Faith? (Part 2)

Following up the last post...

"Faith is seen in the substance of a life lived in service to others." [True religion is not] "...a cheap, disposable faith that says nothing, costs nothing, does nothing, risks nothing, and speaks not of God, but only of the grubby, temporal perspectives and fears of ground-bound women and men."

That's the hard question you need to ask yourself right there: what is your faith, your religion (or lack thereof), actually doing, how is it working on your mind, your soul, to motivate you to improve the lot of all of God's children here below? Not just your spouse, or your children, or your friends, not just the deserving (whatever that means to you), but the wretched, the most vulnerable, the least lovable.

Is your "faith" simply a warm, comfortable little 'something' that you take once a week (or less) to feel better? Is church just a social club where you pat yourselves on the back while saying tsk-tsk at what you see in the world around you?

Does it speak "only of the grubby, temporal perspectives and fears of ground-bound women and men?" Does it encourage you to turn away, holding your nose while looking beyond this present reality, focusing instead on your "eternal reward?" Or does it soften you to the plight of others, does it inspire you to serve, to give, perhaps even painfully, expecting nothing in return?

The crux of the matter is this: it matters not how much "truth" your religion lays claim to; it matters even less that you think you're right about this, that, or the other. Real faith is not cheap, it is not static nor weak; true religion is in fact costly, it is powerful, it works. If your beliefs do not move you toward service and even self-sacrifice, then they merit reconsideration--and perhaps outright rejection.

The inescapable truth is that any belief system that does not result in service to others is indeed "a cheap, disposable faith that says nothing, costs nothing, does nothing, risks nothing, and speaks not of God."

You've been prayed for today...

J