The Devil in Us All - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

The Pastor was right about the error, the missed point of the scripture
in the speech of the firebrand, the strident advocate, the president
before the community of nations, the marketplace of international ideas
that the devil isn’t a person, no matter what the thoughts, the beliefs, the certainty
the absoluteness of your convictions, it isn’t a person, the devil is a part of the human
the human condition, the capacity to do evil, to be evil, to abase the holy, to foment
the fruits of evil, the dogs of war, the fruits of sin, of greed, of hubris, of avarice,
coveting, all the vices, no singular cult of personality, of absolute evil
All falling far short, as stewards of creation, good neighbors, loving citizens of this
this fragile world, this small world, where an action on one side of the planet,
reverberates with concussions, rippled waves, on the other side, a tsunami of effect
The call in the good news is to love your neighbor, not judge him, to ponder the log
in your eye, not the speck in his, to see the fault in yourself and strive to live a life
worthy of access, entry in the gate, the place of honor, by your works, your walk
yourself, because we all are the devil, in the failure to live the law, the rules
and the regulations, the commandments, the law of Moses and the prophets.
When we see the chance to do good, do we do good, that is the only real question
the question to merit, not the evil of another, for we are all dross, unworthy, on our own
to reap the reward of the good shepherd, the keeper of the flock, we are all lost;
but for his gift. How arrogant to judge another’s walk, when we each stumble,
fall face down in the mud, stare into the abyss, and are saved by grace, not by works.

September 24, 2006 16:18
Proverbs 31:10-31; Mark 9:30-37, and the speech by Venezuelan President Cesar Chavez to the UN on 9/20/06, calling US President George Bush the devil.
All covered by the Reverend Peter Hey in his sermon at Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH, 9/24/06.