and the man says
        listen brothers listen sisters
        I bring you the word of god
        for I have spoken with him
        place your hands on the TV set
        or the radio
        and pray with me
this is the laying on of hands
        now send me your money
        all that you can afford
        and all that you cannot
this is the tithe

listen to me mister preacher man
I don’t need you to tell me the word of god
I have a bible too
and if I didn’t
it would be five dollars or fifty cents or free
at a church or religious society

but if a man tells me that it is outdated
that he has more recent information
that he has just come from talking with god
himself
personally
then that man is either
a god blessed saint
or a god damned liar
and if that man is wearing
a five hundred dollar suit
in front of a fifty thousand dollar TV camera
and he is asking me to send him my money
so that he can feed the poor
or serve god
then you know which one
of the two possibilities
I believe

I can think for myself
just as anyone else can
they don’t have to listen to me
to tell them how to think or what to think
and they sure don’t have to listen to you
I know and they know

the first rule is be good to other people
that’s hard enough
its worth spending a life learning how to do
and if we manage that
we can start on the second lesson
but until we get the first one right
there’s no way we can do the rest
and there’s no use boasting about
how close you are to god
when you are light years away
from the man in rags standing next to you

tell a poor man or a hungry child
about how god loves him
or how you do
which is the same thing in your mind it seems
when he can see the rich folks zooming by
not stopping
in their cars and planes
and he can see your suit glitter
in the lights
and he can see his family suffer
in the cold
and do you think he believes you
get him food and clothing and shelter for his family
and teach him how to keep getting it on his own
not depending on pity
and you will not need to tell him
he will believe you

but there is a child
dear god there are thousands
going hungry to school
because mama sent the money
from the welfare check
to the preacher
instead of buying food
and the child is too hungry to think
and if he cant think he cant learn
and if he cant learn
he will go hungry all his life

and the man in rags is walking down a street tonight
in the cold
with everything he owns in a paper bag
walking past the warm TV studio
in the cold
walking past the warm houses
in the cold
and he is going to die tonight
in the cold
because everyone is watching the preacher on TV
and getting closer to god
so they don’t need to go out
in the cold
and bring a smelly beggar inside
out of the cold
and feed him or give him a place to sleep
out of the cold
or care enough to
treat him like a human being
or save his life
after all
their souls have already been saved
by the preacher

so you can ask anyone else on this street
who in america today
is the holiest man
and he may tell you
billygrahamoralrobertsherbertarmstrong
or maybe you
but if you ask me
who in america today
has done the most evil in the name of good
I will tell you