Revelations of the heart
regarding how one's money is spent
echoes volumes about character
and our God-given talents.
For Jehovah is far from being poor;
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
He's not into ungodly extortion
to keep you from paying your bills.
By serving two masters,
one will be dearly loved - the other sorely hated;
so one can never be truly happy
until settling the God and Mammon debate.
The wealth of God lies in His Word.
His principle of tithing is a mechanism
to pour out financial blessings upon us.
Therefore, purge your mindset of secularism.
Jehovah desires our faithfulness
to fulfill our ministry to the Earth.
We won't be judged on our daily income -
Know that money can never define... Our true worth.
Learn more about me and my poetry at:
http://www.squidoo.com/book-isbn-1419650513/
Author notes
FYI - Mammon is the church term for the "God of money".
A contest entry
- Bring the Muse... by evlclown.
850 points, ended January 23, 2007, 17 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Tied My Hands by A.N. Divine.
550 points, ended July 13, 2008, 11 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 73 of 73
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gr8 write
this wuz oh so true!! I go 2church, n want 2 "become" the church- (if ur spiritual as it seems u are then yule kno wut i mean.) I struggle with thoughts of suicide n death, but tithing is something I kno is rt! cuz Gods dfnitely blessed me through my tithes and offering-I am a giver and I am very young but I kno Gods the one dat that adds the increase and I truly believe dat I will always "have" 2 give 2 others because my faith is @ work- pray 4me, cuz I kno I need help in other areas, thas4sho-but tithing -well u couldn't have penned it better! I luv dat u wrote money wont ever define our tru worth!! -
The last line is very true. Awesome job with this piece and thanks for the eye-opening share . (I had no clue who or what Mammon was until I read this...)
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wonderful
Wonderful flow of words, and look what you came up with. Such a beatiful poam. God is love. I lover the way you talk about God.
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Opps.. forgot applause..
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I just had a conversation about materialism versus spiritualism and I think this poem really gets to the heart of that debate. There is nothing in this world that is more important than spiritual gifts. Even though I'm not religious, I'm very spiritual, and it is our spirituality that will walk us through the darkest times in life, not what we own but who we are and what we care about. You're right, we can not serve two masters. There must be one reason and one thing we give our all for-- and for those who chose spirituality over materialism, I think they get farther than the rest. Bravo on a wonderfully penned poem. I hope to read more from you in the future
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This reminds me of a sermon I head at the church I attend occassionally .. the pastor told a story about brothers given bags of gold by their father .. to make the long story short, most of the brothers went off and spent their money .. some wisely, some not so wisely .. but one brother buried his gold .. he refused to spend it, and hoarded it, and it never amounted to anything. The pastor explained that this was a metaphor for life .. that we are given gifts by Our Father, and that if we hoard them and do not share them with the world, we're being selfish, and not doing what God wants us to do ..
Though I did enjoy this poem, I have to admit that it's HARD not to stress about money .. when you can't feed your children, or pay your bills, it's hard to remember that God doesn't test us beyond our limits. -
I knew someone who was kicked out of his church because he lost his job and couldn't pay his usual tithe. I was glad to learn a new word and the poem was very nice.
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Wow, this is really good!
My favorite part is:
"We won't be judged on our daily income-
Know that money can never define... Our true worth."
Keep up the good work!
I'd love to read more from you in the future!
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i like this poem
i enjoyed reading
take care
i liked this part
For Jehovah is far from being poor;
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
He's not into ungodly extortion
to keep you from paying your bills.
By serving two masters,
one will be dearly loved - the other sorely hated;
so one can never be truly happy
until settling the God and Mammon debate.
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GREAT!!!!!!!
Oh, how I wish my mom and sister could read this, AND try to comprehend your awesome, truthful penning. It's brilliant!!!!!
POETDONTKNOWIT
WRITING IT HER WAY -
I really needed to read this. This is a very powerful and amazing message. It is so easy to stress about money and not trust God to take care of things. It's good to be reminded of what tithing is and how it affects us. It's a matter of trust between you and God.
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Remembering the coin of little value was worth more because it was given from the heart and not for show or because of someone's demands. Jehovah is a God of love and he would never demand more than we could give. More than anything he wants love and devotion. He guards His name and expects for us to know him intimately so that we can use it, as we would use the name of a close friend. I appreciate that you did that here.
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curious what faith you are?
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First let it be known that money is not the root of all evil. That is not what the Bible says, it says that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.
Now to the poem. I could not agree more with the words that were written. You have definitely shown your stance as a light in darkness by proclaiming the truth of the word of God. A wonderful testimony indeed. I would ask that you continue your strength in Christ and grow as a writer so that the eloquence of the riches of the glory of His grace can fall upon the ears of those who have never heard nor seen what true beauty looks likes.
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I agree the last three words are perfect, they make this poem, end on the best note. I really liked the way you wrote it was so passionate and knowledable..i really liked it.
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The last three words are the best. You hit the nail on the head. Thank you for sharing.
Spreading some love,
Miley -
Very nice write and in so many ways true. Money is the root of all evil and it is also the source of which we all have to live. Giving money to a god that doesnt need it is just pointeless ... Money is for the living not the one that has everything...Great write Thank you for sharing
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Like I told someone else if you are a follower of Christ Earth is your Hell. Great poem my favorite part was: Revelations of the heart
regarding how one's money is spent
echoes volumes about character
and our God-given talents.
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Well written
Very well written, I liked the momentum all the way through.
One a side note I must confess I have not much faith in what you preach, not so much because I'm not Christian (more like a spiritual free-styling hypocrite if anything), but more because, in terms of the Christian gods and concepts of divinity, surely God wishes upon us peace and compassion from within ourselves and not "financial blessings", surely we'd be better of purging our mindsets of material want than the secular trend in the world, which is just a fact of history, and is as unavoidable and subject to change as anything in the universe, no?
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this is great... i love it and well i love it what more can i say? god bless you
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A contencious subject
You have approached this touchey issue sensitively. Nicely written and thought out.
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You are not your job, you're not your car you're not the flat screen in your living room your are a human being and you are what you do, live a good life
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world and its riche
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mone
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thank you for writing this. i think God has brought me here becasue i strugle with my money so much. i never make enough and sometime pay my tithes...not always. and its not that i buy material stuff i pay bills, goto school, have a car, and i have two bills. not big deal but my money disappers. i think i needed to read this because i need to give my tithes or i'll live like this forever. you really can't please the world and God. Thank you becasue by you declaring this it might set me free from my chains of money problems. God bless you. and i hope you win. i truly enjoyed the last verse Jehovah desires our fithfulness.
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Sometimes, the comments are as good as the poem itself, and that is a good sign of interactive poetry. Your write 'rings true'and I know its value [blessing] in our family life, that in my wife's ministry, and in my life. But I also know that God is not dependent on me/us. I used to question tithing, now I do not. It is not 'if we He will', it is the 'giving from the heart' He sees, and the 'how we care for the blessings' He bestows. To all who read this, and to jj, God bless you. Frans
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Thank you for writing that--you said exactly what I feel about this subject. Great insight! I love the part about God not being poor or trying to cheat us--He just wants us to give control of everything to Him.
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Jesus nor His apostles tithed themselves or taught tithing to others. Cheerfully giving from the heart is a virtue. However, fraudulently fleecing the flock by exacting ten percent of parishioner's paychecks under fear of breaking an Old Testament law of tithing is a sin!
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another good piece of poetry that slips religion to the mind and the heart, keep up the good work. a good poem.
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Excellent write, I am a big beliver in giving tithes to God, with all he has givin us 10% seems like nothing, fortunatly for those who don't our salvation is free and that is the greatest gift of all, so I am happy to help the lord's churches and people in need. Again, great write with a great message.
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Good Sermonette
Thanks for being Biblical without being preachy or condescending. You remind us that true worth is not measured by the world, since it is barely even perceived by society. Tithing time is even harder for me to do, and my reminder that He is in charge, no matter what I plan to do. Thank You.
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great write..
great write 3 applauses .. way to go.. i totally concur..
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the lord ask for our 10 percent of our tithes which is not a whole lot to ask for what he has given us and we need to keep our church going with that fund anyways , for those who do not understand i guess they never will untill they repent for there sins and give there heart to the lord i hope its not to late because we are running out of time here on this earth and by the way you can not buy your way into heaven , the price has already been paid and its free , we just have to belive and have faith and stay strong and one day we will go to paradise
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Food for thought. God (Jesus)does not need our money - some of God's people do. What God really wants is our obedience for - "Obedience is better than sacrifice"...
Give according to the prosperity he has bestowed on you, because he has ordained both times of plenty and times of lack. Never ask God to fulfill a need that you are able to fulfill. The end of it all is trust God, not your earthly means, for it will most certainly vanish.
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MALACHI 3:10 (NIV)
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." -
Your words ring of strongly held thoughts and ideas, and emotions throughtout this piece. Thank you for sharing and best wishes to you. Keep that pen handy dear poet. ~Midnight Lace
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Excellent
How amazing this piece is.!!!! I can totally relate to this piece because that is exactly how i feel sometimes.I really enjoyed this piece it really touched my heart so deeply inside.It made me feel so relaxed.It's so beautiful it flew so smoothly.I loved it.I loved every single line of it not leaving a single line out.You did an amazing job on this piece!!! Keep up with the great work!!
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I love this statement: The wealth of God lies in His Word.
His principle of tithing is a mechanism
to pour out financial blessings upon us. This share a very important fact of being a child of the Most Hig God. To give is to be Blessed.
But I was taught that tithing means from ALL things; your time, your money, "Etc". My grandmother was widowed just before the depression and she raised 6 kids; and she taught them that they gave of thier time and stuff from their garden and from the fruit trees. When she canned anything -- the tenth jar was her tithing to the pastor. The tennth popholder she made was to go for her tithing. The tennth unit of whatever she had was the Lord's: no questions asked. I am glad I had a faithful grandmother and that she made it througth the Depression.
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I have been in 'the church' for a bunch of years, and have heard it all, from one end of the spectrum to the other - some base the argument upon guilt and some base the argument on duty or obligation and some even skew the message for giving toward the rewards you get in return. Does God need money? There are not enough expletives to place in front of the word "NO" It is ludicrous to think so. I remember the story of a little boy who was told, in Sunday school, to give to God every week. So he gathered up his allowance, stood out in the yard and when asked by his father what he was doing, he said, "well, i was told i was supposed to give my money to God so i am giving all of it to Him" The father replied, "that's good son, i am proud of you, but what is it you are doing out here?" The child "replied, i am throwing the money into the air, the way i see it, what comes down is what God does not want, so i get to keep the rest.
Good luck in the contest,
Blessings and best wishes,
~richard
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wow thats awesome really touching. actually the context reminds me of my very first piece which was rather similar but mine was written in sixth grade. so it was obvoiously no where near as good as yours. its a really good translation of the bible i like. i go to a christian school but am buddhist, your poem makes me think alot about god and the bible, you know what i might convert back....... lots of love sandie
awesome poem!!!! -
Some can give so much, but don't; others can't give much, but do. How does one judge what they should give? Each set of circumstances is different. Food for thought in these lines.
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For some reason, "he owns the cattle on a thousand hills" seems a marvelously biblical/contemporary image/allusion. Distanced enough to have a strongly metaphorical or parablistic sense, but solidly real at the same time.
Would it be possible to work more of this kind of allusiveness/elusiveness into the poem, rather that be quite so direct and literal. I agree with what you have to say; the saying itself could be strengthened.
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Cool write and definitely true in a religious way. I am religious and I do agree with what you've written here, JJ.
I especially liked:
Jehovah desires our faithfulness
to fulfill our ministry to the Earth.
We won't be judged on our daily income -
Know that money can never define... Our true worth.
All true stuff you posted here, JJ. I'm supposing you believe in that verse, right, or is it something you thought up from knowing many other people? Either way, it is true.
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Amen
Amen!! Man I never really thought as strongly about tithes as this poem almost begs us to. Nice, strong words. -
Wow....
this was meant for me to see today. I have had many questions and to see this is really the word makes me very satisfied to know the Truth behind Thithers. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful truth. Keep writing.
Much luv,
Ephiphany
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Prove me...............................
I will open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing which you cannot contain. Straight from the word of God....This is a piece full of profound truth that needs to be heard. It provoked alot of thought in me I know..and on the Mohammed debate there is not one for me...common sense here: serve a God who tells you to kill non-conformers or serve a loving God who offers a free gift of salvation to ALL who CHOOSE to except....Do the math....Great write here!!!Thanks for sharing!!!~~Toni~~
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This is truly a great poem. In fact, this is the only thing in the Bible that God tells us to test him on. It says that we will be greatly rewarded, to paraphrase, if we pay our tithes. I have witnessed this amazing miracle first hand. Great poem!
Write on!
~*~SP~*~
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Excellent Write
This is a really good poem. I love "By serving to masters, one will be dearly loved- the other sorely hated" I love that you can't serve two masters (God and the World) How you have to choose one. I like the rhyme scheme and how you worded a lot of the poem. I love how you put "the wealth of God lies in His Word" because God's wealth is wisdom, and the only way to recieve wisdom is through God and reading his word. this is a great poem, and it makes you think about how you're spending your money. As Christians we should live to give and love to give. Good Job
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Interesting
As an ordained minister I have preached the concept of tithing for years....however, lately, God has laid another perspective on my heart by convicting me to ask, "How can you place a percentage on grace?" Interesting question isn't it? -
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To reply to your comment on jjbreunig3's poem Giving Tithes to God, I heard a story on the news a few months ago. It was about a man who had a lot of money, but years ago when he didn't, he started by tithing his 10%. Now he owns a business and racks up so much money, that he lives on the 10% that he would have tithed, and tithes the other 90%. Isn't that amazing? I believe that we all like to think that we would do something so humble were we in his position, but who of us would? Truly something to ponder on.
Write on!
~*~SP~*~ -
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Thank you for your response concerning tithing. Jesus said, "to whom much has been given, much shall be required." Material wealth in itself is not evil, but Scripture makes it very clear that we are to be good stwards of what we have been given. Wealth is meant to be shared with those that are less fortunate than ourselves, and it is to be used to glorify God. As long as we are faithful in those things, God will shower blessing down upon us.
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well written.. I believe in tithing and also believe in helping the helpless, who are unable to help themselves...
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Well Done.
I see where you are coming from here. Had to pause for a moment though. Well expressed, and I know there's a choice we all have to make according to our faith. For God does not want us to give begrudgingly either. So it's in the spirit the battle takes place. Thanks for sharing you, pen on poet!
Peace, Timothy aka poeticweaver
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Umm...
I totally got lost in the fist stanza... it's really boring I am sorry. I know you pay points for feature so I am leaving a comment but thats how I feel. Sorry!
A MURDEROUS LAMENT <\33 -
great poem and youre exactly right, a Tithe is the tenth, and sure.. money wasnt the commodity back then but i or the church doesnt have use for a tenth of the steaks in my fridge, the tithe went to the levites (the priests) to susain their working, and the clergy of whatever denomination you attend are the levites. its most important to remember that tithing is between God and you, like you stressed in the poem, the church will prosper, the body of christ will Not wither, but if money is your God and you cannot get past the worldly reality to give.. You will. Also, Christ came to fulfill the law, not toe end or break it. We carry his good news and completion to the world, he meant for us to know not only.. do not commit adultry, but dont look at her with lust, do not murder and do not have violence in your heart, Make an offering, give your finest as in the days of your ancestors, but now give what you can spare at least the tenth, if not more. Its easiest to think that he gave us breath, gave us worldly bodies, and every matieral that passes through our hands, and we give to remind ourselves of that and help support his kingdom on earth that we are a part of. The poorest most starving families have made the tithe and survived, they were blessed and we are here to take care of eachother, everyone Can do it.. Thank you for being so bold. God bless, be well.
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Although the poem is good, I do not agree with your ideas about tithes. I am a Christian, and I think this is one of the most misunderstood part of the bible. Abraham never tithed on his own personal property or livestock. Jacob wouldn’t tithe until God blessed him first. Only Levite priests could collect tithes, and there are no Levite priests today. Only food products from the land were tithable; money was never a titheable commodity.
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thoughtful and true...I loved the second stanza
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Excellent Poem
Nicely Done,Very well written ,I Liked this piece of work,Keep on writing!Lisa K Haslett Raytown Missouri!
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Very good write
I did so enjoy this write.... Oh, so impressive and so true... I do agree with you on this issue my fellow poet... However, there are many more who do not... All one can do is lay out the truth and that's it. If it is not accepted, it can not be forced. I can only change me and no one else.
Beautiful write thought, very thought provoking. Great expression of the word and the gospel... Keep on composing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Very spiritual
This was very spiritual and full of truth. A wonderful piece.
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cool!
i like this,i have struggled money wise,though have never been lost in the thought of it,sure more money would be nice sometimes but the bigger picture is priceless,so why try to estimate?
well done on a good write.
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Jehovah desires our faithfulness
to fulfill our ministry to the Earth.
We won't be judged on our daily income -
Know that money can never define... Our true worth.
splendid piece , I love this!!!!!! -
Very True!
Nice poem, well written. Even us christians need to realize that we do not need to be rich in the pleasures of this world, but be rich in our faith to God.
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Love it. The whole idea of 'Purging (one's) mind of seculariism' was a fresh, challenging and truthful one.
Great write, I will read more of your stuff in the future.
God bless xx
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By giving we acknowledge that he is the source...
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Very Smart
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to admit I'm not sure what you mean...are you saying we SHOULD tithe, but it doesn't have to be a lot, because we're judged from within, or are you saying we DON'T need to tithe, because...we're judged from within, um, anyway it was a great poem. -
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About titheing...
Yes, as Christians we should be titheing - as the minimum of our giving; in addition, we should be making gifts and offerings beyond our tithe. The OT refers to giving a tenth; the NT implies that we should be willing to give all to God. We honor God with our tithe, regardless of the church's carnality with respect to money. Our tithe acknowledges God as the true Source of our life. --Joe
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Good write, good message, and good form.
Keep the pen in hand. -M!KE-
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Loved This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is so true!!! Tithe is the ultimate show of faith and trust in God to do what he says he will do if we tithe.This is the only thing in the Bible he saysto "prove me" on. He says he will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that we cannot contain if we tithe faithfully. Great job and a topice that needed to be wriiten about. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!Toni -
Humbling
Indeed it is humbling to read such true words. I have seen many who have given much to their secular churches, yet they give so little to those who are truly in need. I suppose we are sometimes confused by what tithing and charity are. You have certainly explained very well the difference here. Hugs, Patricia
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Nice piece of poetry with a heartfelt message
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First of all, I understand what you are saying, but what is "Mammon"? I have never heard of that word. Also, I think you meant "ungodly" instead of "ungody". I agree with you on this message. It is not what you give, but on how your heart is when you give. Wonderful write and good luck to you in the contest.
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