PANERA BREAD'S HONOR SYSTEM

TAKE WHAT YOU NEED....LEAVE YOUR FAIR SHARE

That’s the new policy at a Panera Bread café in suburban St. Louis, where diners are asked to pay what they want for their food, leaving the money in a donation box—and leaving some wondering if a restaurant can successfully serve up a side order of responsibility.  (Brought to you by Liberty Mutual's The Responsibility Project)

The CEO is trying to find out what human nature is all about. 

If you can't pay...then you are asked to volunteer at the restaurant.  Their intent is to keep the restaurant running while providing jobs and feeding the 'have nots' - sorta like 'redistrubition' of meals....

I wonder how long they can operate with this "fair share" system.  I'd like to think it would work...that human nature is such that the haves would pay more so that the have-nots could pay what they can afford, which sometimes may be nothing.

Human nature, being what it is, has two sides.  Generous and not-so-generous.  I'm wondering what Panera Bread will do with the side that has a 'I deserve it all for free' mentality. 

Human nature defined is:  the psychological and social qualities that characterize humankind, especially in contrast with other living things.   Also: ordinary human behaviour, esp considered as less than perfect.

We are all less than perfect.  Our human nature causes us to behave as humans....and that is often indictative of a negative trait.  We were born into sin because of the fall of man.  Genesis 3:1-8 gives the account of Eve being tempted by the serpent (Satan) to eat of the forbidden fruit.  After Eve ate of the fruit, she then tempted Adam to do the same.  He ate.  They hid.  They hid from the Presence of God.   They went from innocent to guilty.  And that's where we are now.  Guilty.  But we have a Redeemer.  Jesus Christ shed His innocent blood on the cross for our sins, that carnal nature we were born with. He bought us back (He purchased us again) with His blood.  Through faith in Him and accepting Him as Savior, we are thereby justified with God.  Jesus was that perfect sacrifice for our fallen nature.   

That is human nature.  Without the grace of God and the presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives we are, by nature, tempted to not pay the full price of a Panera Bread sandwich when the opportunity is put in front of us.

I hope Panera's project goes well.  It would be refreshing to hear that human nature proved to be nothing but good and generous. 

But, I'm still worried about the "Fair Share" thing.
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