Got the wrong message

I was sent (via mass email style from someone I know) a story that is supposed to bless me with god or something. It's about a boy who has potato chips and goes out to have lunch with god.

[Interestingly, some versions have him meet an old woman, some an old man. Yet for the man the smile is still described as 'pretty'. Make of that what you will.]

He meets with an old man, shares his meal with him and think he's met god. As had the old man.

The take away message is: "Have lunch with God........bring chips." Um, what?

Actually, the take away message is given in the paragraph before that: "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a
life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!"

That message is actually nice, and speaks to people being with people, making a connection, and how touching it can be.

So why bring religion into it? Why not just have the boy going to the park and having lunch with someone, making them smile, without thinking they are god? Is that impossible?

You don't need religion as a reason to get together. But that message never seems to be the one communicated...

[END]