Skip to main content

Without Faith


          And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

          There are those who say that it doesn’t matter what you believe. All that matters is how you behave. I can see their logic. If you’re nice to me, no matter what you believe, I’ll benefit from the niceness. Even if you believe exactly what I believe, if you’re mean to me, it will hurt.

          The problem with this sort of idea, however, is that John Wayne Gacy, by all accounts, was a nice guy – the boy next door. I’ve known politicians who, when on the campaign trail, would ask me how I was, but when not on the campaign trail, would simply ask for what they wanted. It’s not that they’re mean, they just don’t waste the energy to be nice. My careers at the library and the store, and time spent in prayer have taught me to treat people the same, no matter what I think of them. That means I pray the same basic prayer for the presidents I like, and presidents I don’t lie, for family members, friends, and enemies.

          But while I understand that meaning of “It doesn’t matter what you believe, it only matters how you behave,” that statement is wrong-headed thinking for a couple of reasons. The first is that how you behave is a function of what you believe. If you believe the person walking toward you in the dark is a friend, your behavior would be different from if you believed that person is a rapist, mugger, or serial killed. And you should.

          The other problem with the idea is that today’s passage makes it clear that it matters greatly to God. If you don’t believe in God, you can’t please Him. You could put Mother Theresa, St. Francis, and Mr. Rogers to shame, but not please God. That may sound rather harsh on God’s part, but it actually makes sense. If you are being nice for your own benefit, as Scripture would say, you have your reward. Not so long ago, I explained about my struggle with the idea that God doesn’t care for me as an individual person, but only as one of the herd. It makes perfect sense to me that God would prefer to be treated as a real person, and that we would respond to Him, not treat Him as a non-entity. It makes perfect sense that He would not only be pleased by those who treat Him as a person, but that He would reward them. Those who don’t believe in Him seek their reward elsewhere.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more