Story about communication: Choose your words wisely or…

Once a group of friends went on a trekking holiday far away from home. They decided to explore a large dense forest park that many experienced trekkers recommended but at the same time warned about the wildlife. The group of friends knew each other for a long time but as every group, they also had that one person which was the “smartest” of them all. Unluckily for the group, that friend was a very committed atheist who was on a mission to prove to everyone who believed in a religion of their choice how wrong they were. After a few days of trekking together the atheist friend was so annoying that the group decided to have a group meeting at which they would decide if they would go on with or without their “smartest member”. As everyone in the group would share their decision they all gave the same reason, “You do not choose your words wisely. In fact you are very round and always want to be more clever than the rest of us.” So the verdict was unanimous and the “smart friend” had to continue his journey on his own.

Since he was the least experienced at trekking in the wilderness his friends gave him clear instructions on how to get back to the starting point and wait for them. But once on his own, he decided to go his own way thinking, “Who are they to tell me what to do. I know more than they all do together.” He continued through the forest ignoring all the signs on the trees when suddenly a large angry bear emerged from the undergrowth. The atheist screamed in terror, turned, and ran. The bear followed him and after a long and desperate chase eventually caught up with the atheist and cornered him in a gorge. The exhausted atheist sank to his knees, shaking. The bear, seeing that its prey was trapped, moved slowly towards the petrified man, drooling. The atheist lifted his head, with tears in his eyes, and uttered the words he thought he would never say in all his life: “God help me…”

With these simple three words, a blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky. There was a deafening crash of thunder, the clouds parted, the forest fell silent and the bear froze still in a trance. The atheist couldn’t believe what just happened and then a voice came loud from above. “You atheists make me mad,” boomed the god, “You deny me all your life. You tell others to deny me too and put their trust only in science. But now that you got lost and you’re about to be eaten by a bear you all of a sudden go down on your knees and beg for my help? Suddenly I do exist? You must be joking… I suggest you choose your words wisely if you have anything more to say.” The atheist looked down, realizing that he was not arguing from a position of strength. “Okay, I get your point,” said the atheist, thinking on his feet, while he still had them, “I can see it’s a bit late for me to convert, but what about the bear?… Maybe you could convert the bear instead?”

“Hmmn… interesting idea…” said god, thinking hard, “Okay. It shall be done as you said.” At which point the light dimmed and vanished, the clouds closed, and the noises of the forest resumed. The bear awoke and shook its head. Suddenly a completely different expression appeared on its face. It was calm and peaceful. The bear closed its eyes, bowed its head, and said, “For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful, Amen.” When the bear finished eating, the man suddenly appeared before god. The man looked shocked at him and asked God why he let the bear eat him. God simply replied, “I told you to choose your words wisely. Your whole life you spoke without thinking about the consequences of your words. Now was the perfect time you finally learned your lesson. I did exactly what you said, so what happened to you is your own doing.”