There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to the church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised, and as if in response, Brother Thomas began to speak. “I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this birdcage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, “What you got there, son?”
“Just some old birds,” came the reply.
What are you going to do with them?” I asked.
“Take them home and have fun with them. I will tease them and pull out their feathers to make them fight. I’m going to have a real good time.”
“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?”
“Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I’ll take them to them.”
The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those birds, son?”
“Huh??!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They are just plain old field birds. They don’t sing – they ain’t even pretty!“
“How much?”
The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10.00?”
The pastor reached into his pocket and took out a ten-dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand.
In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley, where there was a tree and a grassy spot.
Setting the cage down, he opened the door and, by softly tapping the bars, persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
That explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and the pastor began to tell this story.
One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, glorifying and boasting.
“Yes, sir, I caught a world of people down there. Set me in a trap and used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got them all!“
“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked.
“Oh, I’m going to have fun! I will teach them how to marry and divorce, hate and abuse each other, invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I’m going to have fun!”
“And what will you do when you get done with them?” Jesus asked.
“Oh, I’ll kill them,” Satan said.
“How much do you want for them?” asked Jesus.
“Oh, you don’t want those people. They aren’t any good. Why do you take them, and they’ll hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you! You don’t want those people!!” said satan.
“HOW MUCH?” Jesus asked.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your tears and blood.”