When we speak of faith, it's often within the context of religion; faith in God.

But I know many people who are not particularly religious, yet still embody faith; faith in self, in their partner, in humanity, in good triumphing over evil.

When we embody faith, we turn our focus toward what we want to create; we'll see God working through our lives, or we'll feel we can handle whatever may come our way.

Lack of Faith

Lack of faith turns our focus to all we see wrong in the world. When we focus on problems that we have no control over, our own frustration grows. The more frustrated we feel, the more disempowered we become.

It's the feeling of disempowerment that leads to judgment and hate. This is because when you lack faith, it can suddenly feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.

Lack of faith leads to division; me vs. you, us vs. them. When you see separation between yourself and an "other," it becomes very easy to blame, judge, and hate. In fact, divisiveness is the direct path to hate.

Walking in Faith

But when you walk in faith, you are walking within the truth that there is something greater at work, not just in your life, but everyone else's.

Again, this faith doesn't have to be religious. Someone may have faith that their choices will make a difference in their own life, and that will expand out into the lives of their family, and community.

Here at Unity, because we are spiritually based, we put our faith in the Divine that works through us, for us, as us. We believe God to be an everywhere present force, even in the people who we don't agree with, or who we think make choices that miss the mark. And yes, even the people that we flat out don't like.

When we walk in faith, we experience greater personal empowerment. We understand that it's not up to us to fix every wrong we see. Rather, through our kindness, compassion, mercy, and understanding, we call forth God through us, and through the conditions that surround us. This leads to greater wholeness, connection, and cooperation.

When we walk in faith, we allow the force that created worlds to do good through us. And we remember that others, no matter what we personally think of them, have that very same force working through them too. And it's not up to us to decide what they should or shouldn't be doing.

We can choose to judge. Of course that's always an option. However, our choice to love will call forth a brighter future for all of us far more quickly than our blame and judgment ever could.

Big, big love,
Rev. Deanna