Faith is not being sure where you're going, but going anyway. Frederick Buechner
We all have faith. And not just in one thing but multiple things. Some of us have faith in the government, or rather our pick of political party. Some of us don't have faith in any part of government! Some of us have faith in a teacher or professor. Some of us have faith in a particular kind of exercise regime. And then, of course, we all have faith in a higher power - whichever one we choose. (And I contend that even when people say they don't have faith in any higher power they actually still do - they make something their higher power - we can't help it, it's built in to believe in something bigger and higher than ourselves. For example, many people have made science their higher power.) That faith is the most strongly contested kind of all. But I'm not interested in getting into that today (or really any other day if you want to know the truth).
Here's what Webster's says about faith:
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty
b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
We all have faith. And not just in one thing but multiple things. Some of us have faith in the government, or rather our pick of political party. Some of us don't have faith in any part of government! Some of us have faith in a teacher or professor. Some of us have faith in a particular kind of exercise regime. And then, of course, we all have faith in a higher power - whichever one we choose. (And I contend that even when people say they don't have faith in any higher power they actually still do - they make something their higher power - we can't help it, it's built in to believe in something bigger and higher than ourselves. For example, many people have made science their higher power.) That faith is the most strongly contested kind of all. But I'm not interested in getting into that today (or really any other day if you want to know the truth).
Here's what Webster's says about faith:
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty
2
a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2): complete trust
3
: something that is believed especially with strong conviction;especially : a system of religious beliefs <the Protestantfaith>
So Buechner is right - faith is not being sure of where you are headed as you believe in that person, thing, system but going anyway. We do it almost without thinking. Why? Why do we do that? Because trust has been built somehow in that person, thing, system. So it seems that faith and trust are intimately linked together. And when the trust gets broken so does the faith. The thing about it is we get burned a couple of times and swear off faith in whatever it is but we can't . Maybe we don't have faith in that particular thing again but we replace it with something else. We have to, it is weaved into the fabric of our nature.
Faith (and trust) is risky business. We don't like the unknown but we will follow it because faith in people, things, systems is weaved into the fabric of who we are. And the unknown has been known to lead to some pretty amazing *places* so have a little faith will you?
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