THE DILEMMA OF A FRIEND

Through trials and triumphs
I will stick with you Lord
My eyes have seen
My ears have heard
The dilemma of the unbeliever
Who runs from pillar to post
Seeking gods carved out of images
Offering adulation and sacrifices
To a god who has no eyes to see,
And ears to listen. Who has no arms
To save but asks for money instead.

This is the story of a friend
Who inspite of all admonitions
Refused to listen and take heed
But patronized gods who wanted more
They gave him black soaps
They gave him scented lotions
They gave him colored candles
Things worked good for him
And he felt on top of the world oblivious of the doom
Which awaited him. He made money. He was the toast
Of every party and all the beautiful ladies on the street
He was the favorite of the group but he forgot the old saying
That he who sups with the devil must have a long spoon
Catastrophe like an ill wind struck and before you could say jack…

All he had acquired over this period began to crumble
Everything he labored for began to take flight
And his world came crashing like a pack of cards
He lost everything. Lost his sanity. Lost his dignity
He lost everything because he wouldn’t listen
He became a shadow of his old self begging for alms
Friends took turns as they fled from him
Leaving him to pine away gradually. Friends he fed
All were gone. No one to share in his misery
In his time of trouble, his gods couldn’t save him
Let alone bring him back all his sudden loss
He lost everything because he served a dead god
Carved out of wood image, who couldn’t see
And had no saving hand like my sweet Jesus.