Faith in Something

We all need faith in something. It may be only that the sun will rise tomorrow. But we need to believe in something. Our beliefs anchor us and give us a reason to get up each day. We act on our beliefs that the sun rises and out of bed we get to face what comes. And we rise sure in the knowledge that with tomorrow comes another day.

Most humans believe in more than that the sun will rise. And we believe in abstract things like goodness, justice and kindness to all. Many across the world also believe in God. These kinds of things are intangible. You might see kindness in action, but you can't hold it in your hands. Nor can you dissect it under a microscope.

So what about abstract things like patriotism for example. What about that big one, belief in God? What happens when there are conflicts between the things we believe. For example, how do we reconcile patriotism with our belief in kindness when we are dealing with, say, an enemy soldier? Suppose I start to believe that kindness to certain groups conflicts with my sense of patriotism. Should I believe in kindness to all except those I think may be a threat to my country? What about people who believe in, perhaps, a different God? Do they have a right to kindness and to justice and fairness? You can go on with this, thinking about different scenarios. You may find your kindness has quite distinct boundaries. Stop for a minute. Think about that. How does that reconcile with the belief that everyone is created equal. And, for Christians, there is an added complication. Weren't we commanded to love our enemies?

At a time when we live in a divided world these issues have a new prominence. Kindness has become more scarce. But many of us pay lip service to value of kindness, as well as fairness and justice. Maybe it is time to take a moment to think about values and, more importantly, how we live out our values in this world in the 21st century

Wendy Mason Smith

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