An Exercise in Conversion
When Ole quit farming and moved into town, he discovered that he was the only Lutheran in his new little town of all Catholics. That was okay, but the neighbors had a problem with his barbecuing beef every Friday. Since they couldn't eat meat on Friday, the tempting aroma was getting the best of them.
Hoping they could do something to stop this, the neighbors got together and went over to talk to Ole. 'Ole,' they said, 'since you are the only Lutheran in this whole town and there's not a Lutheran church for many miles, we think you should join our church and become a Catholic.'
Ole thought about it for a minute and decided they were probably right. Ole talked to the priest, and they arranged it.
The big day came and the priest had Ole kneel. He put his hand on Ole's head and said, 'Ole, you were born a Lutheran, you were raised a Lutheran, and now...' he said as he sprinkled some incense over Ole's head, 'now you are a Catholic!'
Ole was happy and the neighbors were happy. But the following Friday evening at suppertime, there was again the aroma of grilled beef coming from Ole's yard. The neighbors went to talk to him about this and as they approached the fence, they heard Ole saying to the steak:
You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and as he sprinkled salt over the meat he said, and NOW you are a FISH!
"Sometimes, business decisions must be based not on economics,
but on what is right." ~ Ivan Howes
