The Many Dimensions of Faith

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I was sitting here thinking about faith and what it means. We all know the traditional view of faith as in faith in God and heaven and our religion. But, I think there is a different type of faith that incorporates life and oneself.

So often, people will not attempt things because they are afraid.  To me, that is a lack of faith in oneself…in one’s ability to do. I have faith that I will wake up each morning. I have faith that I will be here just as long as God intends me to be. I have faith that I am strong enough in my beliefs that it does not matter what others may say against what I believe. I have faith that God will provide my needs and He has never failed me on that.

I see people who get frantic, ready to fight, and even paranoid if someone dares to disagree with what they believe in. Perhaps it is the sage wisdom of so many years of dealing with life and the physical issues I have, but I sit and think…what are you afraid of? What are you really afraid of that you can not allow someone to disagree with what you believe in? Are you afraid they might convince you that what you believe is not so? Are you afraid that they will convince others that what you believe is not so?  Do you not have faith in your own beliefs?

What is it that makes a person want to fight, be ugly, defend beyond all reason even to the point of defending that which is obviously not so?  I think when people reach this point it becomes blind faith. It is like those that would defend a political candidate to the extreme that even when the candidate was proven to be dishonest or had committed some act that the person will still defend them and say it is not true when the truth is in front of them. What causes this?   Why can they not say “well that was dumb of them but they are still a good person in my book”?  Why do they think they have to scream “not so ..not so” when the truth shows it is so?

I have used this example when talking about this with people. I think that President Clinton being with Monica Lewinsky was a stupid decision on Clinton’s part. Does it mean he was a totally bad president? No, it simple means he made a dumb decision/action. We all do that at some point in our lives. And yet some will try to explain away this behavior even when Clinton himself said it was not what he should have done. While I thought it was dumb, I still think he did many great things for the country. My belief system was not destroyed. I did not need to scream and get ugly or deny that it happened when the proof is there. I just had to readjust what I believed a little. No one is perfect and when we set people up on pedistals…they can shatter.

I think when we have faith in our beliefs, in what we do…then it does not matter what anyone says. I do not have to prove them wrong to make me right. I just have to believe in myself and my beliefs. And what if they say something that makes me re-think what I believe? Is that so bad? I think that is how we grow and learn. So what If I discover that part of something I believe in is not so good. Does that make it all bad? No, it does not. Nothing is perfect.

It is like politicians. This is why I do not do the “party” thing. I judge a candidate by what they are…and I do not approve of everything just because they are a democrat or they are a republican. I use my brain and I decide what I believe in and if they believe the same way. They may have some things I disagree with but the preponderance of their beliefs may go along with what I believe and so I support them. But, people being nasty and screaming and attacking do not shake my faith in what I believe. That is called having faith in my beliefs.

Faith comes in many forms. I have faith in my son to take care of me. Will he be perfect at it? No, but that does not mean he does not do a good job. It means I look at life realistically and do not try to turn something into a fairy tale when it is real life. I have faith that my other son loves me. Does that mean he has to call me every minute of every day? No. I have faith in my new doctors. Does that mean they will do every thing exactly like I want? No. It means I believe in their ability.

The biggest thing about faith  is to have faith in yourself and in what you believe and to have faith enough that it is ok for someone to disagree with you. When you have faith in your beliefs, you do not have to defend your beliefs. You know what you believe. It is ok for others to believe differently. They have faith in their beliefs too.