I take that on faith. The purpose of the universe and everything in it is obviously not to please me, make me feel special and eternally safe. That much seems pretty clear. But then again, why should it?
I’m glad you recognize your belief as containing faith - that’s something many people don’t realize about theirs. You’re right, the purpose of this life is not to please us. Romans 8:23 says, “and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies”. The whole universe is groaning. I believe that this universe of suffering and imperfection is a place of preparation. Imagine what spoiled brats we would be if everything was made to please us - we’d be totally devoid of love, and completely self-absorbed!
However, I do believe that you are indeed special, and valuable beyond my wildest imagination (boy, talk about cheese, but that’s what I believe!). You are as unique as your set of fingerprints, or DNA, and is valued and loved because you are who you are. Now, there’s nothing wrong with feeling good about that, because it would be reception of love, and not harbouring of pride.
We all seek love and self-worth in this life, above all other things, and I believe there is a reason for it. We all seek money, status, respect, sex (a form of love, but with lots of pleasure!), power - these seemingly fill our need for self-worth and love, but none of these can be fulfilling as or beneficial without true love.
Think of the story of the Garden of Eden. The people did not die when they came to know good and evil, but they became insecure. Suddenly they knew about death, they could anticipate eternity, or lack thereof, they began to question, and the questions make them crazy and insecure.
We are no less secure than we were before the “fall”, not in reality. the divine is in charge, as always. What changed was our perception. We stopped trusting the that the universe and the divine knew what it was doing. We began to think we were the point of it all. But only our perception changed, not the truth.
The truth is that the divine is still in charge, and we don’t need to spend our lives worrying over eternity. It is out of our hands, as it always has been. Worrying cannot add one cubit to our stature…We are meant to live, and leave the running of the universe to the divine, yet we continue to try to be as “god”, to understand that which we cannot, to secure eternity for ourselves, etc. etc. The sin of pride continues. Calling our beliefs Truth, is nothing but supreme pride and hubris.
It is not our job, responsibility, or capability to run, change, fix, or control the universe. The divine has it covered. Our attatchment to self, our pride in ourselves as we are now, drives us to worry over maintaining ourselves, as we are, for all eternity. The ultimate security is in letting go, and letting the divine handle it, that is the ultimate in trust, humility and faith. To let “god” be “god”. And if that means that we will not last, in our present forms, as distinct individuals, with our precious memories etc, then so be it. It is not our call to make.
There’s certainly a lot of truths in what you said. Certainly, “the divine” is in charge. Certainly, we ought to trust “the divine”, and certainly the fall was due to the lack of trust. True, we are not to worry, and true, we cannot secure eternity for ourselves.
However, calling our belief “truth” is not necessarily “supreme pride”; it is faith. Christians have absolutely no ownership of the truth, since it is not man’s pursuit of God, but the reverse; God’s pursuit of man, a revelation. Hence, there is nothing we can be proud for - no, we ought to be grateful and humbled. Our faith is not our own. It is a gift. This is why we value it so much - it is part of loving back. Thus, faith is all about trust. Trust in a person; goodness personified (since evil is not to be trusted), not in some abstract concepts. This goodness, this love, we believe, calls us to be with Him for ever, outside of time (which is His creation). Thus, we are to cleanse ourselves now from all impurities, since nothing unclean shall enter His presence (Rev 21:27). But, we can not cleanse ourselves - only God is capable of doing that, and we can lovingly cooperate with it.
Yes, I do agree about letting go of our pride - but that’s only fully possible upon truely realising that we are loved, and that all our our self-worth is contained in that. This is why, when asked for her motivation, Mother Theresa would do everything “for the glory of God” (much to the perplexing of the inquisitive media). We can love only after we are loved, and so be free and joyful enough to let go of pride, money, status, in order to love. We believe (as John Paul II said) that freedom exists for the sake of love.
God bless you!
TTM
