Preachin’ and Meddlin’

At a southern Church, an older lady was listening to the sermon, in which the parson was preaching fervantly against all the common sins, from gambling, to murder, and everything in between. The lady swayed in her seat, and murmured “Amen, Amen” from time to time. But when the parson hit on the subject of snuff-taking, the lady sat bolt-upright and said, “Now he’s left preaching and taken to meddling.”

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Another version by Michael DeRosa:

Two elderly, excited, Southern women were sitting together in the front pew of church listening to a fiery preacher.

When this preacher condemned the sin of stealing, these two ladies cried out at the tops of their lungs, “AMEN, BROTHER!”

When the preacher condemned the sin of lust, they yelled again, “PREACH IT, REVEREND!”

And when the preacher condemned the sin of lying, they jumped to their feet and screamed, “RIGHT ON, BROTHER! TELL IT LIKE IT IS… AMEN!”

But when the preacher condemned the sin of gossip, the two got very quiet. One turned to the other and said, “He’s quit preachin’ and now he’s meddlin’.”