“Oh, give me fame!” a youth once cried
When touched by Fortune’s wand,
“A fame that shines from shore to shore
And is known in every land,
And I will never ask again
Or seek more from thy hand.”
Through years he grew and grew in fame
A lawyer great was he,
That wielded well the legal power
For gain and petty fee
Until bound down by greed of gain,
No longer was he free.

“Oh! give me power,” an artist cried,
“To paint with steady hand
A picture that shall far excel
All others in the land,
And I shall have the riches all
That aught could e’er demand.”
He painted then a picture true;
Folks marveled at the deed.
He soon won fame and wealth and power.
But, seized upon by greed,
All slipped away — power, wealth, and fame —
And left him sore in need.

“Oh! give me power to rule the land,
To sway affairs of state,
And I’ll have wealth and power and fame,
And will be truly great,
And never, never will deplore
Or wish to change my fate.”
Time passed, and power was given him;
Of state he held the rein,
Until upon his conscience clear
Was left full many a stain,
For ah! so many deeds of shame
He did alone for gain.

“Oh! give me wealth, on every hand
To gain me thousand fold;
Take fame, take power, take honor all,
But give me yellow gold.
My heart will be as light and free
As was the gods of old.”
Then wealth was given to the youth;
Without his least endeavor,
It quickly gained a thousandfold.
Wealth proved a powerful lever
That robbed the youth of honor bright
And doomed his soul forever.

“Oh! give me wisdom, grace, and peace,
A heart of purity,
An honest word that’s always good
For any surety,
And I will always live content
Throughout futurity.”
The youth was given wisdom grand
And purity of thought;
Then honor came, with fame and wealth
And glory all unsought.
Yet he despised the baser things,
For which the weaker sought.

O youth, choose wisdom while you may;
Let those who will choose pelf.
Contentment’s yours with fame assured,
And these alone are wealth;
While conscience clear will loud proclaim
You are an honor to yourself.

Poet: Lorain McLain

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Okay… Let’s just be honest, whenever most people hear anything about religion, their first reaction and instinct is probably to cringe or brush off the whole matter entirely.

Why? Most likely because it is a subject that is associated with extreme cases of fanaticism, it brings about a lot of conflicts and controversies, and even offends easily.

Religion is famously known for: manipulation, stagnation, repression, ignorance, bigotry and is too often a threat to liberty. And rightly so. I do agree. With that said, I recommend you to read two of my posts as well as encourage you to do a personal, extensive, and honest research on your own regarding this matter. Why?

As intellectuals (critical thinkers), I believe we owe it to ourselves to interrogate, examine, and ask hard questions regarding matters touching on faith rather than choosing to ignore them or even worse— follow blind faith. Click here for the first post.

Who speaks the truth with regards to a genuine, sincere and true relationship with God? Is it Buddha? Mohammed? Jesus? Zoroaster? Confucius? Joseph Smith? Guru Nanak? Krishna? Among others? Find out on this second post:

My heart overflows with a goodly matter; I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Psalms 45:1

Thank you for reading this blog. Feel free to share it with others whenever and wherever.🙂