We Get to Choose

 

 

The title does not mean

This is really so

But it appears to me

This is where some people go.

 

But get to choose what?

That’s a pertinent question,

By this I mean

The contents of their religion.

 

Maybe we can call it

The carry-over from the Old,

If it fits our agenda

Then, that is our goal.

 

From the Old Testament

To the New Testament

And some even express,

The Old is no not relevant.

 

That is a sad mistake

For anyone to make,

I once held that position

But it’s no longer my take.

 

 

There are things in the old

That are no longer required,

Jesus fulfilled them

The moment he expired.

 

Thereafter,

When he executed his will,

He told us what was required

And that reading stands still.

 

Most are au fait

With the required fundamentals

But many are also

An opportunistic people.

 

Then they are some

That are steeped in tradition,

They dare not release members

To their own volition.

 

You can call it enslavement

If you so desire

But tradition says do

What the Word doesn’t require.

 

 

The Pharisees enforced

Over six hundred laws

And boasted about keeping them-

Spare me the applause.

 

They pushed the letter

Christ introduced the spirit,

The latter spoke to transformation

The former had little merit.

 

One from a stony heart

That showed no mercy,

The other out of a pure conscience

Displaying liberty.

 

The former, regarding giving,

Is a ritual that is enforced,

The latter, a joyous commitment

As a matter of course.

 

I mean cheerful giving

Knowing we can’t out give God

And not the kind we show off

Hoping someone will applaud.

 

A sabbath rest in Christ

That is truly a rest,

That is continuously observed

Even when working our hardest.

 

Not a specific day

Be it Saturday or Sunday,

For those that we accused

We behave in the same way.

 

But doing good for our friends

And our enemies too,

Once we see the need

And it it’s within our purview.

 

Bearing one another’s burdens

Thus, fulfilling the Law of Christ,

Offering ourselves to him

As a living sacrifice.

 

We get to choose

What is honest and pure,

Not a gamut of rituals that suits us

And the rest ignore.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020.