I wrote the following late last night and it really
was me, more or less talking to myself and venting and
trying to encourage myself and I thought about it all
day long and couldn't wait to get home and read it
again and when I got home, I had a very powerful
newsletter in my mailbox from a well-known and
respected man of God in which he was stating pretty
much what I had written in the poem so I took that as
confirmation that I should share this with everyone so
here it is. Is it just my opinion or does anyone else
see it like this??? Blessings
 
 

        Walking and Talking and Staying on the Path
 

The world is full of spin doctors and talking heads
that talk
When all the world is crying out for those who walk
the walk
The politicians tickle the ears, tell us what we want
to hear
And promise us futures so shiny and bright but always
starting next year.

The news medias censor the worst down to bad
Then tell us the bad with a laugh
Show us the freeways full of Hollywood heroes
And beckon us off of the path.

Fundamentalist fanatics, they call those who walk
there
Mental cases thumping Bibles in hate
While the rock stars on drugs and the gangstas and
thugs
Are idolized at the world's open gate.

Tolerate! they scream in rage, tolerate our sin
And they tolerate but hate and berate those who are
born again
The songs they teach our children today to sing and
imitate
So filthy when you hear the words, you feel like
you've been raped.

What passes for entertainment would make a blind man
blush
They've got their rights and we've got none so we look
away and hush
That's the way of the world, we tell ourselves,
there's nothing we can do
And the tidal waves fill the earth with a lie while
they wash away all of the true.

We feel so helpless, we feel confused, we wonder what
comes next
Saturday morning cartoon shows full of violence and
sex
Our children lose their innocence before they even
start to talk
And all because they have no guides that know how to
walk the walk.

Sometimes the world and the Church look so much alike
That you cannot tell them apart
God is love, they will say, how can you judge me today
If Jesus really lives in your heart?

And we cower and nod and embarrass our God
Cause we don't want to embarrass the lost
So we blend in and pray that somehow they'll find the
way
But to lead them there is just too high a cost.

But on Christian tv where the Gospel is free
And the love and prosperity flows
Prophets thrill us with tales of how they're living so
well
But they can't tell us where the money tree grows.

Most televangelists make you feel so condemned
If you don't send your pledges in quick
Tonight if you pay we'll send miracles your way!
And send a prayer cloth to lay on the sick.

They drive around in limousines with bodyguards and
chefs
In mansions live while the masses give till there is
no more left
Just once to see a preacher stand up on t.v. and say
The need is great and I see your state and I'm sending
you  money today.
How can the world think Christians are different if
all they see is greed?
Gimme the fortune and gimme the fame and Lord, send
others to meet all the need.

The paths of holiness and righteousness are rocky,
lonely places
You don't find gold on the side of the road and you
don't see smiling faces.

You cry your tears and you face your fears and you
swallow all your pride
And you show God's love to your enemies though you may
feel like you're dying inside
Few rewards you find on that long, narrow path till
you get to the end of the road
As you watch the crowds run in their worship of fun
while you're trudging along with your load.

The path of least resistance is full and the path of
resistance is bare
More often than not you'll see no one beside you but
your heart knows that Jesus is there
And shame for the world and it's sin bows your head
and you cry out for redemption and glory
Though it's heartbreaking and hard, sacrifice has a
reward and it's there at the end of the story.

But the world plays it's games and the Church calls
it's names
And the airwaves are filled with the talk
While God's Heaven awaits to open up pearly gates
At the end of that path and that walk.

The world could not contain the books of all that
Jesus said
So they recorded His most important words and we read
them now in red
And all of the things that He said He would do, He did
them in perfect trust
He talked and He walked and He showed us the Way and
that's what He expects of us.

by Rhonda Love Jackson
Jan 27, 2005 2 a.m.