THE THIRD FALL

A man woke up early in order to have his morning devotion (prayer) in the Lord's house (mosque). He got dressed, set on his way to the Lord's house.

On his way to the church, the man fell and his clothes got dirty. He got up, brushed himself up, and headed home.

At home, he changed his clothes, and was, again, on his way to the Lord's house. On his way to the church, he fell again and at the same spot! He, again, got up, brushed himself off and headed home. At home he, once again, changed his clothes and was on his way to the Lord's house.

On his way to the church, he met a man holding a lamp. He asked the man of his identity and the man replied "I saw you fall twice on your way to the church, so I brought a lamp so I can light your way. The first man thanked him profusely and the two went on their way to the church. Once at the church, the first man asked the man with the lamp to come in and pray with him. The second man refused. The first man asked him a couple more times and, again, the answer was the same. The first man asked him why he did not wish to come in and pray. The man replied, "I am Satan". The man was shocked at this reply. Satan went on to explain, "I saw you on your way to the Church and it was I who made you fall. When you went home, cleaned yourself and went back on your way to the church, God forgave all of your sins. I made you fall a second time, and even that did not encourage you to stay home, but rather, you went back on your way to Church. Because of that, God forgave all the sins of the people of your household. I was afraid if I made you fall one more time, then God will forgive the sins of the people of your village, so I made sure that you reached the house of God (Church) safely."

So do not let Satan benefit from his actions.