Everyone Has Faith in Something
Faith is an interesting thing. It can be referred to differently by different people. It can mean affiliation with a particular religious system of beliefs, or it can simply mean hope. The fact is however, that everyone on planet Earth has faith in something. A good portion of people have invested their faith in a job, in money, or something similar. The point being that just because you haven’t found God yet, or haven’t begun your journey toward spirituality, doesn’t mean that you don’t believe in something. There is some part of your life that you are devoting your time and energy to, or some principal of theory that you believe in.
Faith Misplaced, is Indeed a Problem
Here is the issue then. If everyone has faith in something, but a vast majority of people have applied this faith to material wealth, secular goals, or the like – then what is the outcome? Take for example a fictional character we will call Mike. It is easy to make judgments about people who we deem to be obviously or inherently bad (i.e.: Hitler or Stalin), but lets make use of a more typical example for the purposes of our discussion here. Mike has a good job and he is a family man. He has been married to his wife for 10 years or so, and he may even go to church occasionally. But his real passion is the fully restored ’69 Camaro sitting in his garage. Every chance he gets, Mike will go out and check on this car. He will spend any ounce of free time browsing through parts on the Internet, making sure that anything that could be chrome, will be chrome! He devotes time at work even on the Internet making certain that he is always “in the know” for when the next car show is coming up, so that he can be there. Mike’s faith – in the simple sense – is attached to his muscle car. His faith in the larger sense, is attached to a material possession. Since the object of his desire is what God refers to in the Bible as an idol (a thing which cannot see, hear, or feel), there is no other outcome for Mike than that he will never rise higher than what his obsession with his car allows for.
Faith Properly Realized, is a Powerful Thing
There are only a few options open to Mike as of now. He must either continue living the way he has been living, giving his time and energy to something that cannot love him back. Or he has some type of experience (either internally or externally) which takes him out of his little bubble and causes him to desire something greater than where he currently affixes his devotion. By grace of God we hope that Mike (and you and I) have just such a situation that takes him out of his idol worship. Often this can come in the form of a tragedy. How many of us have been “chased into church” by the devil?** The point is that once we finally realize that only God can properly fill the weight of glory necessary for us to flourish, we can then begin to fully live as the unique individuals we were made to be. That is the funny thing about God. To submit to Him is to lose nothing (other than those things which were never good for us in the first place), and to gain everything.
** This phrase comes to me from my friend and spiritual mentor Cindy.
Faith is an interesting thing. It can be referred to differently by different people. It can mean affiliation with a particular religious system of beliefs, or it can simply mean hope. The fact is however, that everyone on planet Earth has faith in something. A good portion of people have invested their faith in a job, in money, or something similar. The point being that just because you haven’t found God yet, or haven’t begun your journey toward spirituality, doesn’t mean that you don’t believe in something. There is some part of your life that you are devoting your time and energy to, or some principal of theory that you believe in.
Faith Misplaced, is Indeed a Problem
Here is the issue then. If everyone has faith in something, but a vast majority of people have applied this faith to material wealth, secular goals, or the like – then what is the outcome? Take for example a fictional character we will call Mike. It is easy to make judgments about people who we deem to be obviously or inherently bad (i.e.: Hitler or Stalin), but lets make use of a more typical example for the purposes of our discussion here. Mike has a good job and he is a family man. He has been married to his wife for 10 years or so, and he may even go to church occasionally. But his real passion is the fully restored ’69 Camaro sitting in his garage. Every chance he gets, Mike will go out and check on this car. He will spend any ounce of free time browsing through parts on the Internet, making sure that anything that could be chrome, will be chrome! He devotes time at work even on the Internet making certain that he is always “in the know” for when the next car show is coming up, so that he can be there. Mike’s faith – in the simple sense – is attached to his muscle car. His faith in the larger sense, is attached to a material possession. Since the object of his desire is what God refers to in the Bible as an idol (a thing which cannot see, hear, or feel), there is no other outcome for Mike than that he will never rise higher than what his obsession with his car allows for.
Faith Properly Realized, is a Powerful Thing
There are only a few options open to Mike as of now. He must either continue living the way he has been living, giving his time and energy to something that cannot love him back. Or he has some type of experience (either internally or externally) which takes him out of his little bubble and causes him to desire something greater than where he currently affixes his devotion. By grace of God we hope that Mike (and you and I) have just such a situation that takes him out of his idol worship. Often this can come in the form of a tragedy. How many of us have been “chased into church” by the devil?** The point is that once we finally realize that only God can properly fill the weight of glory necessary for us to flourish, we can then begin to fully live as the unique individuals we were made to be. That is the funny thing about God. To submit to Him is to lose nothing (other than those things which were never good for us in the first place), and to gain everything.
** This phrase comes to me from my friend and spiritual mentor Cindy.
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