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,
They leave your mouth agape.
What passes for entertainment now
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 t.v. 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 nothing 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 holy righteousness
Are rocky, lonely places
You don't find gold on the side of the road
Or many friendly 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 your fear says 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 pursuit 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 arduous and hard, obedience 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 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 love and in trust
He talked and He walked and He showed them the Way
And that's what He expects of us.
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,
They leave your mouth agape.
What passes for entertainment now
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 t.v. 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 nothing 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 holy righteousness
Are rocky, lonely places
You don't find gold on the side of the road
Or many friendly 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 your fear says 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 pursuit 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 arduous and hard, obedience 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 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 love and in trust
He talked and He walked and He showed them the Way
And that's what He expects of us.
©by Voo Shining Stone
Jan 27, 2005
2 a.m.
