Wreckers

I watched them tearing a building down, A gang of men in a busy town; With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell, They swung a beam and the side wall fell.

I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled, And the men you'd hire if you had to build?" He gave a laugh and said: "No, indeed! Just common labor is all I need. I can easily wreck in a day or two What builders have taken a year to do."

I thought to myself as I went my way, Which of these roles have I tried to play? Am I a builder who works with care, Measuring life by the rule and square?

Am I shaping my deed to a well-made plan, Patiently doing the best I can? Or am I a wrecker, who walks the town, Content with the labor of tearing down?

(The above poem is copied from the October 5, 1939 issue of the GOSPEL ADVOCATE.)