Root$

This tree has leaves that can keep someone, so down to earth,

Eventually rooting a man six feet deep beneath its dirt. Breaking your back, nine to five all week for thin slices of paper.

But you have to eat, and those bills won’t waiver.

And your car needs gas, and you owe a couple of favors. And your hairline needs a taper, and oh, those shoes you’ve been waiting months for…

Are these what you consider to be the fruits of your labor? Take a moment before you ask, think a second before you answer.

Take a second and realize how vanity has become the cancer.

All these “buts” and “whys” come Sunday in your suit and tie, to pay your tithes. Scrolling God’s name while you review your payroll.

His name should have been first, but His came after the 1^st, which read: “Reward Yourself for All YOUR Hard Work”

In words so bold, you fold your check and slide it into your purse.

Some see money as a blessing, when it is also a curse. I don’t mean taxes, lottery, or the ATM fees.

I mean the turmoil that it creates, it is the spark to the gasoline.

And the motive behind the trigger, how no one is a killer, until the price is right.

Why no one is a dealer, until the money looks tight.

The root of all evil sounds like it bears forbidden fruits.

Leaves that can change the appeal of how sin might be perceived in the eyes of our youth.

Don’t be color blind by the collard greens, root your faith in the fruit that God seeds for you.