Temptation Poem by Njousi Abang

Satan tempts you
To do what is in your
Power to do and achieve
Feats which you have the
Potentials to achieve.
Satan brings nothing new
For all was is and will
Always be as per
The Master's grand design.
Look at it again this way;
For forty days and forty nights
Christ walked in the desert
Thirsting and hungering
And in a trance satan
Showed him the cities
Of the world as they are
Today glittering and shimmering
And asked Christ to bow to him
So that he could be given possession
Of what is was and will always be.
Not being satisfied with the response
He asked Christ to turn stones into bread
Which again was in His power to do
And Christ reprimanded him:
‘Thou shalt not tempt the lord thy God.'

Now look at how man today,
As he was during the time of Christ, is
Stooping low daily to the ploys of satan
To achieve what he can achieve
By dint of hard work,
Discipline and perseverance,
Which is in his power to attain.
We simply can't resist hunger and thirst.
The devil puts blocks on our path to success
So we can turn to him for clearance
Instead of staying focused and learning
In order to overcome and achieve
God's design for us in time and space.
We want the fast lane that leads to doom.
We sign pacts with satan, who in turn
Clears the blocks he intentionally puts,
For an invaluable price that all fools must pay.

We simply can't fight for a day plus one
Without succumbing to evil attitudes.
Yet we bear the sign of the living Lord
Like the Jews who shouted,
‘Crucify him! Crucify him
And give us evil, Barnabas.'
As goodness gradually fades
And many suffer and die of poverty
We daily succumb to the will of satan,
And do our worse for humanity.