White Washed and Washed White

  

 

White washed

And washed white:

Don’t make them synonyms

And think you are right.

 

Look again

With a closer eye

And you will see the difference:

Come on, you must try.

 

Two were a praying

To Almighty God:

 One was extremely boastful,

The other, not at all.

 

One was different,

This had to be known,

Only his kind you must understand

Was in his zone.

 

He paid his tithes

And also gave alms,

There was absolutely no doubt

He was a godly man.

 

He merited salvation,

He was so good

And he kept the Mosaic law

Like he should.

 

He notified God

Re the good he did

As though God did not know

What he hid.

 

And to look at him

He was really clean,

So white washed on the outside

He actually gleamed.

 

 

 

The other one

Smote on his chest

But unlike the religious Pharisee

He was a pest.

 

A societal nuisance

Mostly to the Jews

As he yearly exacted from them

More than their dues.

 

Summed up in a word,

Publican to be exact

But meaning he was a tax collector

Of dubious extract.

 

He had been merciless

In his tax demands

But for mercy he had pleaded

As a sinner man.

 

He bowed his head

As he cried out to God

And thence he found satisfaction:

The other, none at all.

 

He was washed white

Unlike white washed

And all his many sinful infractions

Immediately quashed.

 

The other, white washed,

Was self-deluded

Thus, could not access righteousness

Which is imputed.

 

He did his own washing

Which was outward only

Just like the white washed tombs

Used to bury.

 

A form of godliness

But denying its power,

Somewhat like the first skyscraper

Or Babel’s tower.

 

Washed from inside

Spreads to the outside

But just white washed outside

Many sins hide.

 

 

  

A definite 'coverup'

Or 'swept under the mat'

And when self-deceit settles in,

It’s a deadly trap.

 

However, washed white

Is a daily routine

That’s enabled by the Holy Spirit

Who constantly cleans.

 

Stewart Russell © April 16, 2026

 

Looking Good and Good Looking

 

 

I bet like I did once

You thought they were the same,

I mean looking good and good looking

But I beg you, please look again.

 

Pretenders and contenders

Are not always the same

Even though in these days we live in

Pretenders get the most fame.

 

There are some things

That you can’t bluff your way through,

Though hypocrites do it every day

Not to mention con-people too.

 

But later, if not sooner,

Their looking good will be found out

And they will be known for who they are

And that, without a doubt.

 

 

You see, looking good is one thing

But good looking is another,

Anyone can be a doer or a mover

But being is a different matter.

 

Now, I am not knocking looking good,

Socially, looking good is important

But what you truly are takes you further

And you don’t have to boast and rant,

 

Often the looking good is a show

And carries little or no depth

But good looking is the genuine thing

And is the safer bet.

 

It is not easy, I will admit

To differentiate between the two

But good looking is really who you are

And looking good is what you do.

 

Let me make the spiritual application

For that is what this is all about,

And I trust when I am finally through

You won’t have a single doubt.

 

The Pharisee focused on looking good

For he needed men’s applause,

The penitent publican on the other hand

Drew on the mercy of God.

 

Looking good is the outward appearance

Good looking is the heart,

And only God can tell the difference

Hence, He is the best place to start.

 

 

For once you are good looking

You will be looking good too,

The Spirit’s transformation on the inside

Will definitely shine through.

 

Use the discernment the Spirit gives

To help you spot the difference:

Whether it is a work of mere cosmetology

Or, in fact, the Creator’s influence.

 

Artificial light will eventually go out

While the Spirit’s light is forever,

Looking good will fluctuate and wane

But good looking is a heavenly treasure.

 

Stewart Russell © February 15, 2021

 

A Church Member’s Worth

 

 

What is a church member’s worth?

Pray, can someone please tell?

Is it standard across the board?

Are they all encouraged to gel?

 

Before I move on any further

Please, I beg you, do understand

That the church of which I speak

Is not the one triumphant, grand.

 

I need not ask this question

Concerning the Church of Christ

For its members are infinitely valued

On account of his sacrifice.

  

I mean the visible church

With its myriad denominational sects

Doing promotions and proselytizing

But ignoring perceived rejects.

 

Hence, this question I am asking:

What is a church member worth?

Maybe it depends on his size

And I do not mean his height or girth.

 

By size I mean his profession-

Is he a big one; is he guru?

Does he hold societal prominence?

Has he an influential view?

 

Is he a doctor or a lawyer?

A Cabinet Minister or economist?

Can he get the Prime Minister’s ears?

In what ways does he assist?

 

Sounds like an interview to me

To fill a vacant position,

Upon such rests the member’s worth:

Upon his secular qualification.

 

For what other reason, tell me,

Would members be treated differently?

I have looked hard and long, my friend,

But that’s pretty much what I see.

 

Except for nepotism of course,

Which we can’t completely ignore:

Biological family over church family-

Tell me, need I say more?

 

 

What is a church member’s worth?

They ought to be worth the same:

No partiality, no bias or prejudice

Once they are bearing Jesus’ name.

 

The born-again are one in Christ Jesus,

For him, on the cross Jesus was laid,

In effect, before earth’s foundation,

His redemption price was paid.

 

Hence, the believer’s infinite worth

Is his position in Jesus Christ

For no value can ever be attached

In respect to our Saviour’s sacrifice.

 

What ought the church’s response be

But to treat all members the same?

After all, whatever we have received

Have been received in Jesus’ name.

 

Our time, out tithe, our talent

Have all been given to us

And therefore, what ultimately matters,

Is our position in Christ Jesus.

 

The Pharisee boasted about these three:

His time, his tithe and his talent

But the lowly and despised Publican

Knew what it was to repent.

 

His worth was elevated in Christ

While the Pharisee’s sunk to a horrible low

For our time and tithe and talent,

Mean nothing if Christ we do not know.

 

Stewart Russell © June 18, 2022

 

What A Man!

He could have taken the route direct

But he had to be different I suspect

Very unlike those of his earthly kindred

He had a totally different life object.

He came to set captives free he said

He even freed some from the dead

Performing miracles of every type

I speak of Jesus our living head.

Departing Judea he left for Galilee

In Judea he was the target of each Pharisee

They despised his teachings and his deeds

And was as hateful to him as they could be.

Well turning his attention to a Gentile

He was now really resisting the Jewish style

They treated the Gentile like a dog

And would distance him by more than a mile.

But Jesus was different from any Jew

He had something far greater in view

Than mere animosity towards a tribe

His was a message that was perfectly true.

His mission was to seek and save the lost

He intended to achieve it at infinite cost

Even the price of his precious blood

As it poured from him on Calvary’s cross.

So directed by the blueprint on his mind

He decided to leave Judea behind

And take the long route through Samaria

Where there a Samaritan he would find.

Keep in your mind that he was different

Passing this way was no Jew’s intent

For they hated Samaritans like the plague

And anything to do with them they resent.

His destination would have been far

But finally he came to the well of Sychar

And there he sat on the side of the well

Knowing well his reputation would be marred.

Not long after a woman came his way

It was around the sixth hour of the day

Jesus asked her for a drink

And this is what she had to say.

 

“How come you a Jew ask of me a drink?

That is very strange don’t you think?

You Jews have no dealings with outcasts.”

Certainly this Jew stepped over the brink.

Jesus’ response was way over her head

Listen carefully to what he said

“If only you knew the gift of God

You would ask and receive living water instead.”

What living water was he talking about?

Why he had nothing to dip it out

“Are you greater than our father Jacob

That gave us this well and had much clout?”

“On drinking this water you will have need

To come back daily and from it feed

But whoever drinks of the water I shall give

Will never thirst again.”  Take heed!

  

Give me this water so I thirst not again

Give me this water became her refrain

Give me water so I won’t come here to draw

Give me this water became her aim.

Go and call your husband Jesus said

Suddenly a thought came into her head

I have no husband she did reply

For the one she had then she did not wed.

In this she had spoken the truth

Five ex-husbands were adequate proof

That none of them now she had

Though she was living under another’s roof.

By now she had another perception

That this man who did not fall for her deception

Must be a prophet she concluded

After much considered reflection.

Jesus moved her from her flawed philosophy

From her slack life and vain religiosity

To an understanding of true worship

Not rooted in the flesh but of spiritual fervency.

True worshippers worship in truth and spirit

They are not obsessed with ritual and habit

Of such the Father seeks to worship Him

And their entire lives to him commit.

Jesus opened her eyes so that she could see

The Messiah had come; Jesus is he

The one foretold that would come to the world

The one far different from any Pharisee.

  

Seeing Jesus with the woman the disciples wondered

But none would say what it was he pondered

To them she would have been a Samaritan

But to Jesus a child of Abraham and he had found her.

This Samaritan woman by all despised

Leaving her water pot behind set off to evangelise

Back to the city from whence she had come

No doubt all that heard her were much surprised.

“Come see a man!” she called out to them

Who told me all I did and fixed my problem

Is not this the Christ?” she asked,

Stirred by her new found passion for evangelism.

Yes she had found the Christ

To her there was nothing quite as nice

Nothing before had satisfied her thirst

Than when for Jesus she had renounced every vice.

Come and see this man I reiterate

Give your life to him and let him dictate

All that concerns you he will direct

And through life’s waters he’ll help you navigate.

Stewart Russell © 2016