Have you ever been somewhere listening to a speaker and found yourself nodding off? It’s a common problem. The thing is, whether you’re listening to someone drone on and one in class or in church, even if it’s interesting, it’s easy to feel yourself nodding off. None of us mean to do this, but it’s hard to stay alert. The reason is that when you’re sitting there listening, you’re not being active. For some people (I’m one of them), closely fixating on the person speaking is almost hypnotic. Fortunately, the education system has started to become aware of this, and teachers are learning that an interactive learning environment helps people be more alert. Maybe it’s time for preachers to pick up on this and try to make their sermons more interactive somehow. If you’ve ever felt yourself nodding off as someone is speaking, you’ll sympathize with the unfortunate gentleman in the joke below.
One day Mrs. Jones went to have a talk with the minister at her local church. “Reverend,” she said, “I have a problem — my husband keeps falling asleep during your sermons. It’s very embarrassing. What should I do?”
“I have an idea,” said the minister. “Take this hatpin with you. I will be able to tell when Mr. Jones is sleeping, and I will nod to you at specific times. When I nod, you give him a good poke in the leg.”
In church the following Sunday, Jones dozed off. Noticing this, the preacher put his plan to work. “And who made the ultimate sacrifice for you?” he said, nodding to Mrs. Jones.
“Jesus!” Jones cried as his wife jabbed him in the leg with the hatpin.
“Yes, you are right, my son,” said the minister.
Soon, Jones nodded off again. Again, the minister noticed.
“Who is your redeemer?” he asked the congregation, motioning towards Mrs. Jones.
“God!” Jones cried out as he was stuck again with the hatpin.
“Right again,” said the minister, smiling.
Before long, Jones again winked off. However, this time the minister did not notice. As he picked up the tempo of his sermon, he made a few motions that Mrs. Jones mistook as signals to bayonet her husband with the hatpin again.
The minister asked, “And what did Eve say to Adam after she bore him his 99th son?”
Mrs. Jones poked her husband, who yelled, “You stick that goddamned thing in me one more time and I’ll break it off and shove it up your a**!!!!!”
