A married man entered the confessional booth and anxiously admitted to his priest, “Father, forgive me, for I nearly had an affair with another woman.”
The priest raised an eyebrow. “What exactly do you mean by ‘nearly’?”
The man sighed, “Well, we both got completely naked and rubbed our bodies all over each other, but at the last second, my conscience kicked in and I stopped.”
The priest shook his head sternly. “My son, rubbing together is just as sinful as the full act. For your penance, you must never see this woman again, recite five Hail Marys, and drop $50 into the church poor box.”
After finishing his prayers, the man walked over to the collection box. He pulled out a crisp $50 bill, held it against the slot, hesitated for a moment, and then tucked it right back into his wallet and turned to leave.
The priest, who had been watching closely from across the room, rushed over in a panic. “Hey! I saw that! You didn’t put a single dollar into the poor box!”
The man shrugged calmly and retorted, “True, but I rubbed the $50 all over the box. And according to your logic, that’s exactly the same as putting it in.”
