January 12th

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; 

    evil will not sojourn with you.” Psalm 5:4

you have no truck
with those who rely
on their personal morality.
just as you have always done,
you roundly condemn (and
hold accountable) those who
claim some sort of divine anointing
yet like to roll around in muck.
you refuse to be a landlord
for all who traffic in shadows
and never put a place setting
at the table for cruelty.
you will not let evil and anger
become members of your entourage
nor do you pretend hate is holy
or offer lodging to lies.
simply put, you take no pleasure
in words spiked with razor-like barbs,
with our excuses for soft violence,
those sins disguised as good choices.
not because you are prim and proper
but because you love too deeply
to let us drink cups of poison
or eat bread kneaded
with the yeast of bitterness.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman