Judgment

There was once a man who accused his father
Of a sum of offenses, which would shame his father
For the rest of his life.

Such it was, that all had sympathy for the son
Who shamed his father, until a righteous messenger
Overheard what he was saying.

The messenger, grumpy and possibly sounding arrogant
Said, "You remember something which never occurred."
The man insisted his father had told him this secret.

To which, the messenger said, "Then keep your father's secret
"For you tell his secret to everyone, he will be ashamed."
Yet another man, concerned with the truth

Came and intervened. "Why do you harass this man?
"Do you not see that his father had committed a terrible wrong?"
The messenger spoke wisely to the man concerned with truth,

"We all have sinned like thus. His father may or may not have
"Acted shamefully, yet it was a secret which should have been kept.
"Now I know about the secret, and so does all who listened.

"It is only a matter of time before this man's father
"Be implicated in the crime, and whether it were true
"Or not, only the LORD knows. Yet, it is not our business to be this man's judge.

"Rather, we are to deliver one as such, as the son had claimed to have forgiven
"His father, yet you encourage him in this evil matter of spreading slander
"Throughout the community? Who is right? Let God be the judge

"Yet when you read this many years from now,
"Do not slander my character, for I strongly prefer to stay on the man's
"Behalf who was not present to defend his character, and it is yet you who have sinned against him.

"Will you sin against me, in spreading hatred for my rebuke
"Or will you allow the incident to be forgotten
"Like the son ought to have forgotten his father's secret?"