An old country preacher had a teenage son and it was getting time when the boy should give some thought to choosing a career.
Like many young men his age, the boy didn’t really have a clue as to what he wanted to do when he finished school and he didn’t seem too concerned about it either.
One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy’s room and placed on his study table four objects:
- A bible.
- A silver dollar.
- A bottle of whisky.
- And a Playboy magazine.
“I’ll just hide behind the door in his room”, the old preacher said to himself. “When he comes home from school today, I’ll see which object he picks up”.
The preacher was thinking:
- If it’s the bible, he’s going to be a preacher like me and what a blessing that would be!
- If he picks up the dollar, he’s going to be a business man and that would be okay, too.
- But if he picks up the bottle, he’s going to be a no-good drunken bum. Oh Lord, what a shame that would be.
- And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine, he’s going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer.
So the old man waited anxiously for his son to return home from school and it wan’t too long before he heard his son’s footsteps as he entered the house.
As usual, his son came into the house whistling and straight away headed for his room.
The boy threw his school books on the bed and as he turned to leave the room, he spotted the objects on the table.
With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them.
Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm.
He picked up the silver dollar and dropped into his pocket.
He then uncorked the bottle and took a big drink, while he admired this month’s centerfold.
“Lord have mercy”, the old preacher whispered to himself in disgust, “He’s gonna run for Congress”.
Image used under a Collective Commons License from https://pixabay.com/photos/vermont-fall-autumn-church-foliage-5168252/
