Don’t Get Confused

 

 

A sign is not the reality

Neither a symptom the problem

But it is at the back end

That we treat to both of them.

 

Jesus in Matthew 24

Spoke about many a sign

But the signs were not the end

As he did remind.

 

Matthew 24:6

 

And ye shall hear of wars

And rumours of wars:

See that ye be not troubled:

For all these things must come to pass,

But the end is not yet.

 

Myriad signs

But the end is not yet,

To confuse signs with the reality

Is to be out of step.

 

We yet look for signs,

I’m not too sure for what

Since the coming Jesus spoke of,

Those back there got.

 

 

That generation, he said,

Would not pass away

And they would see him come again

On a soon to come day.

 

And he gave many signs

That pointed to this reality,

And the Bible shows this clearly

In its fulfilled prophecy.

 

Take note of the signs

But don’t confuse the two,

A sign certainly is not the reality:

This is absolutely true.

 

 

 

A symptom is not the problem

Yet we treat to symptoms,

Panadol and the like we often use

But still, we have the problem.

 

Not only in human illnesses

But in politics as well

And illnesses that beset countries

Is on which we now dwell.

 

The sign of gun prevalence

To us is starkly clear,

It has become a sinister problem

Which many countries fear.

 

More than thirty gun-deaths

In Barbados the past year

Plus, another almost 20 homicides

Driving us to despair.

 

 

Dealing with the outcome

Is like treating to the symptom

But does proportionately very little

Re the cause of the problem.

 

The source of the guns:

Who are bringing them in?

Is there any possibility of discovering

The source of this spring?

 

And if in fact there is,

Why is there this reluctance

To tackle the source of this scourge

With intelligence?

 

 

For every gun that kills

There is obviously a user

But pray tell, how did it get here

Without an importer?

 

The user is the symptom

The importer is the problem,

Are these problems so complex

That none can solve them?

 

A sign is not the reality

Neither a symptom the problem

But it is at the very source of each

That we ought to treat them.

 

Start arresting importers:

They are the source of the spring,

Regardless of status or affiliation

Let the police bring them in.

 

Stewart Russell © March 15, 2025