Curiosity killed the cat . . .
I wonder if it has a hand in killing one’s faith.
Lately, on my Facebook feed, I have been noticing that there are posts that produce a verse of scripture that is supposed to represent that person’s faith. It has been interesting perusing these posts, especially of people I know. I’m impressed and would agree on the scriptural references generated to represent these friends. Some I would even say are “right on”. Impressive even. That’s when my curiosity reared its head.
“Hold my beer,” I said to my spouse. We say and do that here in Montana when bellying up to a challenge.
Going to one such post, I clicked on it, gave my name . . . and waited. BOOM! I got a reply . . . “Jesus wept.” John 11:35. The shortest verse in the Bible. That was it.
I’m a thoughtful and reasonable person. I wasn’t sure what to do with that reference about me. I’m certain that there are those in my life who would agree with that assessment. They have always questioned my faith. I’m also certain that are times when Jesus did weep when it came to me and my understanding of faith. Lord knows that I have. But . . . really! “Jesus wept.”
Faith is a personal thing. It is not something decided and judged by others, though that seems to be the popular belief and practice these days. My faith is between the Creator and myself. Thankfully the Creator is more benevolent with me than I am with myself. The Creator will decide.
Because of that I don’t put any “stock” into artificial intelligent generated postings on Facebook when it comes to my faith. In truth, I did not play the “game” . . . I did not seek a generated scriptural reference about my faith. It was just a humorous “what if” . . . what if I did this and my scriptural verse was “Jesus wept”? I found it highly humorous and amusing. It made me laugh out loud. Who says the Creator doesn’t have a sense of humor?
When it comes to faith it really comes down to “actions” versus “words”. Faith is expressed in actions. Words are a dime a dozen . . . probably much more with inflation. What we do is more important than what we say. Love is not a noun; it is a verb . . . an “action” verb. That is, as most are apt to say, God. God is love.
Maybe someone needs to create an app that uses artificial intelligence that generates a way to weigh and measure one’s ability to “love”. Plug your name in and . . . BOOM . . . a measurement of one’s love in action. Could that be a measurement of one’s faith?
I don’t know, but it would be interesting. I imagine the shortest verse in the Bible would sum up the general score of such an AI app . . . “Jesus wept.” Beyond the “feel good” stories we hear . . . individual examples of love . . . the reality is that the “big picture” is not so bright and cheery. If we look at the “big picture” of the world we live in . . . well, we’ve got a long way to go. It is sad.
At the same time—who knows?
I’m a proponent of the 99th monkey theory. The theory is based on the story of scientists removing a monkey off an isolated island. The scientists teach the monkey to wash its hands before eating. Then the monkey is returned to the island. The scientists want to see what happens and if it will make a difference with the other monkeys.
Of course, with its newfound skill, the monkey demonstrates its washing of hands before eating to the other monkeys on the island. The monkeys basically ignore the hand-washing monkey and ridicule it in the way that monkeys ridicule I imagine. Despite it all, the monkey continues. Ten . . . fifty . . . and more. Over and over. Then one day when it was washing its hands in front of the 99th monkey, they all started washing their hands. Persistence pays off.
That’s the thing . . . no one ever knows when their “actions” are going to make a difference or create change. All one can do is to keep on trying . . . keep on loving. Eventually something is going to happen. So, it is with faith . . . with love. My faith—my love in action—occurs within me and through me in how I live and relate to others. That is where it begins for me and for you. That is the only way that it has ever worked . . . one individual at a time. If we keep on trying to love, we are eventually going to encounter that 99th monkey.
We must keep on trying. If we don’t . . . well, then, I imagine Jesus just might weep.
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