There are two neighbours who both have second hand vehicles of the same make and age.One of the neighbours,Deacon Paul Joseph, is an ardent fundamentalist believer in his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He never misses a service at his church, whereas the other, Devillana Crank, is not a believer, and never hesitates to tell all who would take time to listen that he will never become a believer until he sees a difference between his life and the lives of the many believers he associates with on a daily basis.
Both men usually take their vehicles to the same struggling mechanic in the neighbourhood to have them serviced.The mechanic lives a mile and a half away from their homes.
One morning they both took their vehicles to the mechanic. The poor struggling mecahnic, who was quite a good worker, charged them both sixty dollars for the job he did on their vehicles. One of the men, Deacon Paul Joseph, forgot his wallet at home, and only noticed this when he felt around in his trouser finding it not there. He promised the mechanic that he would pay his debt the following morning as he did not wish to drive all the way back to the mechanic's workplace just to deliver sixty dollars. The mechanic agreed to do the work on his vehicle nevertheless.
A similar thing happened to Devillana Crank. He too had left his wallet on his dining table and only noticed when he shoved his hand into his pocket to pay the mechanic. Devillana Crank promised the mechanic that he would pay that very day instead of the following morning as Deacon Paul Joseph had promised to do.
Now, keep in mind that these two gentlemen, although they had similar experiences of having forgotten their wallets at home, did not encounter the problem at the same moment, and did not know of the other having delayed payment to the struggling mechanic.
Devillana Crank went home after the mechanic had serviced his vehicle. His mind troubled him at the thought of having forgotten his wallet at home. It troubled him because he did not know whether the struggling mechanic had any money to feed his family, or to buy himself something to eat that day. He considered that he did not know what the financial circumstances of the mechanic had been.
Deacon Paul Joseph had no such concern. He went to his home,looked at his wallet on the table, ate his supper and went soundly to sleep.
Mr. Devillana Crank went home, found his wallet on a table, drove the mile and a half back to the mechanic's place and paid him the sixty dollars only an half hour after the mechanic had completed the servicing of his vehicle.
Deacon Paul Joseph, by coincidence, met the mechanic in the city area the following morning and paid him the money he owed.
Which one of these two gentlemen is on his way to the kingdom of heaven, and which is on his way to hell?
Deacon Paul Joseph is going to heaven, of course, because Deacon Paul Joseph is a firm believer in Jesus Christ while Mr. Devillana is not,and is not ashamed of it. He is therefore on his way to hell although he is clearly the nicer and better man.
The people who took the Bible and brought their twisted understanding of its interpretation and message to us were poorly uneducated men and their families out of the Bible belt of the old USA.The irony is that we still teach this very literal interpretation today, and justifying it by quoting Isaiah 64:6.
There is nothing wrong with the Bible. There is nothing wrong with any book. There is something wrong with too many of the people who think they have the divine authority to wield their interpretation of it.
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