The Poetry of Deconstruction

I am not a poet nor an avid poetry reader, yet this one left a mark. We have talked in my circles about trying to make a living working on the wrecking crew. The deconstructionist feels and acts smart. We may even sound smart. The problem: the Kingdom is no better if we fail to build.

Anybody can wreck something with a sledge hammer. Maybe it is a thought, an effort, an intent, or a strategy. No intelligence or skill is needed. Just nothing better to do. Thanks to Tim Sanders, one of the unsung heroes of the church planting world, for finding this:

As I watched them tear 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 wanted 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 years to do.”

And 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 rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?

Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
“O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!”