"Real Deal"

Way out there with the cattle,

A horseback in the saddle,

Sometimes they all skedaddle,

And who will chase them down?

Must be those old vaqueros,

Who live to ride, but who knows,

Their horsemanship and skill shows,

A long, long way from town.

That’s the thing about it,

No one who knows can doubt it,

Sometimes I’d like to shout it,

We can’t call them by name.

Out there off the grid, son,

Is where the work, it gets done,

Most of their deeds are unsung,

They do it just the same.

And in the end what men do,

And all the stuff they’ve lived through,

That’s when they get a real clue,

What no one else can see.

And I would rather be one,

Than just pretend and see one,

And that will set you free, son,

The real deal you can be.

Some live their lies pretending,

Hypocrisy unending,

Their fences never mending,

Until their days are through.

But like the old vaqueros,

God’s Spirit throws His lassos,

And brings us to what He knows,

Is authentic, real and true.

“Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven…” (Mt. 6:1, NIV)

Jesus warned against doing good things so that men will notice and praise you. Our world is full of posers and pretenders, who have no real character but perform for earthly adulation. The point of the “Real Deal” poem was just that. In the cowboy world, most of the work is unseen and unsung. But that does not matter to the men who do it. Spiritually, the only audience we should care about is the Heavenly Father and having His smile. If He knows and sees what we do in secret, and is pleased, it should be enough for us even if no one else notices.

Lord, deliver us from hypocrisy and help us to live for Your reward, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, timcox.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.