The Most Difficult Job Poem by john tiong chunghoo

god is great
but nobody
wants to be god
because he holds
the most difficult job

some believers pray
to him as if he owes
them money and fame
when their prayer is answered
they lavish him with offerings
and when not, coldness
seizes his heart and soon
he is tempted to turn to
another god of his own making
one that he thinks will grant him things

some place their gods everywhere
on the floor, in caves, everywhere
that they think they need a god
and they call him kitchen god
rice god, door god, sea god,
sun god anything to their liking
of a god that could service them
their whims and fancies

between them God struggles
to find a real believer to show
his real identity, to teach the rest
a lesson of sincerity not only to Him
but their fellow human beings
and that's usually an unpleasant job
that necessitates the extremes
of water and fire to shake up
the men's conscience