A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, Lord,
I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the
holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table.

In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious
and made the holy man s mouth water. The people sitting around the table
were thin and sickly.
They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long
handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to
reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was
longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their
mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, You have seen Hell.

 

They went to the next room and opened
the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large
round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man s mouth
water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here
the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, I don t understand.

It is simple said the Lord, it requires but one skill.

 

You see, they
have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.