Would I Do It Anyway?

I’ve often wondered, if it weren’t written in the Bible Would I have done it anyway? Would I have given the same honor to my mother and father And faithfully reverenced God every Sabbath day? Would I have upheld my code just as passionately In treating others as I’ve always hoped to be? If I hadn’t read it or been told it was proper Would I still be praying each night on bended knee? At the altar, was it the mouthing of written vows That kept me loyal and faithful to my wife? Or only for the command having been chiseled in stone That I’ve not taken another man’s life? As a country, why only after laws had been written Were women finally permitted to cast a vote? And blacks given the freedom that should never have been taken What were we pretending back then not to know? Some opine man to be inherently good Believing God’s word is written upon the tablets of their souls. If true, then why all the lying and cheating and hate crimes And why the distinction between friends and foe? Bump a cup full of water from the table, And it’s no surprise when only water spills to the floor For we intuitively know, what’s been poured in will spill out No sane man would expect anything more. Likewise, we are all “full of”…something Vessels brimming with both virtue and sin. And when life “bumps” us what spills out will surely reveal The content of the character we hold within. When a pickpocket meets a saint he sees pockets, And when a saint meets a sinner, he sees God’s child. For it’s the lens of our souls that determines our sight And how we see others always reflects what’s inside. So, if God wrote anew, “You’re free to do as you wish Forget the joys of heaven, and fear not the fires of hell. Treat all men and women as your heart sees fit With no future rewards to gain and no sword of justice to be felt.” If, after such a command was written, you carried on Loving your neighbor as yourself, come what may, The Golden Rule has already been etched upon your heart And rest assured, you would’ve done the right thing anyway!