Parable 6. Motives, Intentions and...

 
 
One by one in the line for the Judgement of the Lord, each person waits for the verdict. They all share one feeling: fear, seasoned with the uncertainty of impending Eternity. Among them stands a man who has just presented himself to God. “Soon it will be my turn too... Lord help me! How scary,” he thinks. “I wish someone were here with me...”
“I’m right beside you,” – the man heard a gentle voice. “I’m always on your right, have been there your
whole life.”
He turned to see an Angel in a snow-white chiton with a couple of scrolls in his hands.
 “I am your Guardian Angel, so we have met.”
“And I,” – the man shuddered in surprise as he heard a husky whisper in his left ear, – “and I have been on your left side from the very moment you were born.”
All that caught the eye of the man was an unpleasant-looking creature, strongly resembling a human. He was dressed all in black, and carried a whole bunch of scrolls in his arms.
“So you’re always with me?” – the man turned to the Guardian Angel with hope in his voice.
“Absolutely always in all good deeds. We are powerless to defend you when you do evil.”
“And we’re always with you when you’re planning to do good,” – smiled the one in black sneeringly, – “but when you do evil, why should we be at your side? You are already doing our job for us.”
The last words made the man more anxious, and he began to frantically recount in his mind all the good things he had managed to do in his life. When he came to the conclusion that he had never killed or robbed anyone in his entire life, the man calmed down a bit. 
“What did you come with today? An impressive stack!” the Angel asked, pointing to the pile of scrolls in his opponent’s arms.
“I love motives, intentions and ideas,” the guy in black replied, pressing the scrolls against his chest, demonstratively and tenderly!
Now it was the man’s turn to come before the Judgment of God. The man, seeing only the foot of the Throne of God, shuddered at the greatness of the Creator.
To start with, the Angel unfurled his scrolls and announced the good deeds of the man. Then came the turn of the one in black.
“One incident in this man’s life is enough for me to be allowed to take him with me,” said the guy in black, savoring every word. He slowly unfurled the scroll and announced the date.
“While passing through a neighboring village, this man untied a bull...”
The angel nudged the man slightly, as if urging him to answer.
“Yes, my Lord! The bull, sticking its tongue out, breathed heavily. Steam came from its nostrils. I realized it was thirsty and the bucket of water was far away. So I cut the rope with a knife,” the man said quickly in a quiet, guilty voice.
The black-clad guy unfurled the scrolls one by one and read them rapidly. 
“The bull had been punished by its master and tied to a tree for its stubborn temper. When it got a whiff of freedom, it rushed into the neighbor’s vegetable garden, ate the vegetables, destroyed the cowshed, trampled the neighbor’s crops, and caused the whole family to starve,” – the black-clad guy turned and smiled broadly at the man and continued. “The damage drove the neighbor to such despair that he shot the bull and burned down his neighbor’s house in retaliation. On finding not a house, but ashes and the carcass of a dead bull, the owner of the bull became so furious that he shot his neighbor. The neighbor’s sons avenged their father’s death by killing the bull owner’s entire family, for which they were all sentenced to death. I’m done!” – exhaled the black-clad guy, with a satisfied expression on his face.
When he finished, the man trembled and collapsed to his knees.
“My Lord! I didn’t know!... At first I wanted to bring a bucket of water closer to the bull. But in order to do that, I would have had to jump over a fence. I was in a hurry, and the only idea that occurred to me was to cut the rope.”
“I suppose that particular thought came into his head from me,” – chuckled the black-clad guy in the Angel’s ear.
“But I wanted to do a good deed, my Lord!”
“There you have it!!! He’s confessed it himself! He’s mine!” – the black-clad guy snapped his fingers.
“When will you people learn to listen to the voice of conscience, of reason, and stop doing what is easy, calling it good?” – the voice of God thundered in anger. “That was not your bull. Why did you get involved? Who asked you?” 
“I felt sorry for the animal...” the man whispered faintly. 
“Goodness itself!” sang the black-clad guy.
“Shut up, demon!!!” – the voice of God boomed. “You people succumb so easily to the instigation of half-truths, half-goodness and half-responsibility!”
“As you yourself say, Lord, people will use Your words – ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’,” the demon said ingratiatingly.
“It’s a half-truth again! I SAY – ‘The underworld is full of good intentions, but Heaven is full of good deeds’.”
And only the man kept asking the same question:
“What did I do...? What’s my fault...? All I did was cut the rope...”