Whose Words
Whose Words?
By Mark Stucky
Hissing whispers in the garden
twisted the warning words of God.
A shadowy tempter in the wilderness
shouted enticements to the Word made flesh.
Twisted words whisper and shout today,
from screens, podiums, and even pulpits,
spouting conspiracies and misinformation,
pushing discord, division, and condemnation,
promising power, fame, and friendship,
flaunting false pleasures and successes,
but leaving hearers hurt and angry,
or lonely, anxious, and depressed.
Listening instead to words of Jesus
centers us on truth, love, peace, joy,
and working together
for the good of us all.
So many voices clamoring for our attention,
a noisy din of distortions and contradictions,
a continuous cacophony of words.
Some resulting in harm, some in healing.
Whose words will we heed?
Whose path will we choose?
(First published in Agape Review, 19 April 2023. See also my poems “Tweeting the Truth in Love” and “What Would Jesus Tweet?”)
(Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com.)
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