If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a man, my son!
~o~
I really like this poem. On the whole, this poem is based on some important biblical principles.

To start out with...
This poem shows some of the Biblical pronciples that we really need. At the beginning, where it mentions not dealing in lies after other people do that to you. That's an importantfactor. Matthew 5:39 says But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. This is what might be assumed is implied here. Don't return evil for evil, but rather overcome evil with good. I don't know what verse that is, but I know it's in the Bible.

Kipling also makes a point of admonishing vanity in the verse
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise
.

The next segment reminds us not to make every whim that comes along our goal in life. I'm not saying education is a whim-I know it isn't-but you can't make it your goal in life. Your goal in life should be to honor God and share the good news. Not even education can compare to that!

The last stanza shows the importance of guarding your heart. If you can protect your heart from your best friends and from your worst enemies, you are doing well. Of course, this isn't saying that you should never trust anyone-on the contrary, I would say that it is encouragement to give your heart to God so that man can't hurt it.

That's about all the Biblical principles I can wring out of this one. If you think I missed some, feel free to comment at the end of this article.