A Bag Packed to Go Either Way

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I was entering a supermarket when a guy approached me.

"Want something to read?" He asked. He hand me a pamphlet that said: Heaven or Hell, Which Road Are You Choosing?

I stuffed the pamphlet in my pocket and walked away before he could engage me in conversation.

Later that night I laid in bed, turning over channels on the television, knowing that I was close to sleep, but looking for a reason to stay awake. I came across a Barbara Walters interview show about Prince William and his upcoming wedding with "a commoner".

That aggravated me. A commoner. If there's anything I hate more in life is snooty people I don't know what that might be. I can't imagine what it might be like to live in a country where you have to kiss the royal ass of a group of people.

Commoners! They say the word as if they are speaking of garbage.

So, this commoner got to thinking about royalty, and heaven and hell, and other people making snap decisions on how I should be living my life.

I suppose that I have a bag packed to go either way. As Billy Joel said, the sinners are much more fun.

Through the years, I've certainly been trained to shoot for heaven and eternal bliss. Yet I have been raised as more a commoner than royalty.

I glanced at the pamphlet. It warned of the downfall of gambling, drinking, and all sorts of sexual-deviant behavior. All things that have been visited and revisited in the times of most mens lives.

And it got me thinking. What if the heaven and hell test isn't graded on some sort of curve? What if what you've done on the weakest days of your life is enough to tear you asunder for all eternity?

I'm sort of hoping that God has a sense of humor. The pamphlet warns that heaven is a narrow road and that many will not be able to make it all the way down the path. It also tells me how beautiful of a place that heaven is and I have to wonder how the guy in Jubilee's parking lot, dressed in a filthy jacket, with a Jesus Lives baseball cap knows all that.

I have never been more than a commoner and I certainly enjoy the company. I've hung around rich, snooty people who believed they were better than me. They weren't and I was bored to tears besides.

I've encountered a number of people who've tried to save my soul. They talked to me as if they are better than me. They aren't.

In the end, I suppose, it's important to be ready. I have two bags packed and I'll go where I'm told to go.

If 'Go to Hell' is the final declaration and I'm stuck drinking and gambling and such for all eternity, well then let's just say, I'm prepared.

I'll see the rest of you commoners there.

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