SERVICE.
NOT all that is high is holy;
Not all that is sweet is good;
Not every desire
Toward which we aspire
Pleases our God as it should.
Sometimes the joy that we covet
Is not a joy when possessed;
And to labor right on
Till our duties are done
Is better, far better, than rest.
He who by pride is exalted,
He who as monarch is known,
Less honored may be
By the Master, than he
Who stands at the foot of the throne.
For better is it to be humble,
To serve in the lowliest place,
To labor and plod
With the veriest clod,
Than the likeness of God to efface.
For the soul, like a delicate needle,
Will move as desire has swerved,
And point at the last,
When Death holds us fast,
To the one we've most faithfully served.