It came to pass that a lawyer died in a car accident on his 40th birthday and suddenly found himself at the Pearly Gates. A brass band was playing, the angels were singing a beautiful hymn. There was a huge crowd cheering and shouting his name. Absolutely everyone wanted to shake his hand.

The lawyer was amazed. “How could things possibly be any better?” he asked himself.

Just then St. Peter himself ran over, apologized for not greeting him personally at the Pearly Gates, shook his hand and said, “Congratulations son, we've been waiting a long time for you.”

Totally confused and a little embarrassed, the lawyer looked sheepishly at St. Pete and said: “St. Peter, I tried to lead a God-fearing life. I loved my family. I tried to obey the 10 Commandments. But you know I wasn’t perfect, so congratulations for what? I honestly don't remember doing anything really special while I was alive."

“Congratulations for what?” St. Peter asked incredulously. “We're celebrating the fact that you lived to be 160 years old! God himself wants to see you!”

The lawyer was awestruck. For a moment he stood there, his mouth wide open. When he finally regained his power of speech, he looked up at St. Peter and declared: “I lived my life in the eternal hope that when I died I would be judged by God and found worthy. But there must be some mistake in your records. I only lived to be 40.”

"That's simply impossible,” St. Peter declared. “I personally added up your time sheets.”