Perverse Lips(Cam Rascoe) Studious, learning his craft from his father, uncle and older siblings before him. His elder's vast experience he drew from, eventually perfecting their technique. Jose was a concrete man; three generations of the Lopez family were raised on and from concrete. Industrious, not many days were taken off as he built up his business, the third in his family to do so. Priding himself on providing quality work, he was revered among tradesmen and contractors alike. A river of blood, sweat and tears flowed through the streets of the boroughs of New York City. Concrete work is back breaking labor, yet Jose made it look like an art. He was an artist. Digging long trenches, setting up stakes and boards after leveling the surface, the preparation sometimes took a whole day. Mixing, stirring and then the pouring of the concrete had to be precise. Jose was a master, mentoring many young tradesmen.

Never a rich man, but hard work paid the bills and with his earnings he helped others who had less. A man of faith, he poured his Blessings out and into the lives of less fortunate people. Jose took the time to encourage, then train and employ them. Many eventually ventured out, and started their own concrete crews. A respectful reputation grew into legend for Jose. Sometimes mythical stories evolved about the man who poured five miles of curb work with just a two-man crew in two days. It was really five properties, but five miles makes for a better story. Jose struggled sometimes to pay the bills during the winter months when business slowed down. He didn't have a lot of high-end customers with repeat business and construction couldn't be completed in horrible weather. He would just tighten his belt, work slowly through his savings and take what work came his way. Despite being elite at what he does, life was still a difficult struggle for Jose. That would soon all change through a horrible experience and a great testing of his faith. Jose would be left with a powerful testimony to share and inspire people with.

Jose's reputation made its way to the ear of a developer whose company built many structures around the city. Unscrupulous in nature, the developer decided to contract Jose to do work for him, for the photo op. He wanted to be seen offering the Hispanic Man a contract to show that he was inclusive in his business practices and embraced diversity. There were several lawsuits pending against him for his discriminatory business practices. He, like his father before him, didn't rent to many minorities. All through the 1980's he only hired minorities to work for him that were illegal aliens or undocumented immigrants. He did so because he could pay them a lower wage or not at all. Even the American contractors he employed were hard pressed to get paid after rendering their services. Many were forced to sue. He never cared, he would just tie them up in legal red tape until they ran out of money or went out of business. Then to add insult to financial injury, he would say disparaging things about them to other builders. The lies told had devastating results, because his word held weight. Being born into wealth offered him credibility and respect, minus the work to earn it. He could buy influence or favor, commit multiple crimes, never suffer punishment, and defraud with impunity.

Jose knew nothing of this man's business practices, only his famous family name. When the developer sought him out, Jose was incredibly excited to be in business with him. After the photo op, Jose would never see the man's face again in person. Jose and his crew did an outstanding job and beat the deadline by a week. He beamed with pride as he showed the developer's project manager around the work site. The project manager was highly impressed. Six months later, Jose still hadn't been paid. The job became a huge loss to him, crippling his business. His employees were paid, the tools, material and equipment were purchased. Most importantly his valuable time was wasted on a job that didn't pay rather than a lucrative job. After requesting payment several times to no avail, Jose got the courts involved. In retaliation the developer spread nasty untruthful rumors about Jose being unprofessional. Worst of all he accused the man of doing poor work. That hurt Jose most of all because he prided himself on his work. His good name was all he had, now his business had been all but destroyed. Jose prayed continually through this horrible process; his faith never wavered. He had suffered through far worse, and the Lord always kept him. Jose knew not of God's plan, but he believed that the Lord would deliver him yet again.

After a season of hardship, aid would come in the form of outreach from the community. Jose and his family's great deeds did not go unseen, underappreciated or forgotten. Friends, family and neighbors went to the local media to tell Jose's story and expose the wrongdoer. The press coverage shined a light on Jose, the humble servant of his community. Rivals of the developer got wind of his ill treatment of yet another contractor and decided that they would employ the gentleman. One job turned into five and eventually large enough projects that Jose had to expand his business and hire more employees. He thanked God for Blessing him yet again, delivering him in his time of need. Jose was grateful for the financial Blessing, but more importantly, he thanked the Lord for the testimony he was left with. He would share it as often as the opportunity presented itself. Six years later, Jose owned a two offices, a fleet of vehicles and employed three dozen employees. His prayers had truly been answered and his faith rewarded.

The developer would go on for several decades, causing harm in the lives of many people. Being a sociopath, lacking in empathy, he found great pleasure in first defrauding, then defaming people he did business with. It would seem that the man was untouchable due to his wealth and privilege, or so he thought. His silver tongue and spoon in his mouth had served him well, but eventually what is done in the dark always comes to the light. After beating dozens of lawsuits and trials, he felt that he was invincible. He was not! The other shoe would drop, right on his head. The judge banged his gavel, and the devious developer saw the inside of a prison for the first time in his life. Unfortunately for him, now in his seventies and being convicted or several crimes, he would never see the outside again. State property he would be for the remainder of his earthly life. Jose prayed daily that the man would repent and change his ways before his time was done. Hubris consumed him to the end. Instead of asking for forgiveness, he continued to air his grievances and play the role of the victim to gain sympathy or support. Unfortunately, this was one prayer of humble Jose's that would not be answered. The developer gained the whole world and eventually lost his soul. May God have mercy on him. The blameless poor, now has generational wealth and uses it to uplift people, offering his testimony and sharing the Gospel. As for those perverse lips of the foolish, they tell awful lies and ruin lives no more. Ultimately, the life he ruined was his own.

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