Faith and Action
Christmas Day. Somewhere between those who cannot abide religion and those who cannot live without it is a group that doesn't get much press: Those who sense transcendence and are drawn to it, but who cannot frame a rational response to the impulse. "I'd love to have faith in God but I don't know how to do it!" is how one person put the problem to me. Others have freely admitted that they don't know what faith is or how it happens within a person. Is faith inborn? Can faith be learned? What are faith's limits?
I know how they feel. I've struggled with the issue of faith for my entire life, and much of that struggle was and remains pure torment. I don't know for sure if faith can be learned-to be honest, it seems to be something you're born with in some measure, all of us scattered across a bell curve on the faith scale, as we are for so many other things. I think, however, that I can define faith, at least as it works for me: Faith is taking something seriously enough to act appropriately.
Taking something seriously is the core of faith. If you're in the outfield and you believe that you have a chance of catching a pop fly ball, you'll start calculating its trajectory and moving toward it. If you don't take the game seriously-or if you don't take your own ability seriously-you may just let someone else run for it. If you believe that an upcoming exam is going to be tough but unavoidable, you'll cracks the books and do what you can to improve your score. If you don't take the exam seriously, you may just blow it off.
Saying, "I believe in God" doesn't mean much unless it changes the way you act. What changes those might be will vary with your culture and the way you think about God. It's possible to be interested in the divine as a concept, and in religion as a fascinating thread flowing down through human history, but if you don't somehow convert that interest into a system of guidelines for everyday action, it's just an interest without any least hint of faith.
The flipside may be true as well. I find it fascinating that there are a great many people who will state flatly that they don't believe in God at all, but who nonetheless act in accordance with the universal principles espoused by all the major religions: Be honest, be truthful, be faithful to your spouse, do not engage in cruelty; and in general do unto others as you would have them do unto you. They would claim that they have no faith at all, but virtue is a decision, and whether or not we can fully explain how we came to that decision matters much less than simply getting there. Taking virtue seriously enough to be virtuous may not be religion, but it is definitely a sign of faith-and if I were God, I think I'd grin and say, "Mission accomplished."
There's much more to the issue of faith than that, but I'll let it rest for now. Carol and I wish you and your loved ones all the best in this Christmas season. Thanks for reading, thanks for your comments, and above all thanks for your friendship. Friendship is the best clue I've ever found indicating that God is real and at work in the world. Have friends. Take them seriously. All the rest will follow from that!