My Pastor Said...

My Pastor Said
A Poem by JATomlinson
2-11-2011

Her pastor said that you can count the stars,
And that all women are supposed to wear skirts and dresses,
And she believed him.
She told her friends what her pastor said,
And they did an unkindness to her,
Letting her think it was ok to believe everything "my pastor said".


His father told him the earth was flat, for the church told him so,
His sister said that Jesus had long hair, she saw it in a picture on the cover of her Bible
And He told his friends what his father and sister said,
And they did an unkindness to him,
Letting him think it was ok to believe everything "my father and sister told me".

The straw that broke the camel's back,
Was when they finally opened that book for themselves.  You know the one,
The one written by God.
And they saw that the stars are uncountable, and that women are not to wear the attire of men,
But there was nothing at all about a woman being required to wear a skirt or dress.
And further reading proved that the world was round, not flat,
And that if they had only read for themselves, they would have known to tell his sister,
That it was a shame for a Jewish man to have long hair, so Jesus would have worn it short.

You see, it was not an unkindness of her pastor,
Because he misunderstood,
Nor an unkindness from his father and sister,
Because they were mislead by a picture or church,
But it was an unkindness that nobody told them that the Bible says to,
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
And it was an unkindness done to themselves that they were not in the Word in the first place,
So that they was not mislead.

And while these things may not have happened to me per se,
I hear too many people who refuse to believe the Word of God,
Because 'my pastor said,' something different,
Or because too many people did an unkindness to them,
And they don't know any better.


About the above poem.  I sometimes get irritated when I try to show somebody God's own Word straight from the Bible, and they refuse to even look at it, because somebody they love or trust has told them different.  I have stressed it before, and will do so again.  It is important to be in the Word yourself, "rightly dividing the word of truth," (2Timothy 2:15) and "comparing spiritual to spiritual," (1Corinthians 2:13).

1Corinthians 2:5 "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."  This verse here tells us all exactly what not to do.  Don't put your faith in the wisdom (teachings) of men, but in the power of God.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't go to church, or listen to your pastor or read commentaries, but these are to open discussion and give you direction for further study.  You can't just take your pastors word for it.  Pastors, commentators, bible study leaders... all human and all have the potential to misunderstand something and henceforth lead people astray.  But you have the holy ghost in you, and you have the power to read the word for yourself, to study and compare spiritual with spiritual, discovering the truth for yourself.

If you don't know what you believe by reading for yourself, then how will you ever know when someone is lying to you about the Word, or when someone is misleading you?  Ephesians 4:14 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"


Recap of scriptures:

2Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

1Corinthians 2:13 "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

1Corinthians 2:5 "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

Ephesians 4:14 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive"




Again, this poem was not about me, just written from the desire to show that you need to look at the scriptures on your own, not being closed minded because a person told you something different.  This post was written in love, so that I did not do an unkindness to you.

Blessings!