Not Easy at All

 

 

One of the hardest things to do

Is to challenge your own beliefs.

 

I received the above quote

From an influential elder

That played a pivotal role in my life

As both pastor and teacher.

 

I found the quote to be true

Especially regarding my beliefs,

I am what I grew up on

And my religion is chief.

 

What I was taught

Especially from my youth

Became my photo lens

For determining truth.

 

Being very trusting

Of my pastors and teachers,

To accept without question:

Was a desirable feature.

 

Back then it was declared

To be the written Word,

Thus, to question or disagree

Would have been absurd.

 

So, I drank it all up

And passionately preached it too

Just like I was taught

And probably, so did you.

 

Such that when I was forced

Those beliefs to defend,

I was quick to the draw

And only too eager to offend.

 

 

A dispensationalist to the core

And of the pre-tribulation too:

Nothing was ever allowed

To vanquish those views.

 

Jesus was coming soon

Meant of the imminent kind

And for me that definitely had to be

During my lifetime.

 

From 1948 to the present

Jesus was expected to appear;

Israel becoming a nation

Signaled the end was near.

 

 This is over a generation ago

Yet most still hold to it,

Therein lies the problem

When belief becomes an edict.

 

Traditions are so strong

Re the hold they have on us

That when they are proven wrong

In them we still put our trust.

 

It is critically important

Our beliefs stand upon the Word

And not necessarily

What for ages we have heard.

 

Time does not alter fact

Neither can it change the Word,

God’s Word stands forever

Regardless of what you heard.

 

Challenge your beliefs, I say,

In the light of God’s Holy Writ,

Find out if they are biblically based

Or just an uninformed habit.

 

Much of what we believe

We are afraid to put to the test

For fear that if it be found in error

It would rob us of our zest.

 

I could never face my church

If I find out that I was wrong

So, let me hold on to my beliefs

And continue to appear strong.

 

To challenge my own beliefs

Requires me to be honest

And to accept what the Bible says

In the event they fail the test.

 

It requires me to be loving

In how I share that truth,

Not in a condescending manner

Even when displaying the proof.

 

I must also be faithful

To the clarity of God’s Word

And to present it as it truly is

Even if friends are disturbed.

 

It requires me to be humble;

The Spirit must hold full sway,

It is he that reveals the Holy Word

And tells me what to say.

 

One of the hardest things to do

Is to challenge your own beliefs:

However, when one is able to do just that

It can bring tremendous relief.

 

Stewart Russell © August 29, 2020

 

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 

 

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

 

The Seven Days of Christmas

And so in the journey

On this bright and sunny day

We come to the last Sunday,

It’s the last Sunday of the year.

Christmas day has passed

Though we are still in the season

And we continue to celebrate Christ,

The foremost and primary reason.

Fifty-two Sundays in all

Like a wild fire they have sped,

From the first one till the last

Right before our eyes they fled.

Some of us made resolutions

Few of which we have kept

And again we come to that time

When we look back in regret.

But never mind my friend,

We will do it again just like before

For it’s a cycle and a tradition,

And to the majority, it is no more.

The twelve days of Christmas

Will end on Old Year’s night

Just six days since Christmas day,

Yes, I have counted it right.

In the Barbadian tradition

We will be into the New Year,

The twelve days will have ended

When the eighth day appear.

I am well aware of the song

That we sing so convincingly

But on the first day of the year

Christmas ceases to be.

It is the practice in Barbados

That our twelve days are seven

And Christmas passes so fast,

It seems like all of a sudden.

  

Lights will be up a little longer

And Christmas songs will be played

But it just doesn’t feel like Christmas

On New Year’s Day.

There is a different focus

Especially regarding the year ahead,

For some, it is with a renewed hope

For others, it’s a sense of dread.

The seven days of Christmas

Are over in a flash

And at the beginning of the Year

There is little or no cash.

The excitement of the season

Is no longer inviting

And on eighth day of Christmas

We are no longer celebrating.

The beginning of the New Year

Spells the ending of Christmas

And the next four days of the season

Brings on a different thrust.

In just seven days it is over

Though we sing “twelve” in the song,

The New Year is upon us

And we have to move along.

The seven days of Christmas

To me, has become quite clear

So all that’s left for me to tell you is,

 “Have a Happy New Year!”

Stewart Russell © December 2019