How Should a Christian Vote?

 

 

From should a Christian vote

To how should a Christian vote,

Is a matter occupying our attention:

A matter of important note.

 

Thus, we put behind us

The question regarding the should

And thus, we shall focus on the how,

Assuming that he or she would.

 

So, what are the parameters

That should control the how?

From the debate among Christians

We will deal with this now.

 

The more pious Christian believers

Would posit that we must pray,

Pray that God would open our eyes

And show us the way.

 

For whom we should vote

Since God knows everyone’s heart

And He knows the ending of a matter

From the very start.

 

From this emerges a perception

Regarding how we hear God,

Do we hear Him like Noah and Abraham

When they answered His call?

 

 

One: to build a huge boat

Since there was going to be a flood;

The other: to forsake his native land

And even leave his blood.

 

 

 

So much was up in the air

That neither of these patriarchs knew,

That they would have to be very sure

God was telling them what to do.

 

It could not have been a dream

Or some trumped up vision

As is the case of modern-day prophets

Before making a big decision.

 

No, there was a certainty

That they were hearing from God

And there was no doubt, whatsoever,

The reason they were called.

 

In the recent Presidential election

There were prophets in both camps

Hence the predicament of the Christian

Regarding a particular slant.

 

 

Then there is the “lesser evil”-

Another “how”, I have heard advanced:

If Christians vote for the lesser evil

They’d have a better chance.

 

Herein is another perception

Especially where there is cover-up

And given the propaganda machinery

You’d need more than luck.

 

Plus, is it the will of God

That Christians should vote for evil?

Does our God promote comparative evil

For His born-again people?

 

A resounding negative

Must be the Christian’s response

When in particular, by other Christians,

This nonsense is advanced.

 

Such must not be a criterion

By which a Christian cast a vote

But a thorough analysis of the candidates

Is of critical note.

 

What has been their practice

Not just what they enunciate

And how has the most vulnerable advanced

Re the policies they initiate.

 

How God-aligned have they been

Re their party’s governance

And in recognition of God’s template,

How is their moral conscience?

 

Let the Christian voter beware

Casting a vote is rather involved

And is a responsibility and accountability

That cannot be lightly absolved.

 

Vote conscience rather than emotion

Vote godliness above ambition,

Vote populace instead of person

And let God shape your decision.

 

At the end of the day

Christians will still vote differently

But they would have carried out their duty

To vote responsibly.

 

Stewart Russell © November 8, 2024

 

On Being a Monster

 

 

Sometimes in life

You have to be

Something that is not you

Naturally.

 

It’s being a monster

I would often say

To help some loved one

To mend their way.

 

Often with children

In their poor perception,

A negative response is seen

As a rejection.

 

Daddy’s the monster

Or maybe it’s Mum

But whoever’s the monster

From them they run.

 

I have dared to be

The monster they see

Though I must admit

It is never easy.

 

It is an attitude

That grows with me

And that I still maintain

With my family.

 

 When most of life

Becomes relative ease,

An unexpected interruption

Can be a squeeze.

 

This is made worse

If it’s not understood

And we do not sensibly respond

As we really should.

 

 

Life is a lesson

We learn everyday

And a day’s lesson ignored

Brings growth delay.

 

Delay in adapting

To what is the new

And we stubbornly refuse

To change our view.

 

Haste is the focus;

It must be corrected!

And in haste the lesson not learnt

Is again rejected.

 

A monster is needed!

It has to be me

And though it’s not popular,

I hope you can see…

 

The bigger picture

That will unfold

Unless someone steps up

And become bold.

 

Nothing learned

Then nothing gained

Other than constantly repeating

The same pain.

 

It pains me to write

A poem like this

But I am constrained so to do

To mend this rift.

 

Remember, easy come,

Easy go,

This is a principle

We all need to know.

Quickly replacing

Once there are funds

One day will come to an end

When funds are done.

 

Learn to get by

At least for a while

And so, learn to appreciate

Another’s lifestyle.

 

Stewart Russell © July 10, 2024

 

It Is Fixed

 

No prayer of mine got me in the here and now

No beseeching, no promise, no pleading, no vow

I had no control over my arrival on this earth

And no determination of mine decided my birth

 

I didn’t pray concerning the time of my sojourn

That was ordered long before I was even born

My days were numbered and in fact they still are

And like me is everyone whether he is near or far

 

A thousand years are but a day in Thy sight, O Lord

So stated the psalmist in Psalm 90 verse 4

It was noted again in second Peter 3 verse 8

So whenever we go it is neither too early nor too late

 

History is already written in the annals of heaven

Concerning all who will be pardoned and forgiven

That fact is also true concerning all that will be lost

Even though they had a choice: their way or the cross

 

The Lamb’s Book of Life has already been decided

The Triune God knows those who will have abided

The past, present and future are all the same to Him

For God declares the end from the beginning

 

There are those who often question God’s infallibility

Pretending to be gods they display their own stupidity

For sooner or later they confront their own mortality

Which confirms to all that they are not God Almighty

 

 

The Bible too is viewed with mounting suspicion

By critics and pundits and even some within Christendom

Pulled down by atheists and promoters of evolution

Denouncing as a myth the Genesis account of creation

 

The world mocks and scorns those who follow Christ

Declaring the same to be their cop-out mechanism device

Afraid to face up to the uncertain reality of the future

They create for themselves a godlike benevolent creature

 

The truth be told this applies to them outside of Christ

To them with their pantheon of gods which never suffice

Worshipping the gods that they themselves have formed

Their creation they worship could never be the norm

 

Yet they regard true Christians as lacking in scholarship

Purporting them to be far behind and continuing to slip

Choosing rather to believe in fancies and fiction and lies

Hoping one day to see this God who will appear in the skies

 

 

But consider that none of us has control over the future

The past is just that and in a our minds a receding picture

In the present we live and that quickly becomes the past

And we must adjust since the present passes so fast

 

Clearly we are not in control as we often pretend to be

We are not on top of everything and that is plain to see

Not in control of our days, our weeks, our months or years

And our plans are flawed when the future appears

 

This perception of control is a perception; that’s all it is

For each day brings a new set of questions: a different quiz

And often while grappling with the queries of one day

The next day arrives with its challenges to our dismay

 

And how do we respond to the constant challenging days

Well from my obscured vantage we do so in varied ways

Some throw their hands up in stark displays of disgust

Some hands fall by the side; too tired even to fuss

 

Some will show a determined face though inwardly weak

Quite a few will not even bother to hide their fearful streak

Still some will struggle on though faced by imminent defeat

While others will try to find solace in some form of retreat

 

So which one of us is in control please raise your hand

Which one of us gets what he wants simply by a demand

Which one of us is unaffected despite what another does

Just as I thought, not a hand raised; only a growing buzz

 

 

We can’t add another heartbeat to the length of our days

Even when the best medical mind tries a myriad ways

It’s really a fallacy when we speak of prolonging one’s life

For all our days are numbered come peace or come strife

 

Not one has ever lived to reach his one-thousandth year

Only a few in very ancient times have even come near

969 is the maximum the Scriptures recall

With a few more 900's before they too were stalled

 

Life and death, origins and destinies are in God's hand

They were all instituted at His creative command

He simply spoke the word and it all came to pass

What we are now experiencing is already scripted and cast

 

God is the one in control whatever the perceived reality

Faith not sight is what He demands from all of humanity

The one who will come to Him must believe that He exists

Having not seen yet believed are the ones He enlists

 

Stewart Russell© 2016

 

The Battle for Our Minds

 

 

Subjectivity versus Objectivity!

That’s the battle for our minds

And our emotions support the former

At least, most of the time.

 

Notice today’s style of preaching

In which a text is taken

But for all intents and purposes

That text is largely forsaken.

 

The subjective approach is preferred

Where opinion looms large,

And where objectivity is ignored

Subjectivity is like a barge.

 

Originating among the secular,

It is now present in the church

Probably because the church assemblies

Are wowed by external experts.

 

This appreciation for scholarship

Oft times, more perceived than real,

Is making inroads into Christendom

And this for me is a major fail.

 

Compromise is the steady diet

And the way to avoid being sanctioned

By secularism, drunk on subjectivity,

And maintaining one’s reputation.

 

Subjectivity trumps objectivity,

Feeling and emotion displace reality

And the Emperor could never be naked

Though not a stitch covers his nudity.

 

What in tarnation could be wrong

If today I feel like a man

And tomorrow, for whatever reason,

I want to become a trans?

 

Isn’t this genuine freedom

And within the pursuit of one’s rights?

Why can’t I be what I feel I am

Whether it be day or night?

 

And if I want to change again

Why can’t I be afforded that?

There is really no objective reality-

Subjectivity is where it is at.

 

Your world and my world,

Your truth and my truth,

Your experience and my experience:

Therein is the proof.

 

 

Why after all, aren’t there gay Christians?

Aren’t they gay pastors too?

So, if it’s all right with the church,

What’s so special about you?

 

And don’t you dare forget

The Bible is millennia outdated

And its stories, like any great story book,

Are especially exaggerated.

 

Joshua’s suspending time

By conveniently stopping the sun

And Elijah’s fire burning up water-

Oh, that’s an extraordinary one.

 

The universe must be very suspect

If it were created by mere words

And six days in which to form it all

Must be absolutely absurd.

 

Not to mention the virgin birth

Of the one they call God’s Son,

That one, I am sure you would agree

Has had a phenomenal run.

 

Subjectivity trumps objectivity,

Wisdom has become the absurd,

The outrageous displaces common sense

And all is right with the world.

 

Whatever it is you want to do,

Find a church that facilitates it,

You mightn’t have long to look, my friend

To find a church that fits.

 

 

 

There is a battle going on, I tell you,

And it’s for your mind and mine,

Scholastic achievement is a major tool

And the emotive is falling in line.

 

It sounds good, don’t you think

All these new-fashion brought-backs?

Proving there’s nothing new under the sun

Recalled Solomon of this fact.

 

The church is really “churchianity”,

Its four walls a rebuilt temple

And the prosperity and felt-needs gospel

Is a magnet that draws the people.

 

It’s not the Gospel of Jesus Christ

As preached by Peter, John and Paul,

Instead, it is a breakthrough word

That is comforting to all.

 

By virtue of your attendance

Plus, your offering and your tithes,

You are a likely candidate for heaven

And your eternal prize.

 

Filthy rich preachers in their pulpits

Mess with people’s eager minds

Promising them a sure breakthrough

And an escape from the grind.

 

Just sow a big financial seed,

Far more than you had planned

And boy, won’t you be greatly surprised

At what would fall into your hand.

 

 

So, money has captured the world

And the world has captured the church,

The church has captured your mind

And you are left in the lurch.

 

So many church leaders

Moving from ministers to mini-stars,

Graduating from prophets to profit making

Bringing family and friends up to par.

 

Meanwhile you sit patiently and wait

For your breakthrough blessing

When like your leaders who flourish,

You too will receive times of refreshing.

 

It is all in your mind

And there it shall remain,

You are playing against humongous odds

And your outcome will be pain.

 

Ask the many before you,

They all have their story to tell,

A story of a long wait in anticipation

Before they too eventually fell.

 

They lost their hope

And they lost their mind

And some could not even care less now

As they while away their time.

 

 

Charmed once but now disenchanted,

Fed-up and frustrated with church,

Disillusioned and disconnected

And currently just nursing their hurt.

 

More vulnerable than ever

With the inclination to fall for anything,

After having given life and substance

To support another’s fling.

 

I wish I could end this differently

But alas, this is not Hollywood,

But instead, the sad story of many a victim

That presently wish it could.

 

My hope, however is this:

That before you too lose your mind

You would examine all the above

For you could be next in line.

 

Stewart Russell © March 23, 2023

 

Who’s Right?

 

Your right and my right

Cannot be right at any time,

Neither of the two is right

Neither yours or mine.

 

I know you are puzzled

By what I propose

But stop a minute, please,

And let you and me diagnose.

 

Notice what I said:

I said your right and mine

Not rights, please note,

At least, not at this time.

 

I make a proposition

And you oppose

And both argue our right

As though he alone knows.

 

Possession becomes the focus

As though we own the right,

“I am right and you are wrong,”

It becomes a verbal fight.

 

 

No one has the right

To own the right,

It’s a benchmark outside of us

To point us to the right.

 

So that when I become obsessed

As though it is my right,

It is at that time

I lose sight of the true light.

 

Often, we approach someone

That we deem should know,

“Would you please stop a while

And your view to us show?”

 

Enter right number three,

It’s more complex than before

And the asking goes on and on

Until someone closes the door.

 

One convinced against his opinion

Holds the same opinion still

So that when think you’ve won

It’s a misleading thrill.

 

No one owns the right

The right he cannot create

Even though in appearance

This is happening here of late.

 

I guess it’s really because

We confuse it with our rights

And so, we feel we have the right

To determine what is right.

 

There is a right and left,

There is a right and wrong,

The second is my focus,

Please don’t get me wrong.

 

 

The Bible is the benchmark

And who abides within is right,

It is God’s Holy Word

And the only true light.

 

All else is darkness

Regardless of whosoever's right,

If it has no base within the Word

Then that one is without sight.

 

The next time you argue

Remember, it is not your right,

Not your right or my right

But what God says is right.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2020