Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

I Thessalonians 5:21 KJV

In ancient Thessalonica’s gentle night,
Paul penned a charge with apostolic light:
Not blind acceptance, nor hasty flight,
But measured steps in wisdom’s sight.

Prove all things—let not the heart be swayed
By every whisper, promise, or parade.
Weigh words like gold upon the ancient scale,
Test claims where truth and falsehood often veil.

The prophet speaks? The teacher stands to teach?
The spirit moves in fervor’s fervent reach?
Hold not contempt, yet yield not swift belief—
Examine all, as Bereans found relief.

Search the sacred scroll with patient care,
Trace every thread through Scripture’s thorough air.
What rings with heaven’s pure, unchanging tone?
What builds the soul and leads the lost back home?

Hold fast that which is good—grasp firm and true,
The doctrines bright with grace, with mercy new.
Let not the winds of doubt or error tear
The treasure clutched in faith’s unyielding prayer.

Abstain from evil’s every shadowed form,
Though it may glitter, dressed in virtue’s norm.
For in this proving, faith grows strong and deep,
A mind renewed where God’s own wisdom keeps.

O believer, walk this narrow, thoughtful way:
Test, discern, retain—through night to day.
In proving all, you honor Him who said,
“Prove all things”—and find the living Bread.

So let the mind, awakened and awake,
Love God with reason, for His own dear sake.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good—
In this command, true freedom understood.