On the Importance of Faith for Humanity
Reflections on the Current State of Society
After years of observation and analysis, it is in my humble opinion that the grotesque state of society today can largely be summed up by the lack of faith and respect for god and the divine. The exponential rate at which we have fallen from grace as a species shouldn’t come as a surprise as we have strayed far off the path our ancestors tread. By surrendering ourselves to our desires and demons, our egos have been inflated like overstretched balloons on the brink of explosion. The concept of morality has become blurred in the face of personal gains and selfish desires, debauchery and immorale conduct has become the norm. If we continue down this current path, what awaits us as a species is most likely destruction.
I’m not trying to propogate apocolyptic conspiracy or instill fear and chaos to establish myself as “holier than thou,” I just want to take this opportunity to share my own observations and analysis on the current state of society. Are we not already suffering the fruits of consequence sowed by our own hands?
We live in a world riddled with lies construed by those with ulterior motives, the legacy media is a mouthpiece parroting the narratives preset by the intricate web of power pulling the strings behind the scenes. Those who seek truth or dare to question the status quo are labeled as conspiracy theorists, anti-semitics, racists, cultists, etc. The labels are rotated as rapidly as changing seasons of fashion, weaponized by those in power to quash down voices with differing opinions. This method has proven highly effective as we have been conditioned to accept this all as the norm, our senses have been dulled and numbed by the constant repetitive order established by those who’ve deemed themselves the “gods of this world,” thinking themselves untouchable and above the rest of us.
The Digital Age has fundamentally altered the course of human history, opening up avenues of access to an unprecedented abundance of information available at our fingertips. The emergence of social media as the prominent platform of socialization has given rise to influencers infiltrating our lives with their oftentimes glorified depictions of reality. Many young people chase after these castle-in-the-air lifestyles without realizing that everything they see has been meticulously crafted to appear the way it does. Let’s look at a hypothetical example of a selfie of some hot girl sipping a cup of coffee as she looks out the window at the cityscape, hair tousled in a windswept “just-rolled-out-of-bed” kind of way. Should we feel inspired to take a similar photo ourselves, we would quickly find that the supposed “natural snapshot selfie” was a farce. The image we saw on social media was the end-product of at least an hour of arranging/rearranging furniture, styling the hair, picking out the right outfit, finding the right camera angle, testing out the shot, etc.
I’m not trying to insinuate that influencers are bad or that staging a photograph is bad, but when we ignore the reality of these small pieces of information we’re exposed to over and over again, it doesn’t take long for us to become numbed to reality itself and eventually, we end up entrapped in a projected world of idealistic hallucinations. Then when reality kicks in, we become depressed and resentful, lamenting everyone and everything that brings us down to earth, face to face with the harsh reality of life.
I find the concept of atheism or denial in the existence of god(s) implausible and utterly evil. We as humans have an undeniable longing, an innate neediness for faith/belief in something greater than ourselves. The catastrophic results of mankind casting aside our reverance for god(s) has left a void in our lives that we pathetically struggle to fill with other substitutes, e.g., the cult-like, fan(atic)-culture obsession with celebrities plaguing young and old people alike. The problem with idolizing other humans is that: it is only human to err, but when these “idols” who are the equivalent of “gods” in the fans hearts err, the house-of-matchsticks faith built up to worship these “idols” falls apart, leaving the believers lost at sea, helplessly facing wave after wave of disappointment and heartbreak.
Not to say that all idols/celebrities are bad, but my point is, we as fellow humans shouldn’t place so much pressure on other humans to become the vassals of our hopes and aspirations and assume the mantle of becoming perfect god-like beings. This type of fan-culture is detrimental for idols/celebrities as well, their egos are bound to inflate with the constant praises they’re showered with and soon they will deem themselves “above” everyone else, they might even believe they are exempt from obeying laws and commit heinous crimes out of selfish desires.
I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time, but never found a chance to: there is a dire need for faith in this day and age. The need for something that endures time and space, that can anchor us amidst this raging sea of change, that gives us strength to overcome the waves of chaos hell-bent on slapping us down to the depths of darkness. To me, faith isn’t some lofty, untangible idea or some idol that we need to prostrate oneself in front of, or even some religion that we must pledge ourselves to. Faith is dedicating oneself and remaining steadfast to a set of beliefs even in the most turbulent of times, I believe that a faith that can’t withstand trials and tests is unworthy of dedicating one’s self to.
I’d like to end this reflection with a little story, I’ll be paraphrasing here since I can’t remember where this story comes from, but it never fails to inspire me. Please feel free to let me know in the comments if you know where this story came from.
There once was a lone traveler roaming the desert. He walked on and on but he never felt fear in his heart because he knew god was right beside him. Every time he looked back, he saw two sets of footprints on the path he’d walked on. At night when he stopped to rest, he heard the voice of god speaking to him and he knew he was not alone. Things continued like this for a long time.
One day, the man lost his way and couldn’t hear the voice of god anymore. He was able to keep his calm at first, but when his supplies ran low, panic set in. He ran around desperately trying to look for an oasis but his efforts were in vain. When he looked back at the path he had come from, he only saw one set of footprints. Fear, anger, resentment, despair, these were the emotions he felt as the world before his eyes blurred into darkness.
When the man came back to his senses, he found himself lying next to a spring of water in the midst of a luscious green oasis. He regained his strength quickly and then began complaining to god. “Why did you abandon me?” he cried accusingly, “how could you leave me when I needed you most?”
“I didn’t abandon you,” god’s voice was as calm and compassionate as always, “I was always there with you.”
“No you weren’t!” the man yelled angrily, “there’s only one set of footprints leading into this oasis!”
God paused for a moment before replying, “Those were my footprints. After you lost consciousness, I carried you here on my back.”
I love this story since it taught me many important lessons, the most important of which was: faith is not just some slogan we pull out when life gives us clear skies and smooth sailing, faith is when even when it seems like all odds are against us, we still hold on resolutely to our beliefs.
