God and the Barber

This is another one of those emails that I get from time-to-time and that seems to have a bit of truth along with some humor. I don’t know where it came from or how long it’s been around, so I can’t attribute it to anyone.

Photo by Curtis!

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. They 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! That’s what happens when people do not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

Simplistic? Maybe. But sometimes the simplest explanations are the best. Turning to God in pain and suffering doesn’t always mean that He will take those things away. God doesn’t always calm the storms in our lives, but He’s calms us in the midst of the storms!

May He Increase!