One Sunday morning, the preacher stood up in church and began his sermon titled “Forgive Your Enemies.” He spoke passionately about kindness, patience, and letting go of grudges.
After a while, he decided to ask the congregation a question.
“How many of you here have forgiven your enemies?”
About half of the people in the church slowly raised their hands.
The preacher looked around, slightly disappointed, and said, “Let me ask again… How many of you have forgiven your enemies?”
This time, more people raised their hands probably around 80%.
The preacher smiled but wasn’t fully satisfied yet. So he asked the question one more time, louder and more seriously.
“How many of you have truly forgiven your enemies?”
Now almost everyone raised their hands… except one little elderly lady sitting quietly in the front row.
The preacher noticed her and said, “Mrs. Johnson, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?”
The sweet old woman calmly replied, “Oh, I don’t have any enemies.”
The preacher looked surprised. “Mrs. Johnson, that’s quite unusual! How old are you?”
She proudly answered, “Ninety-three.”
The preacher smiled and said, “Well, Mrs. Johnson, would you please come to the front and tell the congregation how someone can live to be ninety-three and have no enemies in the world?”
The tiny little lady slowly stood up and carefully walked down the aisle while everyone watched with admiration.
She reached the front, turned to face the congregation, adjusted her glasses, and said sweetly:
“I simply outlived every one of those idiots.”