So there's this huge flood one day, and an entire town looks like it's going to be swallowed up by the waters. And the Police and Rescue Agencies are running all over the place trying to get people to safety.
So they send the rescue boat over to this house where a guy's sitting on the roof with the water lapping around his ankles and they say "Come on, quickly, there isn't much time"
To which he says "Nah, it's ok, God will Provide"
So about an hour later they're zooming past in the boat again and they notice the guy's still there, only the water's up to his waist, almost at the top of the roof.. "Quick" they say, get in the boat, it's going to get worst before it gets better.
"Nah, don't worry - God will Provide"
An hour after that a rescue helicopter flies over the area and notices the guy, who must be standing on the peak of the roof now, with only his head and shoulders out of the water. "GRAB THE ROPE!" they cry "IT'S YOUR ONLY HOPE!"
"Don't worry" he replies calmly "God will provide."
So he gets drowned of course. And he goes to heaven, and is a little ticked off with god for drowing him like that, and expresses his concern saying "I had FAITH, I BELIEVED in you - and still you didn't help me"
"HELP YOU?!" God replies "What MORE did you want - I sent you two boats and a helicopter!"
I've always liked that joke because it makes me think about people
who complain about how hard they've got it and how everyone else
gets the breaks.
It's not GETTING the breaks that counts, it's
RECOGNISING them..
So this guy's rollerblading down a mountain - which isn't a bloody
intelligent thing to do for a start - when he sails off the edge
of a cliff into the air. Just before he plummets to the ground,
he manages to catch hold of the root of a tree, which is hanging
out of the cliff face.
So he's hanging there and isn't really sure what the hell he's
going to do - his arms are getting tired, he can't hold on for
much longer, there's no way to climb up, and no ledge to stand on -
when he hears this voice calling to him.
"DAVE" the voice says - for that was his name, and I was going to
mention it at the beginning of the joke, but forgot - "DAVE!"
Dave's a bit surprised, but I can't be expected to introduce EVERYONE in a joke - I mean you don't want to get attached to the chicken that crossed the road do you -, But Dave's ALSO surprised because he was sure that there was no-one else up the mountain with him. But he can hear this voice.. "Yes?" Dave says "Is someone up there?"
"YES" the voice replies "THERE IS"
"Help" Says Dave "I can't hold on much longer"
"I KNOW YOU CAN'T" the voice cries "THAT'S WHY I'M HERE, TO SAVE YOU"
"Do I know you?" Dave asks
"OF COURSE YOU DO" the voice says "IT'S ME, GOD!"
"God?"
"YES, AND I'VE COME TO SAVE YOU. YOU DO BELIEVE IN ME DON'T YOU?"
"Oh yes God" Dave replies "Now please throw down a rope"
"BUT I'M GOD. I DON'T NEED A ROPE TO SAVE YOU DAVE. YOU BELIEVE IN ME DON'T YOU?"
"Of course I do" Dave replies.
"GOOD" says God. "NOW ALL I WANT YOU TO DO IS TO LET GO OF THE ROPE, AND I'LL CATCH YOU AND BRING YOU BACK TO THE TOP OF THE CLIFF"
"Uhh.." says Dave
"YOU DO BELIEVE IN ME DON'T YOU?" God asks
"Uhmmm, yes" says Dave
"THEN JUST LET GO OF THE ROOT, AND I WILL CATCH YOU"
So Dave thinks about this for a few seconds, then yells "IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE UP THERE?!?!"
This one I find funny because it doesn't take much to have faith
in something - God, your beliefs, your loved ones - but it can
take a lot to TRUST in that faith when it comes to the crunch. In
Dave's position he has to make a CONSCIOUS decision to trust in
God to catch him. Saying he believes, and doing something about it
when he stands to lose from it are two seperate things.
Dave's optimal choice would probably be to hang on to the root as
long as possible, then, when he finally loses his grip because he's
so tired, God would catch him. Then he's risked nothing and still been
saved. Perhaps he could even tell himself that he really was trusting
in God when he was saved. Perhaps he would even say it was his
faith that saved him? Dunno. God the Backstop?
I do know that people can sometimes do this with their partners
when they say "Of course I trust you - but I still want to be
there when you go out drinking with your friends..". Fidelity
is the Backstop - only rely on it when you have to.
What's the answer? I dunno - I just liked the joke. And
can empathise with Dave...