Everything starts with faith.
Faith allows us to see the good things in life. With this, we develop a vision of a bright future which motivates us to succeed. However, faith can also be the source that prevents you from your success. If you believe that life is full of suffering and pain, you will experience suffering and pain. If you are born poor and you believe that you are destined to be poor, you will never be wealthy.
For decades, I believed that as Catholics, we are meant to suffer life in this world because that was what Christ did for us to be saved. This is entirely false and I believe this false perception of what Christianity is, limited our nation from prospering.
Now, this is what I believe. I believe Christ died on the cross because He loves us so much and He wants us to experience the fullness of life. He wants the best for us. I believe this is so because this is what I feel for my family. I die everyday for my family. I work hard everyday. I don’t buy personal stuff without ensuring my kid has milk and there is food on the table. Everyday, I think about our future and what is best for my son.
I call this the Faith System because you need a system that ensures your faith is intact all the time. There are days when nothing seem to go in your favor and you will start to doubt your faith. Everyday, temptation comes in some form that will test your faith.
These are my few suggestions to have a good Faith System:
1. Read the gospel and do it first thing in the morning.
2. Choose well what goes into your mind.
3. Be part of a spiritual community.
Read the gospel and do it first thing in the morning. I believe that if you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Ever since I started this habit four years ago, life has been great. It gave me peace because I know God will comfort me no matter what. By reading everyday, the gospel acts a strong reminder of my faith.
Choose well what goes into your mind. With the Internet, information can be retrieved by just a click of a button. In Facebook, your wall can be populated with articles that may corrupt your mind. The news is not helping either. Majority of the news you hear are just bad news. We need to choose the information that goes into our mind. Think of it as your house. If you put security measures in your home, much more you should with your mind. I choose the books that I read. I choose my friends. I choose the movies I watch. Because I believe these contribute to my growth and to achieve my purpose.
Be part of a spiritual community. I belong to a spiritual community called the Light of Jesus for four years now. I can tell you that if not for my spiritual community, I would probably be lost. Being part of a spiritual community is like getting a regular spiritual nourishment. Nourishment is not for our bodies alone. Our souls need them too. I am a neophyte when it comes to spirituality. I need guidance. I need mentors. If you don’t have a spiritual community yet, try the Light of Jesus Family.
So there you go, three simple suggestions to have a good Faith System.
Ern Ynion 