There is a lot of talk about “my truth” nowadays. And since we are beings that only have access to our own subjective experiences, this is unavoidable. But there is an obvious difference between “what is true for me” and “what I believe to be true for everyone”. What I’m going to talk about here is what I believe to be true for everyone, regardless of whether we believe in them or not. If you think that this makes me the opposite of a moral relativist, you would be correct. It’s important however, to make clear that I don’t see any of this absolute requirements for living a good life. I, for example, believe that following Jesus is the best way to live a good life. But I believe that all of the world religions contain teachings that would lead to such a life. I even believe that there are secular philosophies that qualify, even if they miss the most important part of life.
Which brings me to the first thing that I stand for: faith in God. I don’t believe in God. I know that God exists. It is not important to me to convince others about this because of some need to be right. But since I know this for a fact, that everyone can have a relationship with God, that this is the biggest joy of my life and what I believe is the whole purpose for our existence, I of course want this for everyone else as well. This has changed my life on so many levels. It has transformed me as a person, given me meaning, a sense of purpose, made me feel much more, enjoy life more and… I could go on forever. Having this constant presence in my life is wonderful. And to get these little signs and other experiences that constantly reaffirms this knowing, and guides my actions, fills me with wonder and excitement.
Of course it’s not always easy. Before finding God I never worried about morals, character or where my life was going. This felt more safe in many ways. I considered life pointless and I was fine with that. When it ended, it ended and it didn’t matter what I had done during my journey from start to finish. Now I worry a lot more. But it is a meaningful worry.
This also feeds into my next strong belief. Namely that what will get us out of the mess that we are in, is not to try and change the world, but to understand and change ourselves. That this is how we go from creating the hell on earth that we are now seeing, to heaven on earth. And I truly believe this. That we have the means to create paradise on earth. But we have become deeply corrupted by the ways of the world. The ones that tell us to take as much as possible before we die. To hold grudges, to judge other people and to categorize others as more or less valuable depending on their achievements and material possessions.
What is the alternative to living by this essentially animal nature? I think that the best alternative is to do one’s best to follow Jesus. And I will talk about this in the next post.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar