If I live my faith it will cost me something. This is just true. I will have to give up things that are
selfish and vain. I may have to forgo
things that I want. I will have to care
about the needs of others over my own. I
will have to control my anger. I will
have to forgive even when I do not wish to forgive.
At times it will seem easier to mothball my faith because of
the cost. I know people who have. It will be easier to cloak the choice in
logic and reason. Perhaps it will be
easier to deny the need for faith at all.
I cannot do this.
I have moved through times when I had no faith. I have been down the path where I just ignored
the requirements of my beliefs. I have
failed often to live the faith I love. I
have even violated the faith I have because the cost was just too high at the
time. This is such a desolate choice.
Untested faith is not of much value. When my faith is tested it is an opportunity
for me to be who I wish to be. It is a
chance to follow Christ more closely.
Instead of this there are times when I have done as I wanted because I
felt the cost of keeping the faith was too high. I have learned that making my faith dormant
in any area for any reason leads to pain for me and for others. The cost is only too high if I do not live my
faith; too high for me and for others.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer
who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home
owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."
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I kind of feel that you can replace the word "faith" with "values" or "code" and have the same effect. I do have a set of values and ideas that I try to adhere to. Many of them are based upon what I learned in Sunday school, particularly how I treat other people. Others I adopted along the way after deep reflection. I learned empathy after dealing with the frustration of others' aggression. I learned humility as an employee, having the difference between a personal problem and a business problem defined for me.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the code or values I follow wouldn't exist without the mentors I had along the way, but aside from Sunday school, the mentors were not found in the church. What I found there were examples of how not to act, and the lesson of mob mentality and group control. All of my mentors have been free-thinkers, whether religious or atheist.
I recognize that you never specify religion, and I think that's important. Faith and values both mean more when it's a journey you've taken to reach them, rather than words you are told and expected to follow.