There once was a rich man who was near
death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his
money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So
he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth
with him.
An angel hears his plea and appears to
him, "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you."
The man implores the angel to speak to God
to see if He might bend the rules.
The man continues to pray that his wealth
could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God
has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed,
the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold
bars and places it beside his bed.
Soon afterward the man dies and shows up
at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Seeing the suitcase
Peter says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"
But the man explains to him that he has
permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure
enough,. Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right.
You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its
contents before letting it through."
Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the
worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and
exclaims, "You brought pavement?!
