I was always taught, you should never talk about religion, politics, or how much someone makes. As a teen/young adult, this seemed silly to me. I was not about to hide my thoughts and beliefs just to spare someone from feeling uncomfortable. Your entire life is based around these things. Why should you tip toe around subjects that dictate your entire existence and purpose? Let the world know where you stand! Then, adulthood happened. These silly rules of etiquette now have a different meaning than what I perceived in my younger days.
I am going to touch on religion today. I was raised Roman Catholic. I loved it. The church I went to was filled with caring, loving people. I was not raised with hate, judgement, or class divide. I was very lucky. The families I saw every Sunday were also the families that I would see volunteering with my own. They were the ones that we would have cook outs with. They were the families that we would call for help with a project, or find ourselves helping them with one of theirs. With all this time together, can you guess how much of it was spent talking about religion? Little to none. Maybe a “I could use some prayers” or a “I’m having a hard time accepting God’s will on this”, but very rarely some sort of deep religious debate.
I am not religious now, but I often contemplate this time in my life. I get on Facebook, and see these constant religious posts, and it makes me cringe. Not because I don’t respect others faith. Not because I don’t understand other’s beliefs. My irritation comes from the fact that these people are missing the point. They are living their lives by verses and some sort of delusional “prayer magic” and never just live. They spout out that they, “trust in God”, yet live and talk as if they’re trying to constantly convince themselves and others what they really believe.
Here’s the thing. (And I’m mostly addressing those who are Christian, since that is where my experience lies.) If your faith is the core of who you are, you don’t need to convince or preach to anyone. Seriously. It will be evident through your actions and life. If you are having inner turmoil over a life decision and “God’s direction”, you’re wasting your time and energy. If you preach faith, trust, love, mercy, and kindness, and find your immediate reaction to another person’s choices or lifestyle to be harsh and judgmental, your faith is not at your core. You are doing it wrong.
See, these families I was raised with still lived. They still went on vacations. They enjoyed camping. They had workout routines. They took art classes. They went to the movies. And, believe it or not, they did not feel that enjoying the world they lived in was somehow taking from their beliefs. They believed it added to it. Guess what. You’re allowed to enjoy the world you’re in. If your faith is truly who you are, and not just your religion, it’s always with you. If God made this world, and he made you and me, that means he also made trees and animals and our imagination.
I am having a hard time explaining where I’m going with this so I’m going to use a little visual for you.
Someone creates a large amazing playground. You get here and look around at how amazing it is. There are other people there too. Now, you have to decide how much/little you want to experience there, and you observe the others to help you to decide.
-The careless: You see some climbing on the outside of it and jumping off carelessly. They hurt themselves.
-The helpers: You see some run to the aid of those hurt to help.
-The self righteous: You hear some say “well, it’s their own fault. They were being reckless.” And “If they were as cautious as I am, this wouldn’t have happened.”
-The fear mongers: You see some just playing around the outside on the ground. “We see the dangers of this playground! Just because we are here, doesn’t mean we have to be part of it! Avoid the temptation of others, it may look like fun, but it will always lead to hurt! Do not give in to it’s flashy excitement!”
-The destructive: You see some breaking parts of it. Drawing or carving on it.
-The fixers: You see some taking a break from playing to repair parts that are broken.
-The happy: You see some just sliding down slides and playing with others.
I could go on and on with this, but you get the point. The world is our playground. Yes there are dangers. Yes others aren’t playing the way you think is best. But you are missing out if you refuse to take part in it’s awesomeness. Who are you in this playground? If you fell, would you never venture on it again? If someone else fell, would you offer help, or judgment? Instead of living in constant fear that you’re going to play wrong, get out there and climb the fucking monkey bars. You’ll find what you enjoy. You’ll find what you’re good at. You’ll find what and who you should avoid. But if you just sit on the sidelines refusing to be a part of this amazing world, that you say your God created, you’re only making your purpose and happiness take longer. No one was made to just sit to the side. That’s where hate, anger, judgement, and jealousy come from. Your inner turmoil and self righteous feelings aren’t hurting me, or anyone else on the playground. They’re hurting you.
thatbethy 