A man walked into a church and went to confession.
“Father,” he said, “I think I almost did something wrong.”
The priest asked gently, “What do you mean by almost?”
“Well,” the man said, “I was very close to making a bad choice… but I stopped myself just in time.”
The priest nodded. “Temptation is strong, my son. But remember — even getting too close to it can lead to trouble. Stay away from that situation.”
Then he added, “For your penance, say five prayers and put $50 in the poor box.”
The man agreed, said his prayers, and walked over to the donation box. He paused for a moment… then started walking away.
The priest, watching from a distance, called out, “My son! I saw that — you didn’t put anything in the poor box!”
The man smiled and said, “Oh, don’t worry, Father… I just pretended to. And according to your rule, that’s almost the same thing, right?”
