Monday, April 27, 2009
Fear is inversely proportional to faith
Jesus said: Peace be with you...why are you troubled?
I attended a religious mass yesterday (yes, here in Saudi) and the reading was about Christ's resurrection, particularly, on Luke's narration of how Jesus appeared among the disciplines.Jesus said: Peace be with you. And then he asked for food (the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost and so to prove them wrong, Jesus asked for something to eat) and the disciples gave him a fish.
Mathematics of faith and fear
The mass eucharistic priest said: "Fear is inversely proportional to faith. You fear because you're faithless. You're brave because you're full of faith.
And you can only have peace in your heart if you don't fear, if you have faith."
Like so...
(Plotted this in MS Excel to show the relationships between fear, faith and peace, i.e. the higher the faith, the lower the fear, the higher the peace.)I fear a lot
I fear of losing my job, I fear about my parents' dying, I fear of my own dying, I fear about losing money, I fear the Saudi police, I fear about getting old.
It's endless.
Now, there's that one thing I fear the most. Losing my faith -- in God, in myself, in others. And so I continually pray that no matter what the future brings, no matter what hardships I encounter, may God continually give me that gift of faith. Give us that gift of faith.
And that gift of hope and that gift of love, as well.
So I can be in peace. So we can be in peace.
Amen.
This is the full reading of the Sunday mass.
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A clever entry. Your illustration reminded me of one of my most fave blogs: thisisindexed.com
Keep the faith. =)
Like you, Nebz, I fear a lot of things--death, old age, sickness and many others that we will eventually experience in our lifetime.
But then again, I totally agree with you--the lost of faith is what I fear most, because the lost of it may put meaninglessness to death, sickness, old age, and all our sufferings.
Thank you for this very inspirational post. It put things into real perspective.
Talagang pinaghirapang gawin ang graph! Ang galing! ...naging mas makabuluhan ang isa nang makabuluhang mensahe.
hanep, may graph pa high tech na high tech ang fear, faith and peace relationships hehehe....pero bilib talaga ako sa'yo nebz, saludo ako hehehe at ang lahat ng sinabi mo ay ....amen ako diyan, the most important thing is...Faith.
ayokong magpaka-ipokrita at sabihing malakas ang paniniwala ko sa kanya dahil maraming oras at pagkakataon na di ko matagpuan ang salitang "faith" sa aking sarili. i doubted Him for a number of times because i thought He left me in the midst of adversities. until the day i realized that He's still there, knocking on my door and not giving up on me. and He only wanted me to realize that He's the only one i can trust when darkness falls upon my empty heart and soul.
i'm in the process of renewing my fellowship with him. i know it's not too late... :)
Fear is inherent in all of us, and science describe it as a human's survival mechanism in response to pain.
Faith is a choice, a choice to put your trust into the Lord, with faith in God, it empowers us to defuse fear's control over us and free us to achieve all that God has envisioned us to do and achieve.
Great post Nebz and God bless you.
Mahina ang faith ng isang nilalang ng Diyos, kasi hindi naman siya kumakain ng spiritual food mula sa Salita ng Diyos everyday. Ganun po yon.
Kung physical food nga, humihina ang katawan ng tao, ganun dinsa spiritual, kya ipatuloy mo ang pag tuklas ng katotohanan ng Bibliya.
I was taught of Bible principles by heart not by brain,(by brain is yung sinasaulo lang ba, pero wala sa gawa)
I have a GOD that looks after me, that's why I never been afraid. His name is JEHOVAH (king james bible Psalms 83:18)
If you happened to meet a JW, they got answers to ALL your questions about life.
Why God permits sufferings?
Why we all die, and what happens to us when we die?
Who goes to heaven and what do they do there?
What is the theme of the Bible?
Does God has a "purpose" or a "plan" to mankind?
Does God wants sacrifices or obedience?
What is the hope of mankind to end the sufferings(sickness death, injustice) while on earth?
What does the Bible really teach?
Does God wants sacrifices or obedience?
so many questions, never answered in my past religion.
And on top, what is faith in the eyes of God when you dont work for Him?
I know the answers to all of the questions, being a baptized JW;
If masagot mo ang mga tanong na yan and stick to it, you will be like a leaf in the river, saan man anurin ng daloy ng problema, you know you can still stand.
The final question is, who is your God? Does he has a name like you do?
sorry Nebz,ang dami ko sinabi, kasi I know your heart is sincerely looking for the truth.
Ask the priest, All questions above, if they got satisfying answers.note their answers, then ask me, I answer you based on your bible, not mine.
Bow.
i agree kuya Nebz... FEAR is inversely proportional to FAITH...
if you believe, you should not be afraid. we should not doubt God's Power just like Thomas...
just like my favorite verse...
"if you have faith as small as the mustard seed, you can move mountains"
yeah.. u can move mountains... just have FAITH and be not afraid!
One of the greatest fears of the PT Girls? When we lose all the reasons and urge to dream.
And so, we should not let fear grow bigger than our faith. If we do, we allow our dreams to fade. “Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow.”
Nice entry! :)
great post! ngayon ko nga lang soya nabasa. sabi ni bo sanchez, we can find tru hapiness if put al our fears aside. and the ony thing that can do that, is LOVE.
love yourself. loveothers. love God.
Amen!
Hmm..nice. Buti pa dyan may simbahan. Dito wala talaga. Madami din ak0ng kinatatakutan pati Saudi Police heheh! Pero nakakawala ng takot at gusto k0ng sumabog pag naaalala k0ng hangang ngaun di ko pa din magamit laptop ko na binili sa Jarir Bookstore dahil nasa pagawaan pa din. Walang kwenta dahil ndi ako makapag internet at talagang walang kwenta dahil NO RETURN NO EXCHANGE daw sa Jarir. Totoo kaya talaga un? Hmp! Kailangan ko na talagang mag simba no? Heheh
i agree. anxiety and fear is the main roots of sin. when we're scared, we tend to worry too much instead of leaning onto God.
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Thanks! My mom’s great! It’s ok. Hindi ka naman ganun kasama. Hehe! Kanya-kanya lang yan ng trip. :P