Faith and Common Sense

Logic and Sense begins with Faith!

The movie "Miracle on 34th Street" includes the following line from one of the actors:  

Faith is believing in things when common sense tells us not to.  

Of course, he was referring to Santa Claus, and in some respects his definition is true, but there is more to it when you are a believer in Christ.  Faith must become part of our common sense.  Without faith, there can be no logic or sense in our lives.

The basic teachings of Christ are logical and are filled with common sense.  Think about His first greatest commandment- You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 

The first one will be refuted by nonbelievers and that's okay, because it makes sense God would not want anyone to be forced to believe in Him or to love Him.  Think of it this way- Would you want your son or daughter, or another loved one, to be forced into loving you?  Doubtful.  However, think about how wonderful it would be for you and the loved one if you both chose to love each other with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.

God wants that from us because it is how much he loves us.  I think if there was a person you loved with all your heart, mind, and soul, it would make you quite happy if they loved you the same way in return.  It makes perfect sense.  

And this leads us to the second greatest commandment- You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  It is even more logical than the first one.  However, sometimes it can be difficult for many of us to love ourselves and can lead us to making choices harmful to others.

For example, when you are having a good day, you are more likely to treat other people better than on those days when you are feeling at your worse.  You can easily love your neighbor as yourself because during those good moments, you are happily loving yourself.

Loving yourself sometimes may not be easy, and is even more difficult for those who may have low self-esteem, substance addiction, or another mental health issue.  The issue may have been triggered by poor parenting, abusive relationships, or one of many other dysfunctions that can cause problems in a person's life.

And this is why those who do love themselves must love others (their neighbors) in the same way.  Without that love, people who do not love themselves will simply continue to have less love for themselves, and ultimately it can turn into hate for others.  Love always wins over hate- eventually, but one cannot give up or give in to the easy choices- one of which would be indifference.  Indifference is often defined as the opposite of love.

A person with faith, whether belief in a God or not, trusts that the love they share with another person will lead to a better world.  They do not need to see an immediate result of their love because they have faith that loving others is the right thing to do.  Their love becomes an act of common sense.  It is logical to love another person as yourself- but of course, you must first love yourself- and sometimes that can be more difficult than loving others.

In summary, faith becomes a part of our common sense because it allows us to believe in the things we cannot see.  Faith in Christ, and especially in His words, leads us to the great love we are to have for each other.