Is There A Difference? : A Poem On Duty & Double Standards

Is There A Difference?

Is there a difference?
I suppose that there is,
In the eyes of non-Christians
About how I should live.

Is there a difference?
I imagine there is,
In the mind’s eye of the doubter
Who tries to corner me in.

Is there a difference?
Yes, I see that there is,
They expect something more,
But only of me and not them.

Is there a difference?
Yes, of preconceived notions.
They question my hope when,
They show no devotion.

Is there a difference,
From my life and theirs?
Yes! It's like climbing the stairs
And bearing the world’s cares.

Is there a reason why,
I welcome the difference?
Why I stand at a distance
And shoulder the penance?

There is a difference,
You can get it from subtracting:
Take away the gospel,
Then see how I’m lacking.

For that is the difference,
The triumph in life,
The hope of my heart,
This gospel of light.

It postures me different,
It makes me stand tall,
It makes all the difference in the world,
To heed to this call.

--TMW Halcomb