An Open Letter to the People of the United States #5

What is Faith, and who is to decide how it will be practiced and by whom.

We all know what faith is right, we all understand it to be a Christian thing that says there is a God and He's in charge no matter what Liberals say, correct? If that's what you believe faith to be, then you are in for a surprise.

Faith is not an esoteric thing that hangs around in the Church down the block, nor in the temple, nor the mosque, in actuality faith is a living breathing entity that resides in each and every one of us, though there are some that will refute that, and that's okay, really, because they are exercising their faith that others will pay attention to what they are saying and leave them alone on this subject.

Then of course there are those who would attempt to discredit faith as a wish for something that could not be accomplished through effort, which of course is pathetic in that anyone who ascribes to that is describing themselves as idiots.

Let's take for example two individuals, one raised to believe in God and the other raised to believe in the ability for one to raise him/herself beyond the original circumstances through their efforts and desires. When we look at both individuals what do we see;

1. The individual who was raised in the Christian ethic has a calm exterior in a crisis, this
   individual has a defined purpose that exceeds the temporal limits of life as we understand it, he or she possess an assurance that puts every and I mean every worldly concern in it's proper place, (circular file 13) this man or woman is kind even through stressful events. This person maintains a quiet strength that exceed all expectations, though this person may be monetarily bereft of all the outward signs of success, they are successful beyond the wildest dreams of those who would rather subject themselves to show and tell. Situation response is governed by their belief that this too shall pass..
2. This individual is governed by the need to maintain an appearance of success-fullness, that others can see and admire, this person relies on the praise of others for their significance, in times of stress they rely on their abilities to overcome that which confronts them. They look down on others who have not achieved their lofty positions, they in effect become a power unto themselves. For them faith is equated to achievement and the praise of others.

Having been part of both lifestyles, I can honestly say that I understand the differences between them, and trust me when I say living your life to impress the world is worth nothing in the long run, fortunes today are here today and gone tomorrow, people of self made importance are only important to themselves.

So what is the difference between a faith based individual and that of the self-made individual.

The answer to that is simple, the difference is tomorrow.

The successful individual according to the world standards, whom seeks the praise of his/her fellow individual winds up nowhere, though they may say they plan for tomorrow , they just totally live in today, and in appearance, and in the adulation of others less fortunate that they are, what do they have to look forward to when the adulation stops? The individuals that base their existence on the trappings of the world, usually find those same trappings loosing their luster once possessed, then it becomes a race to the next possession with the same result, to me, and I may be a majority of one that does not sound like a lifestyle that I would choose to exist in. Sometimes being rich and famous is not all it's cracked up to be!

On the other hand, and I think just about everyone will agree with this, when someone knows where their existence will eventually lead them to, there is a certain air of confidence about them that nothing can shake. If you disagree with that statement, think about this. Two people, equally as healthy as the other, equally as adept as the other, one a believer the other as an agnostic or perhaps an atheist. They live next door to each other, both married and have kids. One family does a lot together including eating dinner together at the table, praying a prayer of thanksgiving for what they have received, laughing and talking about their day and how it went, kind of a serene setting wouldn't you say?

The other household does an eat and dash, off to the gym, off to the coffee shop, off to the ladies social, back to work, quick kiss on the cheek with a promise to take you shopping this weekend, high and goodbye. Business is good getting a raise soon, hopefully, see you on the weekend when we can get some time together. Really, is that whast a family consists of.

I know these examples are exaggerated, but the point is they both both exercise faith, differing types for sure but both have faith. The one is faith in something that cannot be viewed, touched, held, or displayed, faith from the inside, the quiet assurance of a promise given by someone far beyond ourselves in which there is no back up for any reason whatsoever as opposed to promises given by someone or something that has over and over proven themselves to be incapable of being worthy of our trust.

Let me postulate this, everyone on this earth, bar none exercises faith in one form or another so why is there such a blatant effort to deprive those who live by faith of their right to do just that, even though it is guaranteed by our Constitution? Could it be because those who try to deprive others of their rights do so out of feelings of inadequacy because the see in those who live by faith something that their lifestyle can never possess.?

A believing American who still cares