SO many of us lead two lives, one for the public and another that is private; most often the private one isn’t fit for public scrutiny: I wonder how it would be if every time we did something bad in our private life, a bell would ring outside for the public to hear?
A priest, in urgent need to use the bathroom, walks into a local bar.
The bar is jumping with loud music and lively conversation, but every few minutes the lights abruptly go off.
Every time the lights go off, the bar crowd bursts into loud whoops and applause, but when they see the priest enter the bar, the place becomes absolutely quiet.
The priest walks over to the bartender and asks, “Can you please tell me where your bathroom is?” “Sure, but I have to tell you, father, there’s a statue of a woman in there and she’s wearing only a fig leaf.” “No problem, I’ll just avert my eyes, then,” said the priest.
The bartender then shows the priest to the far side of the bar where the bathroom is located. After a short while, the priest comes out of the bathroom and the bar crowd pauses only long enough to give him a rousing cheer. Perplexed he goes over to the bartender and asks, “I’m puzzled.
Why did they cheer for me as I came out of the bathroom just now?”
“Well, father, it’s because your curiosity has made you as human and hypocritical like all of us,” said the bartender. “May I pour you a drink?” No thank you I don’t drink, but I’m still puzzled,” said the priest.
“You see, father,” chuckled the bartender, “every time somebody moves the fig leaf on the naked woman statue a bell starts ringing outside. Now, what do you say to that drink? Or would you rather go home and have a stiff one alone?”
What if we had a bell that rang every time we did something wrong? “Ding, dong, ding, dong!” “Why’s the bell ringing?” “That man doing the fast to death, looked lustily at a woman co-worker!” “Ding, dong, ding, dong!” “What’s that sound, hey it’s my bell!” “Yes, you just said a swear word under your breath Bob!”
But do we need a bell? Because even if a bell doesn’t ring, even if people outside the bathroom didn’t know what the priest was doing inside, still Someone up there knew, and we all are accountable to that Someone up there…!
