When Is a Position just a Position?

 

When is a position just a position

Especially regarding the Word?

“That’s my position regarding this matter,”

I’m sure you’ve often heard.

 

This is the Wesleyan position

Some would pontificate

And highlighting their denomination

They would go on to elaborate.

 

Or, they quote a renowned source

And with that one, take a stand

In an attempt to convince the opposition

To join the winning band.

 

Often there are so many positions,

Each one sounding like the truth

That we constantly change our position

After reviewing another’s proof. 

 

 

Even as I write this poem

I am confronting this dilemma:

Some, I believe are sincere and genuine

And some with a hidden agenda.

 

I must confess to you, my reader,

I’ve been convinced to change

Somethings that I taught and preached

And now I think them strange.

 

Not strange in that I believed them

Or doubt my teachers’ sincerity

But having diligently searched the Word

I can see little veracity.

 

Some positions have been held

For an inordinately long time

Such that even when the error is shown

Some will not change their mind.

 

Notice I said “will not”

Though you may argue “cannot”

For some see their denomination first

And consider such their lot.

 

 

Primarily it’s men’s traditions

And secondarily, God’s Word

Thus, some hold very strongly to position

Even when position is absurd.

 

It is not easy after many years

To research with an open mind

If firsthand knowledge seems convincing

And has stood the test of time.

 

Notice I said “the test of time”

And not the Bible’s approbation

For while we cannot show it in the Word

Time is our abiding consolation.

 

Sometimes we are gravely afraid

That the truth will find us out

So that the denomination is always correct

Even when we are in doubt.

 

 

Like the proverbial north star

Its position holds for life

And studying the Word in light of its stance

Is better than cognitive strife.

 

When is a position just a position

Especially regarding the Word?

It invariably always is, of course, unless,

It is stated in God’s Word.

 

As you and I know so very well

Positions change over time

And sometimes do so just as frequently

As people change their mind.

 

Stewart Russell © August 23, 2024