Faith in God: the key to change

A correct understanding of faith, and its power in daily life, is imperative to reaching individual potential and finding meaning

A word used and misused so often, faith has become an idea plagued by cliché and cynicism. To some, the concept of faith appears equivalent to wishful thinking, embraced only by the ignorant and irrational. This misconception portrays faith as a commitment to the unprovable and a dependence on the nonexistent. However, faith, when given serious enough thought, reveals itself to be a fundamentally omnipresent and powerfully real principle. Faith is the driving force behind all positive action and, when concentrated on the divine, the source of all progress and joy. A correct understanding of faith, and its power in daily life, is imperative to reaching individual potential and finding meaning.

In a verse attributed to St. Paul, faith is defined as an observable and even tangible force. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11.1). It is the physical manifestation of one’s ideals, the proof of truths invisible to the prideful eye. When separated from an explicitly religious context, faith can be understood as the willingness to believe that a given behavior will result in a desirable outcome. It is the belief that correct action now will result in a better future. Faith requires, therefore, that we make the courageous decision to act as though we can make our vision of the future a reality. It is through small acts of faith that we make our life more bearable and the future less imposing.

Consciousness and faith

The future is, by definition, nothing but potential; unformed, unseen, unclear possibility. Its character is equally filled with “things hoped for” and things dreaded. Despite our uncertainty or fear regarding the future, our present is constantly informed by it. No matter what we do to remain in the preferred present, or longed for past, our experience is a constant manifestation of what was, until recently, the unpredictable future. For us to move forward in our time-bound journey with any sort of confidence, we must learn how to channel the future’s chaos into a present order. Consciousness is our God-given tool to accomplish this. It allows us to envision alternate potential futures and choose between them. However, consciousness wouldn’t be of much use without faith.

As stated earlier, faith is the willingness to believe that correct actions will move us towards a chosen aim. Without faith in our ability to reach an aim, our consciousness would become paralyzed by the infinite complexity, and apparent pointlessness, of existence. Without an aim towards which to direct our actions, there would be no way to determine the value of any given action, and consequently, no motivation to act at all. For us to turn thoughts into meaningful action we must have faith in something. Faith allows our consciousness to function as a tool, filtering out useless courses of action and motivating us to progress towards a goal.

Faith in what?

For faith to have the most efficacy in our lives, it must be centered around an ideal, a standard of moral perfection, something worth working towards. This ideal serves as both an anchor, bringing order to life’s chaos, and a goal, bringing structure to our values. If this ideal is something worldly (e.g., possessions, pleasure, prestige) then our behavior will reflect such vain and shallow priorities. To bring forth the best version of ourselves, our faith must be concentrated on the divine and transcendent; an ideal of perfection and truth, transcending all earthly motives. Faith can only provide its full, life-changing power when centered around the ultimate ideal of goodness and truth: God.

Having faith in God is choosing to believe in the ultimate and transcendent goodness of existence despite our inability to fully comprehend it. Faith in God is the conviction that living according to the truth will result in the most beneficial outcome for ourselves and others. It is faith in God that instills in us the desire to do good, make sacrifices and strive towards self-improvement despite the inherent discomfort of doing so. As we endeavor to reach the highest ideal we can conceptualize, the loftiest aim we can imagine—as we endeavor to reach God—we will find purpose in our decisions and meaning in our life.

The Effect of Faith in God

Faith in God orients our goals and desires so they are employed in the service of the ultimate ideal. When we faithfully choose to aspire to this transcendent aim, we begin to view all our decisions in a new light. Choosing to believe that truth and goodness transcend material reality literally enlightens our consciousness, enabling us to more easily discern between good and evil and choose the good. It provides us with a framework for organizing our values and a motivation to overcome our faults and shortcomings.

When faith in God is ceded to the cynicism and relativism of our materialist society, the meaning that once influenced, and was derived from, our decisions, disappears. Without it we are left with nothing but animal instinct, a mindless quest for pleasure and survival. Not only ceasing to hold ourselves accountable for our actions, but also losing our ability to judge which actions are worth carrying out.

Faith in God suggests identification with Him, and subsequently, a desire to be like Him—to be perfect. When that faith is abandoned, we begin to identify not with truth and beauty, but with lesser gods, like political parties, cultural trends, and frail ideologies. Ultimately, in identifying ourselves with temporal realities, as opposed to supernal and transcendent realities, we lose our ability to see the world clearly, the ability to make the unknown future a meaningful present, the ability to change ourselves for the better.

Choose faith, choose change

Faith in God brings hope. It places the responsibility for progress and happiness in your hands. When you choose faith in God, you stop fearing the world. You realize that there is no enemy to be feared other than the one that resides within yourself; that part of you that lies, that deceives, that denies. With this attitude you can stop viewing the world as dark and cruel and instead begin looking inwards to find and eradicate that part of yourself that is dark and cruel. This recognition of individual responsibility, brings change. This change is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith in God is the decision to overcome the corruption of mortality through individual morality. It is through faith-filled individuals that the world is changed for the better. God is unchanging because He is perfect. We, however, are far from it. For this reason, we choose to have faith, we choose to change.

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