Faith is the key

Faith is a beautiful thing. The ability to believe in something that you can’t see or even prove is an amazing and unique strength. Faith applies to everything. It applies to religion, people, and all other aspects of life. However, faith reaches it greatest potential when passed from one to another. I have really modeled my friendships, management, and my religion around faith and I realize that more and more everyday. I put faith in people at the beginning and have realized that they in return will put faith in me. Sometimes I feel like a man of the old code as I see everyone moving away from this approach to life.

Escrow is a term we have grown to love. This is the holding of funds, documents, securities, or other property by an impartial third party for the other two participants in a business transaction. When the transaction is completed, the escrow agent releases the entrusted property. Why is escrow needed? We don’t want to give money up front as a token of faith. So we throw escrow in to the picture and we call it security and good practice.

The employee works hard each day in an attempt to earn trust and respect from their manager. Everyday they try to get a little closer and the manager’s willingness to trust and put faith in their skills gets pushed farther away. Will I earn my managers respect? Will they ever put faith in my abilities? These are the questions that are asked. The manager then looks back some time later and wonders why their workers are unmotivated, bitter, and unproductive. If only the manager would have showed faith to the employee in the beginning.

So we have a divine being, a god, a higher power. He creates a rule set and provides a reward based on obedience. The follower tries so hard and fines himself failing and they picture the reward getting farther away. The God looks back and wonders why his followers are unmotivated, bitter, and unproductive. If only the God would have shown the faith he demanded from his followers.

Do you see the pattern? The world doesn’t trust unless trust is earned. Our fictitious faith is a faith based on good statistics and odds. It is a faith that has to be earned and thus not a faith at all. I believe that we no longer have faith in each other and thus we do not have moral obligations to each other. Everything is earned, its just business we say.

Why do I say all this? People are empowered by trust and faith and then become self motivated. They don’t need to be pulled or pushed by the promise of a reward. They work hard for you because you believe in them and they believe in you. This is the way it should be and I believe with all my heart that it works. I call this security and good practice.

There is the one and only GOD who realizes that people are flawed. A human looks up and tells the God that they know they are flawed and they are not sure if they can live the life that he wants them to. The GOD looks down and tells the human that it is OK and that is all he needed to hear. The GOD then gives them the eternal reward, up front, as a token of his faith. The follower realizes that the GOD has put trust in them and they leave empowered with his spirit. They then live a life that is pleasing to him because they have faith. They didn’t earn it because it can’t be earned. They have faith because their GOD first put faith in them. Isn’t it beautiful?

Ephesians 2:8-9

8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast.