NOTE - there are two posts today. Sorry... but, it's the weekend!... And, I will make the disclaimer that I am not an expert, in anything... other than what I believe for myself.
I am not a “God Fearing” Person.
I just DON’T FEAR GOD!
I love that there are many of you out there who follow this conversation, who are so very near and dear to my heart, who are also very committed to your beliefs and your religion. In my email yesterday, I even found some scriptures that some of you had sent me. And, I read them. And, I enjoyed them - and was grateful for you for sending them.
This conversation is not about whether I am religious or not, it’s about the words, a “God Fearing people”.
I come across them with some regularity, and EVERY TIME I do, it causes me pause.
I DON’T LIKE THEM!
And, I believe words matter.
I really cannot believe that’s what God meant, or that’s what God wanted… a “God Fearing world”.
I am a “God LOVING Person”… or at least, that is what I aspire to be in every moment.
We can have long and passionate conversations about who or what “God” is…
I crave FAITH, and I have it.
I admire SPIRITUALITY, and I enjoy it.
Why would GOD really want us to FEAR him? And, if you are thinking, “well that is not what he meant” or “that is not what that means”… why use those words?
I don’t want to do ANYTHING out of FEAR.
FEAR is disharmony… because our natural self never WANTs to feel fear… at least not that type of fear. So, whenever we feel it we wish we didn’t.
Why would we FEAR the most benevolent force in the universe?
Why would we FEAR a spirit that wishes us love & understanding?
I am inspired by so much of what religion teaches us… without ever giving up on my ability to THINK and QUESTION.
I am inspired and in awe of GOD for giving us the ability to question, to choose, to create and to be unique in our ability to do so. I can't believe that gift would be given to man, and then we would be asked not to leverage it and expand on it and explore it in every possible way.... or to LIMIT it with FEAR.
I am inspired by the life of Jesus Christ… and whatever interpretation you choose to believe from it. Whether you choose to believe he was the personification of GOD, GOD himself, or a man simply unique in his connection to GOD and as importantly to MAN, and his ability to connect and inspire and teach...
If the simple fact that ONE man could have that type of impact on the history of the world doesn’t engage you, regardless of who he was or what he stood for… you must not be paying enough attention ;-)
My struggle with religion comes from my unwillingness to put any “man” between me and my spirituality.
My struggle with religion comes from my disinterest to follow anyone’s “rules”, any “man-made rules” in the process of me connecting with “God”.
My struggle with religion comes from my observation that we are all flawed and imperfect and sinful, and too often throughout history religion has been used by man as a weapon. And, I KNOW God never meant that to be the case.
My struggle with religion comes from the fact that I am not sure how to be religious and not be hypocritical - and I don't want to be that. I don't see how I can choose ONE religion and only ONE... ONE interpretation of something that I do not and can never fully understand, but can only explore.
The truth is, I do believe in GOD.
But, I am not a GOD FEARING person.
I believe in so many of the teachings of Christianity. But, I also see great wisdom and truth in the Jewish teachings. I love the Ba'hai religion. I don't really know the Muslim religion, but I know that at one point it broke away from Judaism and Christianity also, no?
Religion is man's interpretation of the story of God. And, our interpretation was flavored by our cultural values. I don't think that makes one "more right" than the rest. I love Buddhism, and I get that is not a religion, though I believe it was constructed with similar intent - to help man find spirituality, peace & love.
I believe in GOD, in my own understanding of “him”… And, to me, it’s not a “him” any more than a “her”… Giving GOD a human form, I have got to believe, comes from our desire to make that amazing force easier to comprehend & embrace.
But, I will never FEAR GOD.
I realize the horrific death and destruction that nature & the universe could inflict on earth as we know it.
I realize the world could end in a moment. And, I personally don’t believe that would be “GOD’s” doing. That would be probability and science colliding.
I realize the horrific death and destruction that man can have and has had on earth, and I think that more often than not, comes from some form of fear… fear of others who are not like me, who don’t believe what I believe, who don’t share the same fear.
And so, in the spirit of harmony, I try never to choose FEAR…
But, if I did…
I would be a FEAR FEARING person. The emotion of FEAR in other people’s hands scares me.
I would be much more of a MAN FEARING person, than a GOD FEARING person ;-)
But, I don’t fear man, either. Because I KNOW that the majority of mankind is GOOD.
I KNOW that the majority of mankind wants to know LOVE, PEACE & HAPPINESS.
I KNOW that GOOD has ALWAYS defeated EVIL… though it has often taken long periods of history.
And, somehow I have faith in man, that it always will.
Sure, we will disagree, we will fight, and on too many sad occasions we will kill each other… And, more lives have been lost not because of evil, but because of our ignorance to GOD and our imperfections and malinterpreted fear as human beings.
Words matter.
I have chosen deliberately to stay away from the concept of religion when it comes to harmony, because I believe the philosophy of harmony is independent of religion (and I have heard the same from you).
But words matter, and I would encourage you to challenge the words, a “God fearing people”… whenever you hear them.
I am certain GOD wanted a GOD-LOVING people, a MAN-LOVING people… I am certain “he” would have never chosen FEAR as a motivator for us in any way.
“He” would have chosen LOVE & UNDERSTANDING in every moment.
“He” would have chosen harmony ;-) And, I would argue, that “he” certainly did… because deep in the message of virtually every religion and philosophy that has survived time and rallied races, cultures and nations… a similarity in that message has persisted…
And the similarity has never been FEAR…
I WILL NEVER CHOOSE FEAR!
Whatever faith you may have, whatever religion you may subscribe to…
“A GOD LOVING PEOPLE…”
YES… !
That’s what the world needs more of…
That is the choice I will make for me...
And, "a people" that show up moment over moment ACTING on and toward that LOVE!
In harmony,
Nesto