SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION

In the last year, I have really leaned into my spiritual side. I have always wanted to explore this side of myself but was hesitant because I did not want people to think I didn’t believe in God. I believed the two were mutually exclusive. I have found that I am closer to God now than I ever was, including when I was in church.

I have always been a Christian, and my faith in God has never wavered. I can’t say the same for my faith in humanity. Some of the same people who claim to be Christians on a mission to spread the word of God are some of the same people who immediately pass judgment, condemn you for having a different view, and try to bully you into seeing it their way.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not lumping all Christians together. I know many Christians who have some of the same frustrations I do. And I can’t speak to other religions because I am not familiar to have an opinion, but I will speak about my personal experiences.

What prompted me to write this article was a Facebook post by a friend. This friend used to be very open-minded and accepting, so I was surprised at the tone of this post. The post insinuated that there is a distinct difference between a positive person and a holy person and ended with an ominous warning to “know the difference.”

I just shook my head because here again is another example of how intolerant people are generally, but using God as an excuse for the intolerance seems off-kilter to me.

I would agree that not all positive people are holy, but does that automatically make them bad people? Does it give a self-proclaimed religious person the right to judge and warn others? Would God approve of that behavior? Or is this a conditioned mindset or old belief that doesn’t allow for openness?

In my writings and teachings, I use God, Universe, and Source interchangeably so as not to exclude anyone. I am blessed with the ability to write from the heart and share loving messages with everyone, not just to those who have the same beliefs. I am confident enough in my faith in God that what someone else believes or doesn’t believe has no effect on me.

Being religious and having a strong faith in God does not mean you commit a sin or betray God by listening to or being friends with someone who has different beliefs. Their belief system is not contagious. It also does not mean you should make a blanket statement insinuating that positive people cannot be holy and warning the villagers of their sneaky plan to sprinkle happiness and joy in the lives of those they meet.

If you find yourself immediately discounting someone because of their religious differences, ask yourself why their belief system poses such a threat to you that you feel it is necessary to “warn” others?

Before judging and isolating someone, be the Christian someone can look up to and admire. They may be wavering in their beliefs and looking for God. Let them see the light of God shine through you in the way you show love and compassion, through your energy, and by your actions. Exemplify all of God's glory. Be the light in the darkness for them as God is for you.

At the very least, don’t be the reason they lose all hope and turn their back on God.

As a teenager, I attended a church that one of my best friends invited me to. It wasn’t close to my house and my family did not attend that church, but my parents would take me and pick me up on Wednesdays and sometimes twice on Sundays.

I started going because my friend went there, but I kept going because I wanted to be a part of something great that allowed me to get closer to God. Sadly, I never felt accepted or that I belonged to that church by most of its members. But one person gave me hope and always stood out to me: the youth director. He was the only one who ever talked to me like a person and not like some juvenile delinquent who attended church independently of her family.

It felt like a prerequisite to fitting in was you either had to grow up with the kids of the adult church members, or you had to come from a wealthy family who ran in the same circles as the adult members. I even felt the isolation from those in my age group, but I kept going hoping they could see past my “shortcomings.”

Another reason I continued attending that church was because of the youth director. He was there to serve God. When I was eighteen years old, God called him home at the age of 27. After his funeral, I never stepped foot in that church again, and I never regularly attended another church. It was a choice I made based on my experiences.

I never blamed God for taking the youth director from us because I somehow understood his work on earth was done. I never blamed the members who didn’t accept me because I realized it was never about me.

If anything, the experience taught me I didn’t need a building with hymnals stuck in the back of pews to be close to God. All I ever needed was silence to hear Him because He is always with me regardless of my physical location.

If your belief is different than my belief, that is okay. It doesn’t make one right and the other wrong; it simply makes them different. The only thing that matters to me is that your soul is fulfilled.