Confidence Is not Competence

 

 

Confidence and competence:

Do not mistake the two,

Often, they have gone together

Just like a sock and shoe.

 

The sock before the shoe

Is the normal sequence

Thus, this appropriate analogy

Shows the difference.

 

Competence should come first

Followed then by confidence

However, the other way around

Causes accidents.

 

Just like driving a vehicle,

Competence must come first

And so, we develop the competence

And not the insane reverse.

 

Confidence before competence

Is flirting with disaster,

It is like a monkey handling a gun

He has not even mastered.

 

 

Think of a medical doctor

And the studies he undertakes,

The more competent he becomes

The less mistakes he makes.

 

 

 

Or, take an airline pilot,

Commuting to distant lands,

Though confidence is very necessary

Competence is a greater demand.

 

Too many lives at stake

Especially in large aircraft

Would you feel confident with pilots

Who just managed a pass?

 

 

That’s a rhetorical question

So, you need not respond,

I have already selected the answer

That both you and I stand on.

 

Competence and confidence:

Get the order correct

Or else like so many before you

You may become a wreck.

 

Many an accident occurs

When we exceed our skill set,

And if perchance our life is saved

We may incur great debt.

 

 

So, just a word of advice:

Please don’t mix these up,

When confidence exceeds competence

You could run out of luck.

 

Stewart Russell © January 18, 2025

 

“Forward March!”

 

 

“Forward march!”

Is the clarion call,

As long as you are born again

It's to you and all.

 

By the centre,

It is, “Forward march,”

With the sword of the Spirit

And a faithful heart.

 

Marching in time

With our Commander,

Captain of heaven’s hosts

And evil’s vanquisher.

 

“Forward march!”

To conquer the foe

So, the lost, their Redeemer,

May come to know.

 

Though conflict rages

Without and within,

We will still have the victory

Over the devil and sin.

 

“Forward march!”

And jettison the baggage

While trusting the Holy Spirit

To ably manage.

 

 

 “Forward march!”

In Twenty-Twenty-Five,

Marching together as a unit

To definitely thrive.

 

Forgiving past disputes

Yet learning from them,

Let us all be in “Forward march!”

To evade this problem.

 

For we are God’s army:

Meaning, the born-again,

And God will always be with us

In joy and through pain.

 

Leaving none behind

Whether weak or strong

But in agape love and Christian unity

Bringing each other along.

 

Sharing another’s burden

Fulfilling Christ’s law,

“Forward march,” together as one

Though differently flawed.

 

Strength in numbers

Like the proverbial sticks,

Opening the eyes of one another

To the enemy’s tricks.

 

Fearing for the weakest

And the one less comely

In the recognition that in Christ,

We are one family.

 

Having a vision

That goes beyond self,

Seeing beyond one’s own growth

To the body’s health.

 

 

We are in it together;

“Together”: the buzz word,

Yes, forward we march together

With vision unobscured.

 

You, guarding my back

And I, protecting yours,

Alert always for opportunities

That is, for open doors.

 

More than just a slogan

Must be “Forward march”

Or we have inadvertently retreated

Right from the start.

 

Valuing one and all

Despite personal perception

And being aware of the danger

Of self-gratification.

 

 

None is a Samaritan

And none is a Jew

But brothers and sisters in Christ,

Both me and you.

 

Eliminate all biases

And all prejudices

And let’s not judge like Pharisees

Or Sadducees.

 

But in honour

Preferring one another

For a cup of water in Jesus’ name

Is to God’s honour.

 

“Forward march!” as one,

As in the Trinity

And the gates of hell will yield

Under this unity.

 

And so, I will end this

Just like I began,

Entreating we build one another

Not body slam.

 

“Forward march!”

It’s the clarion call,

As long as you are born again

It is to you and all.

 

Stewart Russell © December 6, 2024

 

What Independence Means

For some Independence is a holiday

A day away from school

Or a chance for working people

To put down their pens and tools.

It could mean a time to indulge

In the folk culture of the day

As Barbadians reminisce and recall

Through singing, mime and play.

For some it is the eating of conkies

And other seasonal foods

Or displaying old fashion appliances

Which have been long removed.

For some it’s reflecting on the past

And the simple way of living

When the community was a family

And life was not so distressing.

For others it is the nostalgia

Of things uniquely Barbadian:

Our language, our songs, our rituals

That defines for the world a bajan.

But more than all of the above

And none of these should be omitted

Independence is a purpose

To which we all should be committed.

The charter and object of self-rule

As a responsible and loving people

With faith in God and peace with all

As two fundamental principles.

A people of unity and respect

In spite of our diverse skills and ideas

Charting a model for the wider world

Recognized as the bajan way.

A proud yet humble people

Working and supporting one another

With pride and industry our motto

And every Barbadian a brother.

Weathering the storms together

As we sail our ship of state

Trusting in God as our helmsman

And being craftsmen of our fate.

Stewart Russell © November 2018