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Rules of Life #1

I am so glad that there’s an authority in the world more reliable than my heart and emotions. I am glad because I can be an emotional basket case sometimes. Fear, especially, will throw my mind into such a tailspin that coherent thoughts leave me faster than your brother can eat dessert. Anger can do that to me, too. I am often surprised at just how quickly anger will consume me. Anger takes me to a state where I make pretty big mistakes, usually with the people I love the most. And, more often than not, these mistakes are the ones that I carry around with the most regret.

When I count my blessings, then, I am thankful there is a guiding light in the midst of this dark world who, from the beginning of time, has revealed to us the truth for all ages. In America especially, there seems to be obsession with making every single emotion—no matter how fleeting—the rule of the day.

Well, I refuse to be ruled by the rule of the day. In fact, in my first installment of “Rules of Life” posts, I share number one: 

1.    Do not run away from truth which comes from the Father.

This first rule is devastatingly simple and frustratingly difficult to live by. The world will tell you about 20 times per day that faith and religion are outdated or unnecessary. Some will even go so far as to say that the Christian faith is simple-minded and intolerant. Beware of these people, Clara. It’s a fact that some of the people who scream the loudest about the need for tolerance and insist that Christians be tolerant of everyone else’s beliefs are often the most intolerant when it comes to our faith. Their brand of tolerance seems only to apply to them.

There is fundamental truth, Clara, and you shouldn’t try to devise it for yourself. There isn't a truth for you and a truth for me—not really. You can believe what you believe and choose to live as you desire. But make no mistake about it, your free will comes from God. He designed it that way. He gave you the freedom to turn away from Him or to turn toward him. He is real. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

I see examples of this all over the Catholic faith. I know so many of what can be termed “cafeteria Catholics,” those who pick and choose which parts of Catholicism to accept or deny. I wish not to judge and will never do so, but that is not my way. Even when there are elements of our faith that I do not understand, and may even wish were different or easier to accept (and there are some), I don’t allow myself to go there. I think on it, I ponder it, but mostly I pray about it. I have no intention to subvert God’s truth to make it fit the current station of my life. 

Let me be clear: I’m not praying to change it. I’m praying for wisdom to understand it. I’m praying for healing for those who are hurt by it. I’m praying for grace to articulate it in a way that can bring people closer to Him. Ultimately, I look to God and His church for the answers. Whenever I succumb to searching for truth in today’s culture, I know I am on the wrong path. I pray to fully accept God’s will and truth. That’s my number one rule of life. It’s the easiest and hardest of them all.