Beyond "Mommy and Daddy said so"

My parents raised me going to church. I didn't see the second half of The Wizard of Oz until I was in junior high because we didn't miss Training Union on Sunday nights until Training Union slipped into obscurity. And for some reason back then, the TV network always showed The Wizard of Oz once a year and always on a Sunday night. [This was years before VCRs and DVRs]. My parents not giving in to our whining to stay home and finish it was a powerful statement to me about their priorities.

But forty years later, I don't attend church or follow my faith just because Mommy and Daddy said so, although I appreciate their efforts. There should come a time in every individual's life where one questions one's upbringing, traditions, truth, and faith, or lack thereof. I accepted Christ officially into my life around seven years old, but I fully committed my life to him in my early twenties. That was when I cut the traditional-spiritual umbilical cord from my parents.

I was in college, and a speech class one semester was torturous for me when the teacher spent much of the time throwing very controversial issues at us and challenging the majority to persuade the minority to believe as they did. For issues like legalizing drugs, lowering the drinking age, and abortion, the majority was all on board. I didn't have a problem with inter-racial marriage, but the majority did. I had a problem marrying outside the faith, but the majority didn't. Without exception, I was in the minority on every issue and was bombarded from every side to abandon my beliefs and come over to the majority's side. Often I drove home from class in tears because I realized much of what I believed was "because Mommy and Daddy said so." I appreciate the class now because it forced me to question my beliefs, and then crystalize and know exactly why I believed what I believed.

I learned that I didn't agree with everything my denomination taught, but I eventually knew without a doubt that I was walking the right path with the God of the Bible, which teaches that a relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father. And if we don't like that, we need to remind ourselves that God is God, and He can set things up in His creation however He sees fit. But comparing my faith to some of the other well-known religions, how many of those worship and honor a living God? My God is a God of love, not hate. He does not expect us to proselytize others through force or kill those who do not believe as we do. He does not require us to avenge Him by threatening death to someone who insults Him. He's big enough to handle that Himself, and He chooses to extend grace to those who despise Him. I'm so thankful I live in a country that allows me to express my faith without worrying about someone trying to kill me because I believe differently than they do.

But on a more personal level, my faith forces me to look inward. God is the only thing that keeps my totally self-serving-self at bay. When our culture preaches that the narcissist, entitled, self-indulgent lifestyle "because we deserve it" attitude is what we should aspire to, God wants us to live an "others-centered" lifestyle and exhibit grace and forgiveness toward others because that's what He's done for us through Christ.

It's unfortunate that so many secular history books have stripped the influences of the Christian faith from our country's history. The lack of freedom from a government-mandated religion was why many people fled to America's shores. Our Founding Fathers freely expressed their faith and its influence in the forming of our country. Our society's morals and work ethic were founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Many of the colleges and universities were founded by religious institutions until they became secularized. Many of the abolitionists and later those involved with the Civil Rights movement were people of faith. Many hospitals, orphanages, drug rehabs, and soup kitchens were started because God impressed upon believers of the need to help. How many of the angry religions can say the same about the good their faith has done for mankind?

My faith allows me the freedom to question and the freedom to grow. God is no less insecure when I question certain aspects about my faith. I'm sure there will be some things that I'll never have the answer to this side of life. And I love the hope and assurance that this brief wisp of time we call life is only a prelude to an eternity with Him face to face.

As a friend of mine told me, "the Christian life is the best way to live one's life." And I don't know how people cope during the difficulties we all face in life without a relationship with God. I'm so grateful that I was raised by parents who believed in God and put their faith in Him. And that is the most important legacy I can leave my own children, who also have the freedom to question their beliefs and choose whatever path the their spirit leads them.