Timothy Harding walked into church one freezing winter morning without his hat or gloves. Reverend Michael spotted him and asked, “Timothy, where are your hat and gloves?”
Timothy sighed and replied, “Would you believe it, Reverend? I think someone took them.”
Reverend Michael was startled. “Someone stole them? That’s terrible! Here’s what I’ll do. Today, I’ll preach about the Ten Commandments, and when I reach ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ I’ll really emphasize it. If the person who took your things is here, I’ll make them feel so guilty, they’ll return them right away.”
The next Sunday, Timothy came to church, proudly wearing his hat and gloves. Reverend Michael saw him and said, “Ah, Timothy, I see my sermon did the trick!”
Timothy smiled and said, “Well, kind of, Reverend.”
“Kind of?” asked the Reverend.
Timothy replied, “When you got to the part about ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ I suddenly remembered where I left them.”