Not for Truth

 

 

You remember we would tell a lie

And then say “not for truth”,

And to show we were just joking

This would be our proof.

 

We wanted to make it clear

That the story was not true

Hence, “not for truth” would follow

And by this everybody knew.

 

I haven’t heard it for a long time

And so, this might be a sign

That everything is the truth

Especially in this time.

 

Because today truth is relative

And I don’t know to what

But that is what I am hearing

And not from a few but quite a lot.

 

We need to bring it back

So that we can know for sure

“Not for truth” means they are joking

Like we would joke before.

 

It is standard these days

To entertain another with a lie

And then convince that person

It's a fact no one can deny.

 

 

Then it spreads like a wild fire

With the claim it is the truth

Whereupon many will swallow it

And add their own proof.

 

How I long to hear “not for truth”

And to know they are joking

Even if I am the unfortunate person

At whom they are poking.

 

You see, I can take a joke

And you know that I can give one

But it is getting really serious

And the jokes are all gone.

 

And I won’t say “not for truth”

Because I am serious this time,

It is time we make clear distinctions

And stop boggling the mind.

 

I heard the other day

Something I could not believe

But since there was no “not for truth”

It spread with bull-cow speed.

 

It turns out it was not true

But the “not for truth” came too late

Whereupon the victim in question

Was left in difficult straits.

 

How I long for a “not for truth”

So that I can dismiss what I hear,

But “not for truth is a thing of the past

And this is the reality I fear.

 

Stewart Russell © December 22, 2021

 

As in the Days of Lot

 

 

Sodom and Gomorrah

Just like modern day,

Wickedness abounding

Despising God’s way.

 

Woman and man

Just doing their own thing,

God’s enduring word

Away they fling.

 

An urge for the unnatural

Burning in their hearts,

Homogenous affection

From the natural depart.

 

Revelry and merry making

Pleasure in sordid acts,

An unmistakable signal

Of a satanic pack.

 

Nothing sacrosanct

Nothing un-permissive,

Live to your heart’s desire

Even truth is relative.

 

A frightening example

Of Sodom and Gomorrah,

That is our world

No shame, much horror.

 

Like a monstrous aircraft

In a nose dive

Destined for destruction

That will soon arrive.

 

 

LGBTQ

Attracting many, not a few

And several in the church

Joining that crew.

 

Blatant now, not subtle

No longer closeted,

An alternative lifestyle

Now to be accepted.

 

In days gone by

As in those days of Lot

Modern day society

Now holds that spot.

 

And those who resist

And bad behavior convict

Are deemed intolerant

And homophobic.

 

As in the days of Lot

So also in our time,

Perhaps, for the believer

This should be a sign.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2019