THAT RELIGIOUS WORD

Religion:

a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

As I was having a casual conversation with a good friend of mine the other day, he piped up..”I’m just not the religious type.” What?….We weren’t talking about anything particularly religious, just a friendly conversation about something innocuous related to local government, so I don’t really know what prompted him to make that statement or how we got from point A to point religion all of a sudden. I guess I got a taste of my own medicine…like when other people have to talk to me, Mr. ADHD and I leave them with that “deer in the headlights” look as I’m switching subjects and off on a totally abstract line of thought. (come back, Greg, we’re still here on planet earth, where did you go?)

Well, I thought about what he said, and it got my head to churning buttered “what abouts” as I pondered that word. What follows is my scattered summation so far.

THAT RELIGIOUS WORD

Religion’s not dying

it’s growing like weeds

For everyone now

has their doctrine and creeds

Each of us point

to one God or another

Whether ourselves

or with deity’s rudder

If power is might

and sagacity law

I guess we’re like God

in the wake of it all

If this fallacy spun

in time is our truth

These strongholds like trees

will have withering roots

Take each word of the Word

and capture each thought

from the book of the ages

where wisdom is taught

Whether love, or in justice,

or in gospel muse

We espouse our beliefs

through our own world view

Look to the Cross

where weakness was power

God’s prudence seemed foolish

In those darkest of hours

Not by might or by strength

but My Spirit that led

To the carnage in hell

and the demise of our death

We all live together

here on the earth

Christians are not only

the ones who have worth

We all need each other

Each one of us matters

So sound out the call

Amid cruel hateful chatter

No soul on tHis earth

controls color of skin

Nor where they are born

or giftedness given

In the bedlam of life

Does suffering matter

Do we cling to our comfort

And hope things get better

While you’re climbing your way

by getting things done

You might temper your zeal

and climb down just for once

Take time for your children

Take time with your friends

Or in twenty some years

You will wish that you had