James walked into church one Sunday morning, and the priest almost couldn’t believe his eyes.

James had never been known as a churchgoing man. In fact, as far as anyone could remember, he had only ever shown up for weddings, funerals, and the occasional free meal afterward.

After Mass ended, the priest hurried over to him with a warm smile.

“James,” he said, “I have to say, I’m very happy to see you here today. What made you decide to come to Mass?”

James scratched his head and answered honestly, “Well, Father, I’ll tell ya the truth. A while back, I lost my hat. And I really loved that hat.”

The priest listened carefully.

James continued, “Then I remembered that Willie has a hat exactly like mine. And I know Willie comes to church every Sunday.”

The priest’s smile slowly faded.

“So I figured,” James said, “Willie would have to take his hat off during Mass and leave it at the back of the church. My plan was to wait until after Communion, slip out quietly, and steal Willie’s hat.”

The priest frowned. “James, that is a terrible reason to come to church. But I noticed you didn’t steal Willie’s hat. What changed your mind?”

James nodded. “Well, Father, after I heard your sermon on the Ten Commandments, I decided I didn’t need to steal Willie’s hat after all.”

The priest’s eyes filled with emotion. He placed a hand on James’s shoulder and said, “So when I spoke about ‘Thou shalt not steal,’ you realized it was better to go without the hat than risk your soul?”

James slowly shook his head.

“No Father, after ya talked about ‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Adültêry’, I remembered where I left my hat.”