#96 Sodom

And Olen said, Because the cry of Bere Adventist Hospital is great, and because their sin is very grievous; come down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto You; and if not, You will know.

But the Lord stood yet before Olen. And the Lord drew near, and said, Wilt thou that I destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within Bere Adventist Hospital: Wilt thou that I destroy and not spare Bere Adventist Hospital for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from Me to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from Me: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

And Olen said, If You find at Bere Adventist Hospital fifty righteous within the hospital, then You can spare all the hospital for their sakes.

And the Lord answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto you, a human, dust and ashes, while I am only the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou that I destroy all of Bere Adventist Hospital for lack of five?

And Olen said, If You find forty and five, You can hold off.

And the Lord spake unto Olen yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found at Bere Adventist Hospital.

And Olen said, Okay, okay. If You can find forty in the hospital, You can leave it alone. But ten bucks says You won’t.

And the Lord said unto Olen, Oh let not the little humanoid get perturbed, but I’m gonna lay down some religious smack on your righteous indignation: Peradventure You figure out what ‘peradventure’ means, and what if there shall be thirty on the hospital grounds?

And Olen said, You’re on. You can even count all the patients and their families. Even the unconscious patients. You can even count my chaplain. You don’t have a chance. You won’t find thirty there.

And the Lord said, Behold now, I have stooped down to barter with the pitiful earthling; What say I can dredge up just twenty?

And Olen said, ‘Dredge’ would be the operative word. I still think You’re out of luck on that one.

And the Lord said, Oh let not my little creation lose his little temper. I’ll make this a bit more obvious for you. Say there are only ten righteous in your hospital. Do you really want Me to destroy the whole place, do you really want Me to give up on them, do you really want Me to turn my back on them, do you really want to just abandon ship, tuck your tail between your legs and run back to America? Do you think you’re too good to serve My children? Do you think they don’t deserve our time, our love, our energy? You’re talking about giving up on them for eternity. You’re talking about souls lost. You’re talking about... Hey, are you listening to Me?

And lo, Olen spake, saying, Yeah, sorry. I just don’t think I can look You in the eye. I’m kind of ashamed of the attitude I’ve had. Can You help me out?