Why is it individuals turn to god when things are the darkest for them?
Often times one can hear comments like “god will see me through” when faced with a difficult challenge, or when things get overly burdensome people will try to negotiate with god as if faith and religion are some sort of commodity that can be bartered for. You know the types who suddenly speak out loud when the tornado is bearing down on them and say “god, you get me out of this and I’ll never masturbate again” or some such nonsense that is unrealistic and is a promise the person never intends to keep anyway.
In both cases it seems as if an individual’s faith is a thing that is utilized when only they need it. That is not to say people of faith, ones who live a life dedicated to their beliefs, don’t act in such a manner, it just seems as if individuals who are not as dedicated, who are not as in touch with their spiritual side, act that way more than anyone else.
Another characteristic I’ve noticed about the individuals willing to turn to go in the hardest moments in life is that these individuals are the brazen; type A personalities that believe they can do anything without the help of others. The “watch me juggle chain saws, rewrite the Declaration of Independence (better than the founding fathers) and solve the worlds dependence on Oil all before bed time” type.
I am not criticizing these personality types, nor am I getting all preachy saying that God is the answer to all problems but we as people need to realize that, sometimes, things are simply out of our control. Call it God, call it faith, call it lazy but on a “big picture” scale we have virtually no say in the matter.
Instead of turning to god at the last second realize that we truly have minimal over our lives – we have influence. We can influence our lives by exposing ourselves to minimal danger (e.g. – not living on the side of a volcano, eating healthy, not driving drunk) but, really, nature will decide if the tornado is going to rip our house apart, our body will decide if we get cancer, some drunk driver may have made the decision if we live or die…
I point out the Type A / Barter personality as the ones who seem most likely to turn to God in the “last second of the game” because it is this personality that has the hardest time letting go, who has the hardest time believing that there is something greater than themselves, and maybe that is why they turn to God when the chips are down. Maybe that is when they realize they cannot control all…
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