The Appropriate Fashion

The Appropriate Fashion

(“What good is there in your saying to them, ‘God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!’—if you don't give them the necessities of life?” James 2:1
6)

If only you would wear the appropriate fashions,
if only you had proof of your labor,
we might hear what you are saying,
we might ride that wave with you.
But first impressions have caught us in the undertow.

Here is some macaroni and cheese from our potluck,
oh, and an old shirt used as a rag I found in the storage closet.
We have five acres and three thousand square feet but,
not a single place to lay your head, not a single place
for a temporary home.

We must be responsible. What if you steal everything.
And God know, if our insurance caught wind,
we would pay through the nose to treat you well.
We don’t know your background, but we are pretty sure,
from the way you smell, you’ve been smoking that weed again.
You can’t fool us,
we are not children.

I must hurry back upstairs, the worship team is starting to play.
There is a seat near the back I think, right behind the sound booth.
(All he wants to hear is something that sounds like truth.)
All we want to give are tickets to heaven,
all we donate goes into the plate to keep the lights on and
inflate the pastor’s pocket. (Although all he wants is to help
people like you.)

“People like me? What do you mean? I did not schedule this visit.
Someone told me I would be welcomed today.”

Yes, but you need to leave the same time everyone else is dismissed.
We have a long list of ways our charity has been enlisted once a
month
on the third Wednesday of the month.

Stay warm until, and here is some cornbread to take wherever
you lay your head. We’re sorry, but we simply have no accommodations

Here.