The Human Trap (Part 2)

My Grandfather used to say “It is all black and white until it comes to green.” (Part II)

So, in part I we discussed the complexity in the concept of compromise and identified one of the basic causes of the erosion of moral or ethical integrity…the LOVE of money. This realization brings to mind another saying that affords us the opportunity to take an introspective look at this issue in our own lives. Growing up in “the hood” we had a saying – “Don’t be a Sell Out” and this saying was usually employed challenge someone’s integrity in the very moment of decision. Clearly the term is more than applicable in this scenario, because when you trade your “black and white”, non-negotiable limits for monetary gain of some sort that is what you do…sell out.

Do you have a price point, an amount where you would “sell out?” Is there a dollar amount that would turn you like a public official who sells out their vote to the contributions of some selfish organization? What are you prepared to sacrifice to get that promotion or land that deal? Has your LOVE of money negotiated the surrender of your morals as you face the pressures that you once stood firmly against? I hope that you can answer “NO!” to all of the above. What our future generations need are more shining examples of everyday heroes who truly stand for what they believe, in the face of potential profit. It doesn’t have to be as grand as a protest on the steps of Congress; it can simply start with returning the extra money when the cashier gives you too much change. The truth is, when it is all said and done, no words ring truer than those of Matthew 16:26…”For what is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Often I refer to a poem that I have previously penned to help me convey a specific thought. I wanted to share this one, because it speaks to the core of this entry. My prayer is that this entry persuades you to remain…priceless! Be Blessed

The Human Trap

Needless greed, senseless greed consumes the world with blinding speed.

Ambition is often the subtle disguise, cloaked in a shroud of well-worded lies.

In a world where moral rules barely exist, like a web, you’re entangled as you try to resist.

This cancerous plague that eats souls alive, and manipulates your will as you fight to survive,

by changing what you want in to what you need, just that quick, your drive has become your greed.

Beginning sly and swift, eating away at your soul, stealing your trust, your peace, and then your control.

Until your friendly face is only a distraction, pursuing your pay off in every interaction.

Your flashy smile becomes a masquerade, like the blinding glimmer of a deadly blade.

Private whispers of malice let secrets slip, the same loose lips that sink friendships.

Yet the role you play is not as much the shame, as is your choice to exist in this futile game.

Be careful as you climb to your treacherous height, because your stepping stones by day,

are your stumbling blocks by night.

Once you reach the top to breathe the crisp clear air, you’re choked by distrust and lonesome despair.

You look back on your life and your heart, so cold. You’ve gained the whole world and yet lost your soul.

Soon reality crashes, as you fall from the sky, into a wretched grave, where your integrity lies.

You struggle to find someone else to blame, the mere users you called friends that now mock your name.

Head in hands, tears flowing, all alone you sit. Abandoned and desolate in a quicksand pit

Now the deeper you get, the more you dig, in a mud hole fit for such a greedy pig.

It is then you understand, in life, what means so much. Success is not measured in what you gain, but in who you touch.

Remember these words til you breathe your last, open your heart to your future and leave your greed in the past.

Copyright 2005 by William T. Holt