Not a Joking Matter

[367 words] There was once a farmer who was going broke farming, so he quit and started selling hammers. He would buy hammers for $3 apiece and sell them for $2 each. He was selling a lot of hammers and seemed happier than before. A friend soon reminded him that for every hammer he sold he was losing $1. To which the he smiled and replied, “Yeah, but it’s more profitable than farming.” That joke is similar to what people sometimes do with their lives. Activities like drunkenness, sexual immorality, extreme selfishness, obsession with material possessions, deceit, etc. can cause folks to view their lives as being morally and spiritually bankrupt. So they decide to go to church services, pray, or read the Bible every once in a while without actually correcting the behaviors that got them into such a big mess to begin with. Going to church services, praying,…