The tax-deductible gift

One day an officer from the income tax bureau called up a church. The minister answered the phone. The officer said to him, “Is it true that Mr Alan Smith has given your church fifty thousand dollars in charity?”

The minister was shocked. “Who? Who?” he asked.

The officer repeated, “Mr Alan Smith.”

“And what are you asking about him?” said the minister.

“Has he given your church fifty thousand dollars?” the officer asked again.

The officer was checking up on Mr Smith to see if the fifty thousand dollars should have been deducted on his income tax. The minister felt that Mr Smith definitely had that much money. Otherwise, he would not have told the income tax people that he had made the donation.

The minister paused. Then he said, “He has not yet given it, but I am sure that soon he will give it. I am so happy that you have given me his name. You are after him to see if he has given us the money, and I will also be after him to make sure that he does indeed give us the money.”

From:Sri Chinmoy,The mushroom and the umbrella, Agni Press, 1981
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