the pharisees among us

the church
can be a wonderous thing.
a place of comfort
and love.
guidance and wisdom.
but it can also
be a house
of pain, of guilt, of
man made,
unbiblical
rules and more rules
that darken our hearts with
the inability to follow
them day in
day out.

do this
or go to hell.
you'll never get to heaven
unless you
obey our strict
man made rules that have
nothing to do with the message
of Christ.

kneel. sit. stand.
sing.
pray.
do this do that. follow
what we say, or else
off you go into the lake
of fire.

what folly
there is in so much of it.
the Pharisees
are still among us.
there they are in their long
gowns, their hats.
their gold
crosses, their ornate
palaces of worship.

compassion and forgiveness
is all that
matters. faith and repentance.
Christ died on the cross
to end
this madness
and yet it's still here
making people
miserable.