These are just some random thoughts that have been soaring through the mind of an average joe. What is the meaning of life? A common question that very few can answer. Where did the universe come from? Did it just happen or did some intelligent force have a hand in its creation? Again, very few people know the answer to this question. Yet in my average puny mind, I’ve determined sure answers to these questions. However, knowing these answers means very little simply because I am not willing to face them head on.
I know that Life is meaningless when it is only lived in pursuit of self-indulgence. Meaning comes to life only when man forgets about himself, and lives to please a higher power. When our focus is drawn away from ourselves it is drawn to help others around us in need at the expense of my own needs. When we reach this point, we have a sense of enlightenment that no other man can understand. A euphoria if you will. But why then is it so difficult to live a truly selfless life? Our own selfish motives always seem to creep into the daily mix. We know what is right, yet we do not do it. We put ourselves before the needs of others instead of the other way around. How can we be called righteous if we know what is right, and we do the opposite? Some of us excuse this behavior by saying we shall be perfected in the next life, but I say that is rubbish. We must be willing to face up to our imperfections now or never.
More than 70% of Americans claim to be Christians. But what exactly is a Christian? Is it someone who believes in God? Most of the world believes there is a God. More specifically, is it someone that believes in Jesus as the Son of God? No. A Christian is a follower of Christ quite literally. Yet so many American think they are Christians because they repeated a line after their pastor when they were kids, or maybe they pray every day, or perhaps they do good things in the name of Jesus. All of these things can help a person feel good about himself, but feeling good about yourself does not make you selfless. In fact it is quite the opposite.
Most Countries in the Middle East have about a 98% Muslim population. Muslims will make the claim that Islam is a peaceful religion. Yet most of the terrorism in the world is inflicted by Muslims. Peace-loving Muslims, most of which live in America, claim that these are just a group of extremists that have embraced a twisted form of Islam. These same people often point out that Christians did the same thing during the Crusades. Yet I see a difference between the two. Christians that commit acts of violence against their neighbor are in strict violation of Holy Scripture, while Muslims committing acts of violence are in strict obedience to their Holy Scripture.
So we have here two very different religions. On the one hand we have Christianity, a very peaceful religion, but most that claim this religion for their own, do not follow its most basic command. Love your neighbor as yourself. On the other hand we have a religion that encourages its followers to celebrate in the streets when those they see as enemies are brutally murdered. Which is worse? I cannot answer this. To me it is unclear.
So why do so few people have true meaning in their lives. Because Humans are selfish. I don’t care what religion you are. We are all selfish. And we will never find meaning until we get over ourselves. Religion will not provide meaning to your life. Only willing service to others will. If we all made this our Goal in life, no matter what religion we claim as our own, we would all live picture-perfect, fulfilling lives.
