Heaven and Hell

A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man "come, I will show you hell." They entered a room where a group of hungry people sat around a huge pot of cooking stew. Everyone in the room was starving. Each person held a spoon that reached the pot but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arms that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible. "Come now, I will show you heaven" the Lord said.

They entered a room identical to the first, the big pot of stew, the group of people and the same long-handled spoons. But here everyone was happy and well nourished. "I don't understand" said the man. "Why is everyone happy here and miserable in the other room? Everything is the same."

"Here, said the Lord, they have learned to SERVE each other."

Addendum -- Galatians 5:13-14 (NKJ) "For you brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love SERVE one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

[ Author Unknown ]