Here is an old riddle: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. It is greater than God and more evil than the devil. If you eat it you will die. What is it?
The answer: Nothing.
How can this be? In particular, how can one word answer five situations so completely?
What do poor people have? Nothing. Certainly, this is rarely true literally. Many homeless people have a bag or cart of belongings, and perhaps a cell phone so they can be contacted about work. Even the order to which Mother Teresa belonged allowed for three robes: One for wearing, one for washing and one for mending. Still, to have so little in the face of people who have so much can feel like having nothing … and sadly sometimes, like being nothing.
What do rich people need? Nothing! If they decide they do need something, what do they do? They buy it and once again, their need is nothing.
What is greater than God? Why, nothing. Go ahead, name something. We'll wait. (Tick tock, tick tock …) No matter what your faith, if you have one, your God is at the very top, none larger, more caring, more powerful. In short, the greatest of all beings. Or as they say in some theology and philosophy classes, the three O's: Omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent … God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-forgiving. What human being can match that?
What is more evil than the devil? This is the flip side of the God question. Certainly there are plenty of evil people in the world, both historical figures and everyday criminals. But more evil than Satan, he who inspires all evil? Nope. If anything, they should be giving him credit for inspiration.
If you eat it you will die … again it is nothing. If you eat nothing, you will die. If you eat very little, you might be ill or hungry, but you will be alive. Eating nothing, though, leads to nothingness.
The answer: Nothing.
How can this be? In particular, how can one word answer five situations so completely?
What do poor people have? Nothing. Certainly, this is rarely true literally. Many homeless people have a bag or cart of belongings, and perhaps a cell phone so they can be contacted about work. Even the order to which Mother Teresa belonged allowed for three robes: One for wearing, one for washing and one for mending. Still, to have so little in the face of people who have so much can feel like having nothing … and sadly sometimes, like being nothing.
What do rich people need? Nothing! If they decide they do need something, what do they do? They buy it and once again, their need is nothing.
What is greater than God? Why, nothing. Go ahead, name something. We'll wait. (Tick tock, tick tock …) No matter what your faith, if you have one, your God is at the very top, none larger, more caring, more powerful. In short, the greatest of all beings. Or as they say in some theology and philosophy classes, the three O's: Omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent … God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-forgiving. What human being can match that?
What is more evil than the devil? This is the flip side of the God question. Certainly there are plenty of evil people in the world, both historical figures and everyday criminals. But more evil than Satan, he who inspires all evil? Nope. If anything, they should be giving him credit for inspiration.
If you eat it you will die … again it is nothing. If you eat nothing, you will die. If you eat very little, you might be ill or hungry, but you will be alive. Eating nothing, though, leads to nothingness.
