Over the last few years, I’ve asked myself this question more times than I can count.
I was taught (directly or maybe indirectly) that “having faith” is a feeling. It’s a thing you have, or a clear feeling that you can sense… as in: “I’m on FIRE for the Lord…,” or “With my faith, I feel I can do anything.”
In my formative years, it was this understanding of faith that made me stray. If everyone else “feels” it, and I’m constantly doubting or struggling, or feeling alone… I must not have it. To be honest, there are times now that I don’t “feel” it and I wonder if I’ve been duping myself.
That’s probably the main reason I’m writing this, because, over time, I’ve come to understand “faith” differently, and I’m hoping someone who needs it will stumble over it… and the answer (as I see it, and *spoiler alert* how the Bible sees it) is this:
Trust in something you don’t fully understand
+ actions that reflect that trust
= Faith
(Note: And if you’re struggling even to get to the trust part… I think the most baseline answer would be “actions that reflect a desire toward the thing you WANT to trust in = Faith”)
Faith is confidence that isn’t grounded in reason, but in a hope, or probabilistic belief in its utility (or truth).
At its core, it may even be described as:
Knowledge of the limits of one thing and the lesser limits of another.
Followed by the pursuit of the latter.
You don’t NEED to believe it to be right to have faith… You just need to act on it.
We often discuss Faith as a synonym for Christian faith… and then say you “have it or you don’t” but the reality is far more messy. EVERYONE has faith in something, intentionally or unintentionally. Christians have Faith in Jesus and the Bible. Humanists have faith that “being a good person” is the right way to go but that there is no repercussion after doing so. Atheists have faith that their logic has led them to an appropriate belief in natural, scientific order with no moral imperative and that there will be no repercussions for those beliefs. I’m simplifying for ease of understanding, but I don’t pretend to know what each person has faith in or why… I only intend to point out the fact that no one can live without faith in nothing… even anarchists have faith that lawlessness is better than law. It’s a condition for life itself.
That being said… Let’s recap and cover some ground here:
Faith is NOT a feeling.
It’s more akin to a belief. And what do we do with beliefs? We allow them to guide our actions. So the EXPRESSION of Faith is action.
But what does that faith in action do? And why is it so important?
(in Christianity AND in secular life.)
Faith naturally challenges you. By way of action and reaction: the actions you undertake through faith grant you experiences and feedback. And these feedback loops are core to who we are as humans.
(For the sake of the next examples, I’ll be using “believe” as substitute for “faith” to make the points more clear)
- If you believe binge drinking isn’t detrimental to your life, and your actions follow that… meaning you live under that belief for a few weeks/months/years… you will find that you were wrong. And (hopefully) this belief will require a change, thereby (hopefully) altering how you act towards this belief later.
- In contrast, if you believe that serving others will have a positive impact on your life and the lives of those around you, and your actions follow that… meaning that you live under that belief for a few weeks/months/years… you will find that you were right. And (hopefully) this belief will become even more clearly a truth.
In that sense, Faith (as a concept) forces you to learn in experiential ways “you” couldn’t using logic alone. It creates in you the wisdom to know what to believe in (read: have faith in) and what to let go of. In doing so, it hones you.
Now, to get very specific about the Christian faith itself… The Christian faith often asks for obedience, modesty, humility, holding one’s tongue, watching one’s anger, etc. (Not things that are easy, or particularly natural, for us humans.) And, if I’m being honest, a lot of what it asks is to go against what the world teaches, which in certain circles will make you a bit of an outcast. But… the lessons it imbues are ones of real wisdom; lessons that far exceed my capacity for explanation and supercede any “book taught” knowledge I’ve gained.
All that being said… I would be remiss not to add this final point…
Faith CAN lead to feelings…
I started by vehemently, and maybe aggressively, stating that Faith is not a feeling. And I stand by it… but, if you ever wonder why it’s stated by people as such, it’s because of the follow-up equation:
Trust in something you don’t fully understand
+ actions that reflect that trust
= Faith
+ feedback proving that the trust was deserved
+ the satisfaction of having seen those fruits flower
= Faithful feelings toward the future success of following through again
End Notes:
It took me 20+ years to realize I’d conceptualized “Faith” wrong. And when I came back, somewhere deep down I realized I still blamed the Christians for getting it wrong. I’d blamed my church for not being clear. I even blamed myself for being dense or stubborn. But one thing I couldn’t do was blame the Bible for misleading me… because it’s all right there: It’s in every story of people being called, and not understanding but dutifully, and even sometimes unwillingly (I’m side-eyeing you, Jonah) going through with it anyway.
Hebrews 11: Faith Hall of Fame
So… yet another W for the Bible, another L for my own understanding.