Objective Is Subjective

 

 

 

Objective is subjective

Synonyms they’ve become,

Ah, but it was not always like this

But today, that’s how it runs.

 

Let me make this point

Now I have got the chance

And I promise I will be objective

Re the point to be advanced.

 

When did these two

Become synonyms, you ask,

But to pinpoint a particular time

Is a difficult task.

 

I use to think and still do

That they were really opposites

But given the way we argue now

Synonymous is the edict.

 

“You are being subjective,”

One says to the other,

Whereupon the other replies,

“You are being a bother.

 

 

 

Both argue objectivity

But within a specific context

Thus, as one analyses their content,

They argue from a pretext.

 

Three plus four is seven

It matters not the base,

Is a clear case of ignoring context

For in base 5 it’s not the case.

 

The lines are now blurred

Re objective and subjective

And arguing based on such a flaw

Has become addictive.

 

“Context is what matters!”

We are great at saying this

But our practice is so at odds,

It’s this tenet we miss.

 

 

Steeped in our traditions

As passed on for years,

We will disregard a biblical text

And what it actually says.

 

Objectively we will pretend

When subjectively we are

And true objectivity will elude us

And the two will be on par.

 

So, what is objectivity?

Let the dictionary speak:

It’s based on observable phenomena

And to this we must treat.

 

Ignore personal bias

And open up your mind

To the actual therein expressed

And accept the new find.

 

Twelve verses in Revelation

Speak to a specific time,

However, we misconstrue all of these,

And void an objective mind.

 

 

 

Subjective we are

But objective pretend

And those twelve verses though clear

We not so cleverly bend.

 

Explicit is ignored

And so too, the implicit,

And sticking to denominational ideals

Become our remit.

 

Objective is subjective

Within denominational confines

And pretext trumps context

And abuses our mind.

 

Read the Bible

With an objective mind

And therein pearls of great price

You will find.

 

Stewart Russell © October 25, 2024 

 

Compute the Following

 

 

Software and hardware

Upload and download

Uppercase and lowercase

Underline and bold

 

Online and offline

Twitter and Facebook

Safari and Firefox

Yahoo and Outlook

 

Buffer and surf

Freeze and crash

Google and view

Recycle bin and trash

 

Cut and paste

Insert and delete

Backslash, forward slash

Undo and repeat

 

Edit and format

Font and style

Tools and tables

Layout and file

 

Documents and folders

Text box and chart

Shapes and themes

Elements and SmartArt

 

Scroll box and scroll bar

Background and portrait

Megabyte and memory

Desktop and landscape

 

Log off and shut down

Spreadsheet and Excel

Sleep and hibernate

Apple, Samsung and Dell

 

Stewart Russell © 2013

 

I Know Someone

 

 

I know someone

That loves me at my worst,

A love that’s not just put on

One that’s not rehearsed.

 

Not my wife

Though she does so too

But a love far surpassing

What any love can do.

 

I know someone

Whose love is unparalleled,

A love that cannot be matched

One that cannot be quelled.

 

Not my mother

Her love has stood the test

But I have come to realize

Her love is not the best.

 

I know someone

That loves me infinitely

Enough to send His Son

To actually die for me.

 

Not an erotic love

Or a familial one

But a love that continues after

Both of these are gone.

 

 

I know someone

That loves me eternally

And whose love will go on and on

Throughout eternity.

 

Not a fictitious love

Or one that ebbs and flows

But a love infinitely beyond

Any that Hollywood shows.

 

A love that is practical

Yet is also spiritual,

A love that is eternal

Yet presently fundamental.

 

That meets my present need

Yet is full with promise

That shows me the very reason

Why I now exist.

 

Yes!  I know someone

That loves like this and more

And this depraved human being

He simply loves and adores.

 

His love is so puzzling

That I just cannot explain

Why in spite of all my faults

He loves me again and again.

 

His love transcended

My utter sinfulness

And by his freely flowing blood

Brought me back from hell’s abyss.

 

 

Spread-eagled on that cross

In love reached he out to me

In spite of my derision

My contempt and profanity.

 

Such love is inexpressible

By any human tongue

And some that understand it not

Upon it they still frown.

 

I too lack understanding

But I know this love is true,

And unlike any earthly love

You can trust it too.

 

Stop being disappointed

By love that’s like the dust

And like me know someone

Whose love you can trust.

 

I know someone I reiterate

That loves me from inside,

He resides within my heart

And with Him I abide.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2019

 

The Imperial Edict

 

 

The imperial edict

Was a straightforward “Go!”

Spread the Gospel everywhere!

People need to know.

 

All power is given to me,

Jesus did say,

The propagation of the gospel

Is his way.

 

Go ye therefore

And teach all nations,

Teach them to observe all things

Commanded by the Son.

 

 

It’s an imperial edict

From the King of kings,

Lord of lords is Jesus the Christ,

Creator of everything.

 

The edict is to the church,

To the born again

And the message is authorized

In Jesus’ name.

 

It’s an imperial edict;

Go from coast to coast!

Baptize in the name of the Father,

The Son and Holy Ghost.

 

Those eleven disciples

Have greatly multiplied,

Exponentially would be the term

Though they have died.

 

 

But the edict still stands

And is relevant today

To every single born again disciple

To point the way.

 

Believers are not alone

For Christ is with us,

Note: “I am with you always…”

The words of Jesus.

 

It’s an imperial edict

To extend God’s kingdom

By preaching the glorious gospel

To every nation.

 

 

The imperial edict

Is a straightforward “Go!”

Spread the Gospel everywhere!

People need to know.

 

Stewart Russell © January 24, 2025

 

Wake Up Dems!

 

 

Wake up Dems

From your delusions of grandeur!

Take the blind folds off your eyes

And see the bigger picture.

 

Party before self

Though not before integrity,

On this memorial Errol Barrow Day

Seek party dignity.

 

For it has waned and waned

Until it’s almost gone,

At least that’s how it appears to me

Every awakening dawn.

 

 

Your mirror image is blurred:

Evidenced by a MY-opic view

And you have forgotten the purpose

Out of which the party grew.

 

The gender-struggle

And old guard versus young

Give the Bs the more weaponry

To knock you around.

 

It is acutely heart wrenching

On this Errol Barrow Day

To see how far you have departed

From the Errol Barrow way.

 

You are asleep in your misery

While this country suffers

And I dare say as long you in-fight

Democracy won’t prosper.

 

Who will light the fire

To scorch the heels of the Bs

Rather than this senseless pulling down

Of the Errol Barrow Ds?

 

Barbados is in dire need

For an alternate governance

But given the hapless current trends

There’s not a chance.

 

Either your base has dwindled

Or you need stir it up

For unless you can win back past Ds,

You are out of luck.

 

 

The BLP will have it their way

For the next fifteen years

Whether PM Mia Mottley continues

Or she disappears.

 

I do not mean via death

So please, no such morbidity,

I am just remembering her own words

Particularly vividly.

 

So, wake up Dems

From your delusions of grandeur!

Get rid of the MY-opic view

And see the bigger picture.

 

 

Happy Errol Barrow Day

To one and all!

And to the Democratic Labour Party,

This is your wake-up call.

 

Stewart Russell © January 21, 2025

 

Last Word

 

 

 

When arguing with a woman

Just remember this,

Last word goes to the lady

If you don’t wish to be dissed.

 

Last word wins the dispute

In the woman’s case,

Any talk after her last word

Will be an absolute waste.

 

I am talking from experience;

There are many in my life,

Don’t mind I am February born

I was not built for strife.

 

It does not matter the age,

Let her have the last word

For anything you say after this

Is treated as being absurd.

 

 

You cannot win an argument

With these special souls,

They identify a specific detail

While men see the whole.

 

For the ladies it is emotive

For the man it is about the fact

So, you can argue all day long

They will never see that.

 

The man will note the action

The lady sees the effect

So, it matters not what is brought

It will be a total reject.

 

We are wired differently:

That is, the woman and the man,

And I have absolutely no doubt

This was the Creator’s plan.

 

 

Have the argument if you must

But understand this, Mr. Man,

You will not win that argument

Try as much as you can.

 

Last word wins the argument,

Give it to the ladies, please.

Remember they are built for distance,

We are built for speed.

 

Stewart Russell © January 19, 2023

 

Houdini Christians

 

 

Houdini Christians

Just waiting to escape,

Tired of this sinful world

With all of its hate.

 

Trapped here below

While all heaven awaits,

Can’t wait to get up there;

Today would be great!

 

It is getting worse

As it was prophesied,

It is later than we think;

None can deny.

 

Houdini Christians

Just waiting to escape,

It’s not likely to get better

At any rate.

 

Like the escape artist

Whose name was Houdini,

Christians are about heaven

Not anything earthly.

 

 

Trapped here below

While heaven awaits

But still don’t like the idea

Of becoming the late.

 

Ignoring the command

To go and evangelize,

The world at large is being left

To its inevitable demise.

 

Go to Matthew 28

And there you will find

The mandate given to Christians

For all mankind.

 

But we are escapists

Just like Houdini

Hoping the Lord will appear

And usher in eternity.

 

 

 

Houdini Christians:

A group standing alone

Just waiting for the Lord Jesus,

Obsessed with going home.

 

Our hearts are disquieted

And for Jesus we yearn,

It has been a long, long time

Since he promised to return

 

Houdini Christians

Just waiting to escape,

Tired of this sinful world

With all of its hate.

 

Stewart Russell © October 6, 2024

 

To Fix A Broken World

 

 

 

None can fix the world

Not one of us can,

But we are doing our best to destroy it

As though that’s our plan.

 

Every era has left it

Worse than the era before

As though in a competition

To get the worst score.

 

But the loser wins nothing

And the aftermath is grimmer

Yet there is this weird feeling

That he is a winner.

 

 

Our world is a broken puzzle

With pieces out of place

And given our so-called intelligence

This is a universal disgrace.

 

A Nobel winner for this

And A Nobel winner for that

Yet few can derive the benefits

And this is a sobering fact.

 

The masses are unchanged

In the barrel at the bottom,

And while a few enjoy the good life

For most it’s mostly rotten.

 

Those that try, pretend

That they are fixing the puzzle

But the sureties they put in place

Are not for ordinary people.

 

 

The world is a broken puzzle

For certain, a puzzle to me

And when I try to understand it

I experience futility.

 

None can fix the world,

None in this world I see

And they that reap the benefits

Are saying to leave it be.

 

It is fixed for the wealthy

And suited to the strong,

Only the vulnerable would say

Something has to be wrong.

 

For some it needs no fixing,

For others it is out of shape

But none of us knows how to fix it

Especially here of late.

 

 

Some pieces are hidden

For the benefit of a few

Thus, the majority can do little

Even if they knew.

 

There is one who will fix it

Though not fix it like we would,

And the change he has facilitated

Was purchased by his blood.

 

His is really not a fix

But a complete makeover anew:

Transformation from within

And also, a change of view.

 

 

Make the man right

And all will be rearranged,

This is not a fix, I must add,

But a genuine change.

 

Stewart Russell © September 7, 2021

 

Funny

 

Would you defrock a Bishop

For wearing a frock?

Would you disable a croc

With a piece of crock?

 

Could we get wet with water

That was not wet

And why take your robotic snake

To the village vet?

 

Is there any correction

For a topsy-turvy world?

If so, to which insane head-shrinker

Could it be referred?

 

Funny, these questions

That I am asking you

For the lines are so blurred

Few have a clear view.

 

 

Gay is not merry

And straight means not gay

And funny as we used to know,

Has come a long way.

 

Cause funny isn’t funny

As we knew back then

And it’s no laughing matter now;

It’s a huge problem.

 

Could a lie be a lie

At the same time it’s true?

And if this could ever happen

What could we do?

 

We’d have to believe it

And doubt it at the same time

And thus, nobody would feel

We are out of our mind.

 

Funny where we are

And how far we have come

To believe the total nonsense

That once was dumb.

 

 

The brighter we get

It seems the dumber we are

And we are missing the mark,

Not narrowly but by far.

 

Do you see what I mean

By this topic funny?

Now, if it is your idea of a joke

It’s not so for me.

 

Stewart Russell © September 18, 2024