JAY was speaking: “My neighbour put his barking dog by the fence where I kept my kennel and it upset my dog. I tried moving it to a different place and he moved his dog. I went next door and asked him not to put his dog next to my dog. He told me he would do what he liked and there was nothing I could do.”

We were picking apples. I smiled at him: “Not friendly!”

“All he said was that he could do what he liked on his land and I couldn’t stop him.”

“True enough,” I agreed, “I’ve picked the lower apples – I need you to hold the stepladder.”

“OK. I came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was quietly ignore him and his dog and find a way to keep my dog happy.”

“If we could move the stepladder in a couple of feet, I can get that bunch of apples,” I pointed out.

“You know the part that bothered me is that he was proud of going to church. He was always telling me about what happened in church. How can someone go to church on Sunday and be so horrible during the week? When I was a child, I went to church and I thought I understood what we were told to do. He was such a hypocrite. He said one thing and did another. I prefer to be honest and true to myself and try to live my life as a good man than go to church and be a hypocrite.”

Jay was right. Some people go to church – makes them feel good – but they come out and behave as though they have not learned a thing. We all need to learn to live with love for others.

Alan Coode

Reader in the Parish of St Austell