It reminds me of a tale I read as a child which goes like this: Once there was a burglar and he has some members too in his gang and they would act like saints. The leader of that gang would walk on bricks of gold instead of bare earth. When asked, his followers would say that he does not want to impure earth by his sinful feet. King of the country heard their popularity and invited them to the royal feast. They did the same when came to meet the king. He was impressed by these “saints”. The saints prayed for them and went away. Later, in the night, those saints did burglary in the palace.