Taskmaster 1975

There is a taskmaster,
And when I feel as if my breeding entitles me
to a privileged situation,
The taskmaster sends me to the latrine
With a rag and a worn out scrub brush.

There is a taskmaster
And when I am beguiled into trusting too much in man,
He yanks my dress and pinches me with ungentle fingers.

For my task,
After a quick study of the world
I have chosen God for my task
And God’s taskmaster, for those who slip,
Is to the point.

For the gentle servants, the world is a bitter cup
Even the gentlest of servants was crucified by the rabble.

We dream of Eden
And awaken to the serpent.
Ours is a life of extremes
Of hate pitted against compassion
Of deceit against honor
Unbearable despair, and unutterable hope
Ours is a working faith.

Do you suppose you work for yourself?
“Because I work, I earn money, and with it, I buy and possess.
It is my reward.”
Or if you are displeased, you scorn or sell,
Thinking that yours is the power to buy and sell.
Although we may be certain we are motivated by our own desires
There are purposes unfolding
God is behind us.
God is watching.

Or is God your task?
Then, like me, you cannot be satisfied with the world,
Because truly, one does not earn power to buy and possess.

If you have chosen the One men call God,
All things have already been appointed,
Just as the Master appoints a good horse and provisions
To his servant who journeys on the errand.
The things you buy are they not His, in His service?
Wherever you go, and whatever you do, shall you not answer?

This taskmaster is just, and not only for those who have chosen him.
So by whatever motive one walks,
One is met with just return in the long run.
An opportunity to learn the way
With healthy respect, as one told me

Our desires sometimes hide God from us,
Although we are but instruments of His.
But the Light has been appointed
So we can walk in it.

Friend,
Remember, choose to be.
Thou art a child of God.