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52 - A Tale of Babel (V)

Rest done. Where to start?

By God, this is a hard meat to chew.

Who can be proud of that they were born with?

Is one with eyes proud that they can see?

Is one with ears proud that they can hear?

But a blind man who works his sight

And a deaf man who works his ears

They’ll say, ‘I hear, I see, out of my own will!’

The humble are those gifted by their birth.

The proud are those who work,

When one’s kings, and judges are self-made,

What then? Why pray?

Should you expect a humble leadership

From one who has worked for it?

Sure, they’ll honor God with their lips,

But their hearts shall say, ‘I deserve this,’

Because they were not born of it

But worked to be better than those—

Those begotten, ridiculous Abels

Who began their lives favored by God and men!

But the city I built, I built it.

The brass I forged, I forged it.

I didn’t know, but I learned it.

But look over there, Abel has his gifts!

He has nothing to be proud of,

Because he’s been given all!

 

As I look upon these notes,

This is more a raving about me

Than it is a general truth.

Of course those born with gifts can be proud.

There’s no greater fool than one who takes pride

In that which he has received at the start of life.

I only state there’s a difference in the fable,

The moral, between born rich and made rich.

The one born shall learn he has nothing to be proud of.

The one made shall learn he can be proud.

He shouldn’t be proud, but he can be,

Because unlike the old rich, the new worked for it.

To be self-made is poison for the soul.

God doesn’t approve of pride in any form,

And there’s no one more proud than the self-made man.