Saturday, July 30, 2011

A BIRD CAGE

There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. 

"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there son?" 

"Just some old birds," came the reply. 

"What are you gonna do with them?" I asked. 

"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em. I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time." 

"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?" 

"Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll take 'em to them." 

The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?" 

"Huh??!!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing - they ain't even pretty!" 

"How much?" 

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?". 

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. 

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. 

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story. 

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. 

"Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!" 

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked. 

"Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other. How to hate and abuse each other. How to drink and smoke and curse. How to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"

"And what will you do when you get done with them?", Jesus asked. 

"Oh, I'll kill 'em." 

"How much do you want for them?" 

"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don't want those people!!" 

"How much?" 

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood." Jesus paid the price! 

The pastor picked up the cage, he opened the door, and he walked from the pulpit. 


1 Peter 1:18-19
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
Source: Skywriting

Monday, July 25, 2011

INSTEAD OF BEING SARCASTIC


Setelah melakukan observasi selama berbulan-bulan, haha, niat banget observasi. Bukan, bukan, sebenernya pengamatan ini didapat dari kalo buka FB aja, kalo liat status orang-orang dan beberapa pengalaman orang-orang disekitar gw, dan juga yang gw alamin sendiri. Iseng aja bikin tulisan ini, dengan menempatkan diri gw sebagai pengamat, hehe. Pernah denger kalimat yang bunyinya gini, “Kita ga bisa nyenengin semua orang”? Well, emang bener sih. Bahkan ketika kita udah melakukan hal yang baik dan benar, itu masih aja bisa tetep salah dimata orang.
 

Nah yang paling lucu adalah yang gw perhatikan dari status FB dan sarkasme. Lucu karena gw mostly cuma di bangku penonton, tapi gw yakin yang mengalami pasti sedikit banyak ada tersinggung atau sakit hati. Selama ini kita tahu kan kalo kolom status di FB atau BBM udah difungsikan sebagai penampung kebutuhan tiap-tiap orang. Ada yang pake untuk curcol, melampiaskan emosi, mengucap syukur, bermesra-mesraan, hina-hina orang, nyindir, muji, berbahagia, bersedih-sedih, semuanya beraneka ragam deh. Nah apa yang sebenernya bikin manusia itu serba salah? Mari kita lihat:
 

Ketika seseorang ngepost status yang isinya mengeluh “Uh capek kerja dari pagi sampe pagi”, ada aja orang sarkastik yang bilang ngapain sih pasang status ngeluh terus bikin sebel liatnya. Lalu kalau ada orang lain yang pasang status “Senangnya hari ini makan ayam, bebek, di resto ini, resto itu” dibilangnya tukang pamer, makan aja bilang-bilang. Kalo ada orang pasang status, “Bangke lo! Ngent*t, baj*ngan, biking gw kesel aja lo!” dibilang berkata-kata kasar. Tapi klo ada orang pasang status firman setiap hari, memuji Tuhan, dibilangnya, “Ngapain sih apa-apa Tuhan, gembor-gemborin Tuhan, klo mo ngomong ma Tuhan tuh doa, bukan masang status! Sok suci banget!” Ada lagi yang masang status, “Aku sayang ibuku, selamat hari ibu.” Dibilangnya “Sayang lo cuma hari ibu doank? Kasian amat ibu lo!” Tapi kalo setiap hari dia pasang status “Aku sayang ibu, “ nanti dibilang “Lu klo sayang ibu lu tu tunjukkin pake tindakan, ga usah tulis-tulis di status!”. Salah lagi kan? Bukannya gw setuju dengan orang-orang yang pake status FB untuk ngeluh ato kata-kata kasar. Gw juga risih klo tiap buka FB yang diliat keluhan ato kata-kata kasar semua. Tapi emang kita punya hak buat ngejudge dan nyindir mereka yah? Bisa aja orang-orang yang setiap hari ngeluh itu emang lagi banyak masalah, mungkin dia emang belom belajar cara berfikir positif, mungkin dia kesepian, dan karena ga ada yang bisa diajak curhat, dia curhat di FB. Walopun tindakan itu mungkin tidak benar di mata kita, tapi kenapa kita harus tambah nyakitin dia dengan nyindir-nyindir lewat status kita? Berarti status kita sama aja donk status yang cuma numpahin emosi doank? Itu sama aja kaya pepatah hokkian, “Kura-kura ngetawain penyu ga punya bulu.” Jadi si kura-kura juga ga punya bulu sama kaya penyu, tapi dia ngetawain penyu. Sama kaya kita, kalo kita ngatain orang pasang status ga guna, sementara yang kita post juga status ga guna. Betul saudara-saudara? :D
 


Nah lalu ada lagi, yang kaya gini, kalo bagi-bagi kesedihan di FB kan mengundang hujatan, kalo bagi-bagi kebahagiaan ternyata salah juga di mata sebagian orang. Kalo yang diatas tadi hasil observasi, ini gw alamin sendiri. Kalo gw lagi happy, karena baru dapet apa atau ada kesaksian apa, gw pasang di status, biar temen-temen gw tau. Karena di antara 1000 temen gw di FB, gw tau bahwa ada sedikitnya 30 orang yang care dan ikut bahagia kalo gw bahagia. Bahkan kalaupun cuma ada 1 orang yang ikut bahagia, gpp gw akan tetep pasang, karena gw seneng bisa berbagi kebahagiaan sama orang, dan status gw ga merugikan orang. Tapi ternyata tetep salah lho, karena ada kalimat kaya gini, “Kalo lo bahagia cukup simpen sendiri aja, ngapain diobral di status jejaring sosial, toh gada yang ikut bahagia dengernya.” Oh well, gw cuma bisa bilang, I’m so sorry for you, kalo dari sekian banyak temen lo gada 1 pun yang ikut bahagia atas kebahagiaan lo. Karena gw tau temen-temen gw ingin mendengar berita bahagia gw, gw berbagi di FB, karena klo gw sms-in 1-1 ribet pastinya. Nah dari situ bisa keliatan kan lucunya? Berbagi kebahagiaan aja bisa ada yang ga suka loh! :):D
 


Padahal kaya misalnya kita bilang lagi dimana, emang sih ga penting kesannya lo lagi dimana juga gw ga peduli ngapain bilang-bilang. Tapi kan bisa aja dengan orang tersebut bilang dia dimana, ada kenalan ato temen SD-nya yang udah lama ga ketemua lagi di tempat yang sama dan mereka bisa janjian ketemu setelah baca statusnya. Bisa aja kan haha. Nah untuk yang suka kata-kata kasar, bisa aja orang yang suka sumpah serapah di FB itu karena dia emang belum belajar mengendalikan emosinya. Bersyukur aja kalo kita ga begitu. Sebaliknya, kalo dia pasang firman di status FB, bisa aja dia cuma rindu berbagi berkat yang dia dapet. Karena kalo sumpah serapah ga bawa manfaat, firman ga pernah ga bermanfaat. Firman yang tertabur tidak pernah sia-sia. Mungkin buat orang yang sarkastik, firman itu gada gunanya, tapi selalu ada orang-orang yang butuh dikuatkan yang bisa merasa terberkati oleh firman itu. Ambil contoh pas gw pasang 1 ayat, temen gw dari Amerika ngewall dan ngucapin thank you karena dia sedang butuh ayat itu saat ini. Kita ga pernah tahu masalah orang tapi kalo kita nabur firman, ga da salahnya kan? Nah yang menjadi masalah orang-orang sarkastik adalah, “Lo ngapain sok suci dan munafik pasang status firman, sedangkan kelakukan lo masi ga baik?” Kalo ada yang berpikiran kaya gitu, gw cuma bisa bilang “Kalo kita semua nunggu orang sempurna buat nabur firman, maka ga akan ada pelayan Tuhan di dunia ini. Pelayan-pelayan, pendeta-pendeta yang berbagi Injil pun, mereka bukannya sempurna. Tuhan ga pernah cari orang sempurna kok, Dia cuma mencari kerelaan dan kerendahan hati. Nanti seiring kita menabur firman, kita sendiri juga diubahkan untuk jadi Christlike hari demi hari, karena firman itu pedang bermata dua. Jadi jangan melihat orang itu masih ga suci lalu kita cuekin firman Tuhan. Kita kan ga tahu kalau sebenarnya orang itu pun sedang berusaha mematikan kedaginga-kedagingan dan karakter buruknya buat Tuhan.
 

Mungkin kita mikir, “Ya udah hubungan sama Tuhan kan hubungan pribadi, ngapain digembor-gemborin di status, di jejaring sosial.” Ya memang kalo setiap mau doa, mau puasa, harus laporan di status dulu itu ya salah, karena klo kita mau doa dan puasa tapi sengaja gembor-gemborin ke orang, berarti udah ga sesuai firman. Tapi kalo cuma memuliakan dan memuji Tuhan kaya pasang lirik lagu ato kata-kata pujian, kenapa harus salah? Mungkin dia lagi sukacita karena merasa sangat diberkati, mungkin dia lagi damai sejahtera sehingga mulut dan tangannya gatel untuk memuji Tuhan terus. Kenapa harus kita yang kebakaran jenggot? Kalo kita ga suka umbar-umbar hubungan kita sama Tuhan, ya udah silahkan, tapi kalo ada orang yang tidak seperti anda, ga berarti dia salah kan?
 

Lalu soal status semacam, “Thank you Lord, You have been so good to me” kan banyak yang seperti ini, mengucap syukur dengan nyebut Dia di status. Eh ada orang yang sarkastik dan masang status, “Eh Tuhan lo tu di langit, bukan di FB, klo mau ngomong ama Tuhan tuh doa, bukan masang status!” Loh, kita kan ga tau, siapa tau orang yang nulis-nulis tentang Tuhan di status emang udah doa, cuma sekalian pasang di status biar afdol. Atau dengan nulis di status kaya gitu, dy bisa ingatkan dirinya sendiri untuk selalu bersyukur dan bahwa Tuhan selalu baik sama dia. Kita kan ga tau motivasi orang. Kalau motivasinya buruk, ya biar itu jadi urusannya. Kalau motivasinya baik, lalu kita buruk sangka dan nyindir dia, bukankah kitanya yang keterlaluan? Berarti pikiran kita isinya negatif abis donk?
 

Ada lagi yang keberatan kalo statusnya cinta-cintaan mulu, “Ngapain sih pacaran diumbar-umbar, sayang pake bilang-bilang di status, sayang mah ya bilang aja ke orangnya langsung!” Haha, pokoknya macem-macem dah. Bukannya gw sengaja luangin waktu buat merhatiin yang model begini, tapi setiap gw buka FB adaaaaa ajaaaa yang nadanya sarkastik. Nah sebagai pengamat, berikut gw sediakan beberapa solusi supaya sama-sama enak. Inget, kalo mau rubah keadaan, jangan berusaha merubah orang lain, tapi rubah diri kita sendiri:
 

1. Kalau itu adalah teman yang kita sayang atau kita perduliin, tegur dengan kasih.
Saran ini cuma berlaku klo kita peduli yah. Kalo murni sarkastik jangan pake cara ini karena walaupun kedoknya “saya menegur dengan kasih” kenyataannya adalah menegur pake emosi. Contohnya kalo temen kita berantem ama cowonya dan dia pasang status marah-marah. Kasitau aja kalo itu bakal memperumit keadaan, jangan pernah masang status klo lagi berantem karena klo cowonya baca, bisa tambah runyam. Semua kata-kata yang keluar saat emosi banyakan sia-sia dan cuma berujung penyesalan kalo udah baikan nanti. Memang kembali lagi ke atas, terserah orang mau pasang status apa, itu kan hak dia. Tapi kalo kita care sama temen kita, ya kita tegur buat kebaikannya, kalau mau didengerin ya syukur, kalo engga ya udah itu pilihan dia.
 

2. Kalau kita ga deket dan ga peduli sama dia, tapi kita kenal di dunia nyata, hide aja.
Sekarang kan udah ada fasilitas hide post orang supaya ga muncul di home kita. Nah kalo emang risih sama status-statusnya, hide aja. Daripada kita ikut pasang status yang nyindir dia atau hina-hina dia, hide aja, tinggal 1 klik beres semua masalah. Gada yang disakiti, gada yang tersinggung, gada yang tersindir, dan kita juga ga bikin dosa dengan ngejudge orang lagi. Jangan remove, karena kalo kita masih berhubungan sama orang itu di dunia nyata, remove FB itu sangat menyakiti perasaan orang. Lagipula dengan kita hide, kita jadi tetep bisa berteman dengan orang bersangkutan tanpa terkontaminasi pikiran-pikiran buruk tentang dia.

3. Kalau tetep sebel dan ga mau hide, coba think over.
Waktu yang kita pake buat menghujat dan ngejudge dia, mungkin sekitar 2-3 detik, misalnya, “Ih ni orang statusnya ngeluh mulu”, bisa kita manfaatkan buat doain dia. Sama, 2-3 detik aja jadi ga merugikan kita toh? Doain dy, “Tuhan tolong berikan damai sejahtera untuknya”. Daripada waktu 2-3 detik itu dipake buat ngejudge orang mending dipake buat doain, karena dengan doa kita bisa aja masalahnya diangkat dan dia lebih bahagia. Apalagi klo yang sibuk ngetik status makian dan sindiran, mungkin 10 detik abisnya, malah bisa doa yang lebih panjang lagi, “Tuhan aku berdoa untuk (nama) biarlah dia menerima sukacita dan damai sejahtera berlimpah-limpah dari Engkau, dan Engkau sendiri yang menguatkannya dalam setiap masalah apapun yang dia hadapi.” Lebih bagus lagi tuh, hehe.
 


Kalau ada orang yang pasang statusnya bahagia-bahagia, jangan malah mikir dia sok. Misalnya dia bilang, “Aku cinta keluargaku, keluargaku yang terbaik di dunia!” Ya ambil aja waktu untuk bersyukur, “Oh iya yah aku juga cinta sama keluargaku, terima kasih Tuhan mereka masih sehat-sehat” daripada malah mikir, “Dasar sok, mentang-mentang jalan-jalan mulu ma keluarga lo”. Haha. Kalo ada yang pasang status atau foto-foto makanan yang enak-enak, ga sedikit yang mikir, tukang pamer banget sih, mentang-mentang bisa makan makanan mahal. Ya bersyukur aja ada makanan kaya gitu di dunia, siapa tau kita bisa makan suatu hari, kan jadi rekomendasi toh?
 

Kita memang ga bisa nyenengin semua orang. Apapun yang kita lakukan bahkan kalaupun itu sesuai firman sekalipun, pasti selalu ada orang-orang sarkastik yang menganggap apa yang kita lakukan salah. Tapi itu kan emang kehebatan manusia? Mencari kesalahan orang lain. Nah kita mau jadi bagian dari yang seperti itu atau ga? Kalo ga mau, mulai sekarang mulai kikis pikiran-pikiran yang sukanya ngejudge orang. Kalo secara ga sengaja reflek ngejudge, langsung minta ampun. Memang gw ga bilang, “kita ga boleh ngeluh” karena manusia ngeluh tu wajar. Tapi kalo kita seorang Kristiani yang mengandalkan Yesus dalam kehidupan kita, masa kita ngeluh terus? Nanti kan jadi batu sandungan untuk orang lain. Lagipula kalo kita hidup dalam Dia, walaupun kita ingin ngeluh karena cape ato apa, itu bisa ilang karena digantikan sukacita sama Tuhan. Jadi bukannya manusia ga boleh ngeluh, tapi ada gunanya ga? Oya dink pernah nulis tentang ini, hehe ada disini: THANKSGIVING
 

Jadi begitulah, haha, sekali lagi gw disini cuma sebagai pengamat, bukan ngejudge. Gw juga ga maksa orang-orang yang baca ini untuk berhenti nyindir. Itu hak setiap orang, dan gw ga punya hak untuk mendikte apa yang harus dilakukan orang. Gw cuma nulis ini kali aja ada yang setuju hehe. Karena walopun pernah ada yang nyindir status gw pun gw cuek aja, gw ga ambil hati dan gw pun ga mau menghakimi si penyindir. Sarkastik tu pilihan. Kenapa kita mau jadi sarkastik kalo bisa tidak? Dan untuk yang masih sarkastik di luar sana, I still pray for you that God will fulfill your heart with too much serenity until it’s too full and there is no even a single place for sarcasm. Mari kita ciptakan kehidupan berjejaring sosial yang damai dan penuh berkat. God bless you. ^^



Saturday, July 23, 2011

LISTENING TO HIS VOICE

Have you ever been wondering about listening to God’s voice? As if we have been trying hard to listen but we heard nothing? Or our own voice talks inside our head? As if only holy saints who can hear His voice, or maybe we think that God can’t speak to us directly?
First of the very first, we have to change our perception. God can speak. If God can listen, then why He can’t speak? Now, for long time we think that we are not holy enough to listen to His voice. It reminds me to a song, anyway. It sounds like this:
“Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt? Not because of who I am but because of what You’ve done, not because of what I’ve done but because of You are.”
We are not holy, indeed. We are not worthy enough to listen to His voice. That was why Christ died for us, so that we can have reconciliation with God. Now, after we accept Jesus Christ in our heart, the Holy Spirit stays in us. We are not separated anymore.
So now, we are able to listen to His voice. We can enter His presence and we are sanctified by His blood. We are worthy and holy again every time we admit our sins and forgive others. For He says:

“But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:26


So if we do not forgive, then we are unholy. But if we have forgiven, we are sanctified because He has forgiven us, too. Now after we are clean and holy, we are ready to have an intimate relationship with our Father in Heaven.

The most common question is:
How can I know that it’s His voice?

Let’s see the bible verse of John 10:27

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”


Have you ever gone to the farm and seen how a sheep recognizes the voice of its shepherd? That sheep hears it every day.  That sheep focuses on the voice of its shepherd. That sheep spends plenty time with its shepherd until the voice is familiar to it. That’s what Christ means with us as His sheep and He as our shepherd.


So it means that we have to spend time as often as possible with Him.

Now, I also have one parable like this:

One day a man comes to his priest and asks, “Why I can’t hear God’s voice?” and the priest answers him in whisper. “What? I can’t hear you!” said the man. He moves forward. The priest still whispers his answer. The man still can’t hear him. “I can’t hear you!” and he moves even closer. Until he is right in front of the priest, close enough to hear what the priest is saying. The priest says, “That’s your answer child, you need to be close enough to God to hear His voice.”

So it means that we have to be close enough to Him.

How? Back to the first discussion, by spending time as often as possible with Him. Sometimes we don’t hear His voice because we do not let Him to speak. We do not give enough time. We are just too busy mentioning what we want and asking for blessing until we forget that it’s God’s turn to speak. After we finish talking, we close the prayer. That is not a relationship. Relationship is two-side. How can we say we are in relationship with our boyfriends if the one who keeps talking are us, while they only listen?

The next is, how can we differentiate whether that voice is from God, or our own voice, or worse, Satan?

Here is a devotional thought from Ps. Adrian Rogers which I think is very suitable for explaining this question.

Listening for His Voice
Devotional thought from the messages of Adrian Rogers

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Proverbs 7:24 - "Hearken unto Me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of My mouth."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The United States Government doesn't teach Treasury agents to detect counterfeit bills by having them study fakes. They show these agents real dollars over and over and over until they have the pattern memorized. Then, when a counterfeit is put in front of them, they recognize it instantly because it doesn't fit the pattern their eyes are looking for. Do you know the voice of the Lord? The only way you can be sure that it is His voice you are hearing is to hear it so often that a stranger's voice is instantly recognizable. It is far wiser to spend time learning the One True Voice than it is trying to learn to detect a multitude of false voices.

ACTION POINT:
Spend at least 15 minutes today being silent before God and listening for His voice.

Again, how to recognize the true voice? The answers are above:
We have to be close to Him and spend time as often as possible with Him.


What we should know are:
  1. His voice won’t be contradictory to the Words of God (Bible)
  2. His voice will grant you peace.
However, God doesn't talk ONLY in our heart. He can talk in many ways, the most is through His living Words. Then it can be through His servants or children, through prophecy, vision, dream, and many more. Still, we have to check it and everything should be back to the Bible.

“Despise not prophesyings.Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21


So what else we are waiting for? Spend our time with Him and feel the intimacy with our Heavenly Father, listen to His soft voice and enjoy His presence! God bless us all.

You can find more about listening to His voice here:

Monday, July 18, 2011

WE ARE WORTH LOVING


To all the girls, A MESSAGE from God:


"No man can ever claim you unless he claims you from Me. I reserved a man for you, he has My heart and he loves Me more than he will love you. He will not have you unless he asks of you from Me. Soon, you will know him. I have the perfect time. You are My princess, My daughter. Let no prince claim you unless he asks for your hand from Me. For I am your Father, the King of kings, and you, My Princess, are worth loving."


Sunday, July 17, 2011

THE CARPENTER'S TOOLS


Brother Hammer served as the chairman. The other members of the tool belt informed him that he must leave, because he was too noisy. But brother Hammer said, "If I have to leave this carpenter's shop, then brother Gimlet must go too. He's insignificant and makes a very small impression." (A gimlet is a small tool with a screw point, grooved shank, and a cross handle for boring holes).

Little brother Gimlet arose and said, "All right, but brother Screwdriver must go also. You have to turn him around and around to get anywhere with him."

Brother Screwdriver turned to the other tools in the belt and said, "If you wish, I will go, but brother Plane must leave too. All of his work is on the surface; there's no depth to what he does."

To this brother Plane leveled his terse reply, "Well, then, brother Saw will have to depart too. The changes he proposes always cut too deep."
Brother Saw complained, saying, "Brother Ruler will have to withdraw if I leave, for he's always measuring other folks as though he were the only one who is right."

Brother Ruler then surveyed the group and said, "Brother Sandpaper doesn't belong here either. He's rougher than he ought to be, and is always rubbing people the wrong way."

In the midst of the discussion, the Carpenter of Nazareth walked in. He had come to perform his day's work. He put on His tool belt and went to the workbench to make a pulpit. He employed the ruler, the saw, the plane, the hammer, the gimlet, the screwdriver, the sandpaper, and all the other tools. When the day's work was over, the pulpit was finished, and the carpenter went home. All the accusations against each of these tools were absolutely true, yet the carpenter used every one of them. No matter which tool He use, no other tool could have done the work better.




THE BARBER SHOP

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation and talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.
"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.
"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! Because people do not look to God for help is why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."