Tavern vs Church

"Tavern vs Church"

The story is told of a man who got a permit to open
the first tavern in a small town. The members of a
local church were strongly opposed to the bar, so
they began to pray that G~d would intervene.

A few days before the tavern was scheduled to open,
lightning hit the structure and it burned to the ground.
The people of the church were surprised but pleased
- until they received notice that the would-be tavern
owner was suing them.

He contended that their prayers were responsible
for the burning of the building. They denied the charge.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the judge
wryly remarked, "At this point I don't know what my
decision will be, but it seems that the tavern owner
believes in the power of prayer and these church people don't."

***************************************************

"The Answer"

A businessman was in a great deal of trouble. His
business was failing, he had put everything he had
into the business, he owed everybody-- it was so bad
he was even contemplating suicide. As a last resort
he went to a priest and poured out his story of tears and woe.

When he had finished, the priest said, "Here's what
I want you to do: Put a beach chair and your Bible in
your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach
chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down in the
beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the
Bible; the wind will rifle the pages, but finally the open
Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at the
page and read the first thing you see. That will be your
answer, that will tell you what to do."

A year later the businessman went back to the priest
and brought his wife and children with him. The man
was in a new custom-tailored suit, his wife in a mink
coat, the children shining.

The businessman pulled an envelope stuffed with
money out of his pocket, gave it to the priest as a
donation in thanks for his advice.

The priest recognized the benefactor, and was curious.
"You did as I suggested?" he asked.

"Absolutely," replied the businessman.

"You went to the beach?"

"Absolutely."

"You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?"

"Absolutely."

"You let the pages rifle until they stopped?"

"Absolutely."

"And what were the first words you saw?"

"Chapter 11."
Received on Mon Jul 2 07:18:32 2007