Intolerant of Intolerance

 

 

Of what are we intolerant

If not intolerance

And thus, re the same charges we level,

We lack repentance.

 

It’s not just a lifestyle

That we want to embrace

But that we also want to evangelize

Others to our own taste.

 

Thus, minority groups

Want amendments to the Law

To permit them full and free practice

Of acts perceived as flawed.

Such acts to be nameless

For the purpose of this poem

Such that my intolerance of intolerance

Don’t become a problem.

 

As if this were not enough

They want a right to theirs

And thus, move that a law be passed

To eradicate your cares.

 

You must accept me

Though I don’t accept you

And this must be in the Constitution

To protect my view.

 

You are therefore guilty

Of what you accuse me

And wanting a law to vindicate you

Is ludicrous insanity.

 

I will tell you what, though,

We already have that,

“Different strokes for different folks”

And this is a daily fact.

 

 

“All are equal under the Law”

Is mostly for common folk

For to see bigwigs brought to justice

Is nothing short of a joke.

 

I am intolerant of you

As you are intolerant of me

But when the Law permits depravity

That will be the death of me.

 

Stewart Russell © August 11, 2024

 

A Popular Name

 

 

I remember my school days

Not so very long ago,

Lots of things I have forgotten

But somethings I still know.

 

Not me is one of them

You would hear it every day,

As boys we were often up to mischief

And not me we would say.

 

Who was talking in the class?

Not me would be the reply,

Who stole the missing pencil?

Not me would be the lie.

 

An entire class with one name

Not me was that appellation,

So many boys with this name

Was surely beyond comprehension.

 

Even when the culprit was seen

He still would plea not me

And since not me was everyone

He could not be found guilty.

 

Well, at least not him alone

Since everybody was guilty,

Not me could never be punished

Since not me was everybody.

 

Maybe, it’s “hiding in a crowd”

Like people are wont to do,

How can you tell who’s done it?

Not me is also not you.

Not me has another slant

Which has to do with the exception,

Everybody must comply with the rule

Except the not me appellation.

 

Different strokes for different folks

Or perhaps, par for the course,

For every rule there is an exception

Sometimes it is even worse.

 

Under no condition whatever

Should anyone be allowed to pass

But it does not apply to not me,

Not me is in a special class.

 

And the lengths to which we go

To vindicate not me

Bearing in mind, of course,

The guilty is innocent until proven guilty.

 

Not me though guilty is innocent

And invariably wins each case,

After all, that is to be expected

Since the law can be two-faced.

 

The court says you must pay

But not me says not me,

From whom will you extract the charge?

Not me is somebody.

 

Somebody big and important

That is who is not me,

It would be better to leave this matter alone

And enter a not guilty plea.

Sometimes not me is nobody

Sometimes not me is somebody

But whether somebody or nobody

Not me is never guilty.

 

Sometimes not me is everybody

That is the not me in the crowd,

But the not me that can’t be touched

Is the not me that’s large and loud.

 

That’s the not me with power

And the not me that has position,

That’s not the not me that hides

But the not me that makes decisions.

 

Who is responsible for this poem?

The answer to that is not me,

Not me is the person now reading it

Not guilty as charged; you are free.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

Impeached but Exonerated

 

 

Impeached but exonerated

And I am not talking about Trump,

He would have to deal with that

On his own account.

 

I am talking about me

And what I have been through

And you who are reading this,

What you’ve been through too.

 

I was impeached and found guilty

Simply because I was born,

Most would find that unusual

Because it’s not the norm.

 

What is the crime in being born

Would be the question to ask,

If Adam and Eve were alive

I would give them that task.

 

However, since they are not

I will point you to God’s Word

Even though something tells me

You have already heard.

 

Let us ask the Psalmist

And we will see what he says,

Shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin

That’s how it was way back in the day.

 

So, we were born into sin

That, my friend is the norm,

Consequently, one is counted a sinner

From the very day he is born.

 

Hence the first part of the theme

Impeached from my birth,

Yes, I was impeached

Before I even set foot on the earth.

 

But it doesn’t end there

And I truly thank God for this

And so, I come to the part

That I don’t want you to miss.

 

So as in Adam every man sinned

In Christ every man can access pardon,

Yes! Exonerated in Christ Jesus

Ever since I’ve been forgiven.

 

 

Impeached on Adam’s account

But exonerated through Jesus Christ

Not on any merit of my own

But because of Christ’s sacrifice…

 

When on that first Good Friday

When before the heavenly court

He shouted “Father forgive them!”

Therein is my support.

 

Now being one of the “whosoever”

That believes in Jesus Christ,

I am exonerated through the blood

That will always suffice.

 

Impeached because of Adam

Exonerated in Christ,

If the same can be said about you

I would think that’s quite nice.

 

Stewart Russell © January 25, 2021

 

Why Do We Judge?

 

 

Why do we judge

As though we are the all-knowing

And convict and condemn

And make a public showing?

 

Even the Father judges no one

But gives all judgement to the Son,

Why do we therefore judge

When we too are undone?

 

How do we pass judgment

On another like we are

And feel smug and accomplished

Like no one comes on par?

 

The Pharisees were culpable

Yet passed their own judgement

And when confronted by Jesus

Saw no need to repent.

 

 

They constantly accused Jesus

And convicted him for doing good

Citing the Sabbath day law

As any Jewish lawyer would.

 

The evidence was accessible

Regarding who was the Law-maker

But hatred blinded their eyes

And they did not see the Saviour.

 

They thought they knew it all

Hence, the reason why they judged

And once they made a decision

No one could get them budge.

 

Their decisions, mostly faulty,

Were in their own self-interest

So, when Jesus arrived on the scene,

The temple was a mess.

 

 

He once overthrew their tables

And issued a severe reprimand,

The temple was a house of prayer

But they had a different plan.

 

Open our eyes, we should

And assess all that is going on,

Justice we should call for

But it’s not ours to perform.

 

Jesus is the only judge

Tempering judgement with mercy,

Giving us what we don’t deserve

After finding us guilty.

 

He now judges us not guilty

Having declared us to be such

And as the Saviour and the Judge

No one can do as much.

 

 

There is no need to walk around

Accusing and judging others,

Leave the judging to the Son

And let that not be our bother.

 

Quite a lot is on our plate,

There’s much with which to contend,

We need not make a weightier list

By tacking judging on the end.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020