Borrowing Pens in Church

Jon over at Stuff Christians Like recently wrote a post describing the sinking feeling when someone asks for a pen in church. According to Jon, there are 5 stages he will go through if you ask for a pen: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance (a la the five stages of grief). From the post:

3. Bargaining
”Maybe if I find them a different pen they’ll give me mine back. I mean I know it’s a Uniball Micro Vision which is the best type of pen there is, but maybe I could give them the cheapo pen my wife writes her checks with. Oh no, she didn’t bring in her purse and my church has refused to stock those little golf pencils in the back of their seats. Would it be so wrong for me to ask someone on the left side of me for a pen and then give their pen to the person on the right side of me? Is that neurotic or a stroke of a pen diplomacy genius?”

Not gonna lie, I have done this before. Someone asked me for a pen, in which case I asked my mother for a pen rather than give them my beloved Pilot G-2 gel pen (.38 is perfect for writing in Bibles).