Religion vs Faith

To those who believe, no answer is needed. For those who do not, no answer is good enough.

I am not sure who said those words but it sums up the rift between believers and non-believers very well. And not just Christianity, but any belief system out there really. But more so for Christianity because it will have people doing things that “rational” people would not. Not saying that Christians are crazy (though there are a few loose nuts out there), they are just living a radical life following a God that says to do things differently than “normal”.

Non-believers roll their eyes when Christians say they don't have religion, they have faith. This means they do not live under rules and regulations on how to “act” right, they have a relationship with a living being that directs, nudges and pushes them to right paths. Christians are not sheeple, just mindlessly following. People of faith don't mindlessly follow – trust me, there are many out there that question the situations they are in just as much as non-believers. They just have faith, that is trust, that God has the game plan.

Now I am not saying that there isn't religion in churches or religion type activities in churches, there are. But that is really no different than any other place where people gather and follow some sort of routine or schedule. Your job, for instance, has routines and schedules to them so, in essence, they have religious activities to it. Wrap your head around that one. And church, God's church, isn't a building its people. Living, breathing people. If the church building burned to the ground, the church would still be there. Does that mean you don't need to go to the building to worship God?

Yes and No.

No because it is just a building and you can worship God anywhere. Yes because while you don't need the building, you do need the people. It is the people who will encourage you and build you up. Don't get me wrong, it is also the people who will sometimes disappoint and hurt you but they are human and that happens sometimes. Remember God does show his love to us through other people but humans do the disappointment and hurting on their own without any added help.

So what is the difference between religion and faith?

There is a simple way to see it in action.

When a person says they are a Christian but are really following religion, when bad times happen they will be looking at themselves and wondering what they did wrong. They scramble trying to “fix” themselves and their behaviors to “win” favor.

When a person says they are a Christian and following in relationship, when bad times happen they will be looking up and asking God to help them through it and believing that everything is going according to the game plan. It's not that they have more information, they just trust the Coach.

The Lemmings of Election Year

Most election years are looked forward to with much groaning and moaning.  This is because the onslaught of trash-talking, mud-slinging ads are about the ensue.  You will be regaled as to why one candidate is better than the other and why you should pick him or her for your dodge ball team in the world wide arena of politics.  You will have your Rights, your Lefts, your Middles and your I-Don't-Care-They-Are-All-Crooks.  But this year there is another cry that is starting to escalate that has me feeling uneasy.  It is the cry of "Anybody but....."  Anybody but Obama, anybody but Romney, anybody but Paul.  These are not cries of watchful mindful voters, these are cries of people who are looking to anything and everybody for passage into a imaginary promised land.  And the media, campaign managers look on with calculated delight.  For they know that one candidate, one president, isn't going to carry us out of this mess. But if they can just appease the majority of the masses, they can get their candidate to the front square and into the big office.  So they point fingers and spotlight minimal things so that you are shocked and confused.  Their goal is not to unite the country to former glory, but to divide and conquer.

Me, not We, Mentality

Mass media and special groups want you to think about you.  What is in it for you?  Why aren't you getting what you deserve? Why are the rich getting richer, while the poor suffer? This person is a bigot. That one is a hypocrite. This is what you should think about. That is old-school and outdated, no longer applying to our society. They shape and mold people's opinions by highlighting negative stories or articles, giving only a glimpse at the positive to give you some semblance of hope. Yet there are stories that leak through that show that the world they want you to believe in isn't all that they say it is. Stories of communities pulling together and helping each other, even thriving during a struggling economy. People showing charity and goodwill towards each other, without the benefit of a holiday. Unknown and unsung heroes stepping up and out to better the lives around them. This is the world they don't want you to believe in, this is the world they don't want you to see.

Divisive Mentality

Us against them, black against white, big against small, rich against poor, me against you. They will pick and pull, pointing out differences as opposed to unity. Big corporations are greedy and feed off their employees so you must bash them and see them for the evil carnations that they are. There are more corporations that care about their employees, community and environment then there are that take everything they can without regard to their surroundings. But those who let greed dominate their priorities get the stories because that is what will get the masses buzzing. There are a few elite rich in our country that are all party and play and no work. The majority of those who are considered rich and wealthy in this nation worked their collective butts off to get where they are today. Most of them still work as hard as most of their employees. But again, those kinds of stories do not get sensationalized. That would defeat their purpose of keeping the one group bickering at another, thus clouding the eyes of the people to what is being done behind the curtain in the Land of Oz.

Niceness vs Kindness

Political correctness is the bane of our society. It requires one to isolate itself from the community and take offense over little, petty things. It has you being packed into a box, bleating about imagined injustice instead of taking an honest look at what something truly is and either correcting a wrong or shrugging it off. Ignorance is scorned, instead of being an opportunity to educate and inform. Organizations are stigmatized or limited in their ability to reach out the the community and do more because of their belief systems or corporate mission statements. When concern over an individual's feelings override what is good for the group or community, a corrosive attitude eats at the heart and does more harm than good.

These are but a few of the only tools they use. I am not some conspiracy theory type. Just a simple American who loves her country, even when it appears to be unlovable at the moment. In this election year, what are the issues that are close to your heart?