walked up the stairs to each floor in the building, where they needed to drop the mail too.
On one floor, when John opened the door onto the floor, he was surprised to see a martial arts class going on there, with everyone in a white uniform.
John had had no idea that this was going on in his building, and he filed this knowledge away, for future reference. Maybe, he would take up some classes there too, he had thought to himself.
Then, Paul went ahead to John's floor, and apparently, someone, the boss, had asked him then, where John was, had he seen John, because John had been away from his desk for a long while now.
This guy, Paul covered for John saying that John was with him, helping him to deliver the mail, so John didn't get into trouble, as he had expected too, when he would later try to go back to his desk again.
In a way, Jesus Christ covers for us like this, taking the burdens of our sins upon him, but is it wrong to cover for someone though, or not?
Love covers over all with itself, and all is well with love.
To cover for someone else depends on the situation, though.
Wilful untruth never works, but covering, by allowing someone to escape a despot, is often right to do.
What do you think? Was it right of Paul, to cover for John, here, or not?
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
Pictured: John in the stairwell, delivering mail to the different floors, of his building.
7 people like this
6 responses
@jefferson126 (3262)
• Shenzhen, China
19 Apr 21
If i was Paul,i will do the same.sometimes,covering is a goodness rather than a fault.John is thankful to have such a fellow.
3 people like this
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
Yes, John had never intentionally meant to do this, to be gone from work for so long, and being the person that he was, when he did go back to his desk, he put in an extra effort too, and he worked through his afternoon tea break, and he even stayed back an 15 extra minutes, after closing time, to make sure he had completed his full lot for the day, as well.
2 people like this
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
@jefferson126 Most of my stories are based on some type of a true experience of mine. I like to write them up as stories, so as not to identify anyone in them.
Yes, this happened to me, something like this too.
2 people like this
@jefferson126 (3262)
• Shenzhen, China
19 Apr 21
@innertalks ,see.John is responsible and conscientious worker.I have a question what kind of relationship is it between you and John.I feel like it is not a story,it looks like a true experience you went through personally.
2 people like this
@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
19 Apr 21
i would argue that when you love someone, you cover for them. But when the love is mutual, you never have to cover for that person.
3 people like this
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
Has covering for someone, or having their back, got anything to do with love, though?
Love lives in you by you living that love outwardly, and inwardly.
Covering for someone is having their interests at heart, and yet, it should not involve sinning for them, but being a neighbour to them, a good helpful person to them.
Sometimes, a parent will cover for their win child, out of love for that child, but as others have said here, is that really a good thing for them to do, or not?
Some here, are saying the way of truth, cannot be covered up by anything, nor by anyone, for it to still remain the way of truth.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (38575)
• United States
19 Apr 21
Yes, I think so in the situation that he was in. He was merciful. A lot of people would not have did it..
3 people like this
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
Yes, some people would have dobbed him in to the boss.
Of course, if it was covering up a real crime, and lying to the Police about it, that is another whole story, but here, in this situation, no harm was done, and good came of it too.
Perhaps John will leant to be more careful next time too.
@kanuck1 (4434)
•
19 Apr 21
Yes, it was wrong because Paul had lied and so had John. They were both wrong. Jesus would never lie to cover for us. The one that lies is Satan the Devil as Jesus pointed that out. In no way would a genuine Christian knowing and deliberately imitate Satan the Devil.
John 8:44 (Easy-to-Read Version) 44 Your father is the devil. You belong to him. You want to do what he wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He was always against the truth. There is no truth in him. He is like the lies he tells. Yes, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies.
2 people like this
@kanuck1 (4434)
•
19 Apr 21
@innertalks I have had a few experiences like that. When that happens, I always remember that God knows the truth and that gives me great joy no matter the suffering this world heaps on the innocent. I would rather be caned by anyone but God. Actually, if God caned me it would probably be for my own good and because he loves me! (Hebrews 12:6)
2 people like this
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
@kanuck1 My brother used to have a good trick to cover himself up when my Dad would cane him on the backside. He always slipped a newspaper down his pants, first. He got away with that cover-up too...lol...
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
I will give an example from my own life when I was a kid at school.
There was a high edge next to the driveway, that we kids were told not to play on or to jump off onto the path underneath it.
My brother was caught jumping off from it. I was just standing there with him, idly looking on.
The teacher caned us both ten times on both hands, with glee, in each of his beady eyes.
My brother never tried to stick up, or to cover for me, but here I think that he should have.
He should have said that, me, his little brother had never jumped from that wall at all, but he was just with me, as we walk to school together, (and which was the truth.)
But, the teacher lumped us both together, and punished us both the same.
He covered over the truth, with his own interpretation of what had happened, and never bothered to question either of us about it, to ascertain the real truth.
I have hated that teacher, ever since, and these days, he would be charged with assault for what he did to us on that day.
Sometimes, covering for another, is actually telling the real truth of the situation, as it would have been here, with me, in my own experience here.
Would I have still been caned?
With that type of a teacher, probably yes, but at least the truth of the situation would have come forth.
The teacher would probably have accused my brother of just trying to cover up for me, even though he was telling the truth, that I hadn't jumped off from that edge, myself, at all.
2 people like this
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
It does depend on who you are dealing with, like I said, though.
As if you owned up to the Nazi's that you were protecting a Jew, in your attic, you and the Jew would have both been killed.
Yes, generally, the truth is better, but even truth should not be rammed down somebody else's throat either, and especially not, down a Nazi's throat.
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
@Shiva49 Yes, if we always rigidly follow the rules, we miss out on seeing the spirit of the truth, wisping past the rule, sometimes, and making its own exception to that rule.
Truth always trumps over rules, not the other way around, I suspect.
Truth is linked to love, as well, not to law. So, truth can forgive, whereas laws never can.
@Shiva49 (26649)
• Singapore
19 Apr 21
@innertalks Then Steve, I have to take cover under - every rule has an exception!
2 people like this
@innertalks (21889)
• Australia
19 Apr 21
Yes, Jesus covers over all with himself, and with his love.
I think that Paul did the right thing, by all concerned, here too.
Did John owe him anything for his doing this for him though? Did John owe him one?
If I extended this story, though, and if Paul, later on, had spent a whole Friday afternoon, in the Pub, and expected John to cover for him too, for his not coming back to work again, that day, and to say that he had a meeting in another office, nearby with him, to talk about accounting practices, in that office, which John had gone to give them, but which Paul never turned up to, would this extra transgression by Paul be justified in covering up too then?
Should a favour be returned like this, or should a true favour, have no strings, attached to it?
