'Gotcha' concept of God

My post yesterday about the exploding watermelon reminded me, in some obscure way, of a story I hadn't thought of in years.


It seems that a preacher and another fellow were out on the golf course. This would be their first time playing together.

The fellow asked the preacher how many strokes he wanted for his handicap. The preacher replied that he didn't need any strokes, but he'd take three 'Gotcha's'.

The fellow didn't know what a 'Gotcha' was, and asked the preacher to explain. The preacher replied, "You'll see."


On the second or third hole, just as the fellow was about to strike the ball on a very important swing, the preacher snuck up behind him, dug him in the ribs, and said, "Gotcha!"

Shocked, the fellow turned around. The preacher winked and said, "That's one."


Guess who had the lower score?


I think I must have heard this story originally as part of a sermon. Makes sense. The preacher was probably trying to illustrate the 'Gotcha' concept of God, how some people seem to always be looking over their shoulders in anticipation of someone sneaking up behind them or something going wrong ... maybe even a distant relative of "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong and at the worst possible moment".


My reluctance to cut into my brand-spanking-new-hand-picked watermelon strikes me as a bit similar. "Once bitten twice shy" is another old saw that fits.


Well, I'll probably have a 'stare down' with the gigantic beast later today. Will have to let you know if "Goldenrod, the magnificent watermelon slayer" is successful or not.