The Problem With Faith

One thing we all have in common is faith. It’s not something that some people have and some people don’t have. Even on the most everyday level, faith is a part of our existence. This kind of faith is like breathing; it’s done without conscious thought. Everyone exercises faith. For every piece of machinery used, every object wielded as a tool, and each bite of food consumed, there is the accompanying trust that each will perform as expected. A chair is supposed to support our weight. It is used without giving a thought to any other outcome.

Faith goes beyond the realm of mere physical objects and forms the currency, or give and take, of relationships with others. The only reason anyone knows of or understands any of the concepts existing beyond their personal experience of the world is because someone tells them. The transferor of these views must be believed for the insights to be accepted as true. Each and every historical figure only exists in history as a result of the retelling of a story. Socrates and Plato were great philosophers only if, when you’re taught this fact, you believe it to be true.

On the most profound and life affecting level, faith is what each of us has our life reality based on. Our actions flow from what we believe in, and what we hold to be most true. It is the foundation of our existence. It is inevitable that our foundations be tested, and that we have opportunity to see and understand if what each of us believes is actually true. Storms of life and the hard times will come to give us the chance to put into practice those ideas which we have cherished.

It is of paramount importance that we make sure the basis of our worldview is a solid and dependable place from which to act. Jesus taught us that when we build the structure which is our life, that there are wise builders and then there are foolish builders. “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them in practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matt. 7:24-26)

The problem with faith is that the recipient of our devotion must be worthy of our trust. Faith must be invested wisely. At the most profound level of commitment, if our foundation is unreliable, the house of our life is condemned to fall already. (See John 3:18) Is what you believe in something that will last beyond yourself? Is your faith of the kind that will give you strength and hope even if you lost everything else this world has to offer? After the test of fire, will you regret what you have put your trust in?