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!
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