A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day & said
'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven & Hell are like.'
The Lord led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors & the holy man looked in. In the middle
of
the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a
large pot of stew, which smelled delicious & made the holy man's mouth
water.
The people sitting around the table were thin & sickly. They appeared
to be famished.
They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to
their arms & each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew &
take
a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get
the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery & suffering.
The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'
They went to the next room & opened the door.
It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made
the holy man's mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here
the people were well nourished & plump, laughing & talking.
The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'
'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill. You see,
they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of
themselves.'
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