Mindless and Faithless

 

 

Believers need to think

While thinkers need to believe

That every gift that either has

From God, they have received.

 

The function of heart and brain

Is necessary for these two

Since either one without the other

Presents a lopsided view.

 

The world frowns on believers

And opines there are no thinkers there,

How can they actually believe such nonsense

With such reverential fear?

 

In many ways, I dare say,

The world is being vindicated

For many believers jettison their brains

And to men become subjugated.

 

Quoting “the just shall walk by faith”

And using this as an excuse

To exercise their faithfulness of heart

While a functional brain they refuse.

 

No place for thinkers here

For here, thinkers do not belong,

Just exercise their unquestionable faith

And constantly pray to be strong.

 

The other side is just as bad

That pushes all brain and no heart,

Notice despite their myriad PhD’s

The world is noticeably dark.

 

 

Brain dead does not a heart support

Nor the other way around,

One without the other, you must agree,

Will pull a body down.

 

 

Mindlessness pervades the church

While faithlessness, the world,

O for eyes that would open and see,

One without the other is absurd.

 

Come ye apart is not to segregate,

Just like love cannot manifest hate

But for believers to reach out to thinkers

And in the love of Christ relate.

 

To tell the good news of salvation

That thinkers would come to believe

With minds open to Jesus Christ

Who sinners will receive.

 

The Father epitomizes scholarship

He is the only omniscient God,

Without Him there is no science

And this we should applaud.

 

So, while believers need to think

Thinkers need to believe

The message of eternal salvation

And with repentant hearts receive.

Mindlessness in the church

Is like a heart without a brain

And such a situation, I do declare,

Puts a body under strain.

Faithlessness in the world

Is like a brain without a heart,

No wonder there is little compassion

And the world is so dark.

 

“Put on your thinking caps!”

A word to the misguided believer,

And to the thinker, I admonish,

It’s time you were a believer.

 

Stewart Russell © April 22, 2021

 

Law, Order and the Constitution

 

 

I knew a Patrick once-

My brother-in-law was he,

Gone these past sixteen years

But still in our memory.

 

So wonderful was he

We still missed him sorely,

He was very law-abiding too

And so, respectably.

 

Every time I hear Patrick

I remember my brother-in-law,

He too, like you and me

Was not without a flaw.

 

Where am I going with this?

By now you’re surely wondering,

Stay alert a little longer,

Now’s not the time for slumbering.

 

I know of another Patrick

But this one is a King,

With him I currently differ,

From different pages we sing.

 

Since we became a republic

We have been Constitution-less,

It is Patrick’s assessment

That Barbados is Law-less.

 

He has therefore become

A law unto himself

And as far as he is concerned

The Law now sits on a shelf.

 

“People”, as he often says,

He could not be more wrong,

So, beware, I warn you of Patrick

Who is both wrong and strong.

 

He is “adamant”,

You would recall that PM

Who may or may not have regretted

The message he decided to send.

 

Well, a good man he was

But he lost the Government in ’94,

And if Patrick continues to rant

He stands to lose much more.

 

We are in a mess, I agree,

But not in proportions of anarchy,

We have a Legislative and Judiciary

And a Police Constabulary.

 

All three are still functional

In our republic they’re still the same

So, Patrick needs to humble

Or else he’ll go insane.

 

And a word to his adherents:

Be careful who you follow,

Selfish and unbridled motivation

Can make a person shallow.

 

 

 

I trust not so in Patrick’s case

Thus, I pray he soon wakes up,

The last alleged episode he reported

Tells me he is running out of luck.

 

Stewart Russell © July 29, 2023

 

Bible Thumping Bigots

 

When I hear the term bigot

Here’s what comes to my mind,

You may have guessed it is idiot

And this happens every time.

 

It may be how they end

And the fact they also rhyme

But every time I hear the word

Idiot comes to my mind.

 

But you know, it takes a bigot

To call another bigot a bigot

And as a matter of fact, I suggest,

So too an idiot.

 

So, who is the bigger idiot?

Sorry, I mean the bigger bigot

Since it must come down to…

Well, the most corrupt.

 

 

People who thump the Bible

Ought not to be bigots

Even when outlandish behavior

Is promoted by idiots.

 

It is at this time, my friend,

That we define these two words

So that the wise is not seen

As being absurd.

 

I advance this at this time

Because crazy is everywhere

And what was considered sensible

Is about to disappear.

 

 

Idiot: half-wit, imbecile, stupid,

Dolt, dullard, simpleton,

Imbecile, pudding head,

Of little intelligence, a moron.

 

 

Bigot: a prejudiced person

That regards his opinion alone

And is intolerant of any position

That differs from his own.

 

Bible thumpers are not bigots,

Not by a long shot,

Not even regarding the LGBTQ

And the transgender lot.

 

Not those who follow in the way

Demonstrated by Jesus Christ

For whom love was the key

As shown in his sacrifice.

 

“Forgive them Father,” he said,

“For they know not what they do.”

This in relation to bigoted zealots

Each of whom was a Jew.

 

For them a Gentile was a dog

And should be treated as one

And if they had their way

All but the Jew would be gone.

 

 

 

Very unlike the follower of Christ

That is called to be charitable,

Loving and kind to one and all:

Even the unlovable.

 

The story of the good Samaritan

Is really a good case

Where the Samaritan rescued a Jew

That was in a very bad place.

 

I may not like your lifestyle

But I regard you as my neighbour

And as a born-again believer

I must be on my best behavior.

 

If morally upright is bigotry

The believer stands as charged,

And given the road we are travelling

The LGBTQ looms large.

 

They, in fact, are the bigots,

Seeing no other way but their own

Even though on immorality

They build their royal throne.

 

Yes, a bigoted minority

Is about to take over the world

And many are trapped in a stupor

Looking rather absurd.

 

But it is not the Bible thumper,

No, not at all,

Instead, it is the LBGBTQ

That blows that trumpet call.

 

Stewart Russell © July 28, 2023

 

Too Painful Until

 

 

 

My pity party is over

There is much going for me,

There’s light at the end of the tunnel

Which before I could not see.

 

All the pain began to leave me

The moment my focus changed

And all the clutter in my thoughts

Were speedily rearranged.

 

My steps had nigh slipped

When I saw the wicked prosper

But in the house of the Lord

I began to see much better.

 

My eyes were on the wicked

At the prosperity they accumulate

And the love that was sown in me

Was being displaced by hate.

 

Nothing came against them,

At least that’s how it seemed

But I learnt at the feet of the Master

He was aware of their schemes.

 

Foolish was I and ignorant

That they were in the enemy’s hand

And the path they were traveling

 Was that of the eternal damned.

 

Until I remembered whose I was

And who it was that saved me,

Then it all came back to me

That my Father is God Almighty.

 

And with this, I’ll not fret myself

Because of evil doers!”

For in me, around me and above me

The Holy Spirit hovers.

 

 

Oh yes, my steps had nigh slipped

Until I went into the house of God,

All things work for the good of them

Who are among the called.

 

That pain I was experiencing

Was of my own making

As I began to second guess myself

  Regarding what I was forsaking.

 

There is a way that seems right

However, the end of it is death

But the way of God is righteousness,

Peace and eternal rest.

 

My pity party is over

There is much going for me,

The prosperity of the wicked is short-lived

But mine is for eternity.

 

Stewart Russell © July 26, 2023

 

Invitation to My Pity Party

 

 

Friends and foes if any

You are invited to my pity party,

No doubt the latter on arrival

Will laugh at me heartily.

 

About the same re my friends

Who will say, “I told you so,”

For somehow before hard luck

Friends just seem to know.

 

One and all you are invited,

I hope you don’t spoil it for me,

No gifts or treats expected

Just bring your pious pity.

 

I have fallen on hard times,

It’s not the first time anyway,

However, those that feel it is my fault

Will surely have their say.

 

Yes, I am having a pity party

Please come and hear me moan,

It’s like nothing you’ve experience,

For you I will add a groan.

 

Friends and foes alike

Come and have a great time,

If you enjoy a great sad movie

You are sure to enjoy mine.

 

 

I am beginning to like my mood

And the attention I am getting,

As a matter of fact, I have realized

I have even stopped fretting.

 

Oh, I still moan and groan

Specially when people are around

And I put up a herculean effort

To convince them I am down.

 

Down in the depths of despair,

It could not have been worse,

Like Job in that biblical narrative

This is surely my curse.

 

An invitation to one and all

I am throwing a pity party,

Once you have heard my story

You are bound to feel guilty.

 

Guilty of having complained

About what you are going through

Not knowing mine is far worse

Than what is afflicting you.

 

It is a horrible time for me

And it is not even the first

Though I might add this little bit,

This is certainly the worse.

 

You’re free to share with others

And tell the entire church,

Tell them to earnestly pray for me

As this affliction truly hurts.

 

I have had quite a bit of pity

But I can really do with some more

So, tell them to bring in their pity,

Don’t leave it at the door.

 

 

My grief lump I am swallowing,

In my self-pity I am wallowing

So, subscribe and like my experience

And join my pity party following.

 

A pity party I am throwing

Grab a friend and come along,

Come empty handed, nothing more

And hear me sing my pity song.

 

If you come to mine this time

I will be sure to come to yours,

Come and hear from the horse’s mouth,

How I am hurting to the core.

 

No optimists are allowed,

Only pessimists will be welcomed,

I am not interested in your cure

Just to tell to you my problem.

 

Stewart Russell © July 25, 2023

Blessed Nevertheless

 

 

Too blessed to be stressed?

Nah, that would be a lie,

Given all we are going through

Stress cannot be denied.

 

With COVID on the rise

And spiraling out of control

A stressed-free experience

Is unlikely to unfold.

 

Pretending there’s no stress

Just invites more stress

And since acting is make-believe

This robs one of his best.

 

Stress is a constant companion

Wherever one goes

And any stress-free claim

Has to be an idle boast.

 

With that being said, however,

I would like to advance

A far more realistic position

That can be easily enhanced.

 

 

Refrain from the cliché

Too blessed to be stressed

And say amidst life’s challenges

I am blessed nevertheless.

 

Blessed nevertheless

When I don’t get what I want,

Blessed nevertheless

When others mock and taunt.

 

Blessed nevertheless

When my day turn to night,

Blessed nevertheless

When nothing seems to go right.

 

Blessed nevertheless

Whether it’s a rainy or sunshine day,

Blessed nevertheless

Though nothing is going my way.

 

Blessed nevertheless

Though sailing on choppy seas

And when my sail catches not a wind,

Not even the slightest breeze.

 

Not too blessed to be stressed

But blessed nevertheless,

For the former cliché is a lie

But the latter helps me rest.

 

I don’t have to be a pretender

But I can be myself,

And in any case, living a lie

Is not good for spiritual health.

 

Stewart Russell © August 18, 2021

 

Spiritual Mental Cartwheels

 

 

Hey, what’s that topic?

What are you talking about?

Spiritual Mental Cartwheels?

You’ve lost it no doubt.

 

I am sure you have heard

About “stretching the truth”

And trying to fit into an agenda

Void of scriptural proof.

 

Denominations do it daily

Framing the Word in their view

And the purpose for this exercise

Is to convince me and you.

 

Jumping to conclusions

That definitely do not fit

The passage of scripture they read,

But forcing it to stick.

 

If it were just peripheral

We wouldn’t mind too much

But oft it touches on fundamentals

And is used as a crutch.

 

But here is a little caution:

Be careful on what you’re leaning,

Particularly on the Internet

And what people are streaming.

 

I will mention no names here

Maybe, to protect the guilty,

I prefer to note issues, anyway

Than behave irresponsibly.

 

If I were to raise some issues

Tithing would be one,

Prophecy would surely be another

And also, ritual and form.

 

 

Add to these, charismatic gifts

And the five-fold ministry,

Israel, the key to end-time prophecy

And of course, soteriology.

 

Of course, there is the matter,

Regarding who’s in the right church

And that those who are not in it

Will be left in the lurch.

 

Denominational leaders

Often do spiritual mental cartwheels

To convince gullible adherents

Theirs is the truth revealed.

 

Some people leave churches

For one reason or another

And their repetitive church hopping

Becomes a spiritual bother.

 

Sooner or later you’ll find

They are back out in the world

Sorely disappointed and mislead

And spiritually deterred.

 

 

 

It is not how bright you are

But how willing to be Spirit led,

Spiritual mental cartwheels

Causes giddiness in one’s head.

 

So be careful I would caution

Regarding such spiritual exercises,

Always be scripturally relevant

And scrutinize all surprises.

 

Stewart Russell © July 23, 2023

 

You’re Not Making Sense

 

You become offended

At my unexpected remark

Especially after you elaborate

And I am still in the dark.

 

But I may simply mean

Just say a little more

And help me make sense

Of what I do not know.

 

No need to get offended

It may not be aimed at you,

It is I who have the deficit

I am lacking in view.

 

Of course, it could also be

The deficit is with you

And you don’t really know

What you thought you knew.

 

 

So before rushing to conclude

Ask where I am coming from,

You may be very well surprised

Neither of us is dumb.

 

And that I meant no offense

When I said what I said,

I was merely seeking clarity

On what you said instead.

 

But, on the other hand,

You may need to sharpen up,

For having not aptly prepared

You may be out of luck.

 

Maybe you got away before

But clearly, not this time,

That dumb student at the back

May be messing with your mind.

 

“You’re not making sense”

May not be aimed at you,

It may be, please, if you will,

Help me see your view.

 

I may not be a dumb kid

But, only a little slow

Hence, “You’re not making sense,”

Is just to let you know.

 

Stewart Russell © May 9, 2023