By Kohar Bayizian
G O D – three seemingly innocent letters, but when put together they can generate so much hatred and animosity. Is this what the word is supposed to signify?
When I was a kid in Sunday school, I was taught that God was all about love, kindness and brotherhood. So how can it be the cause of so much evil?
I went to church this past Sunday and took a good look around. I wasn’t surprised that the ratio of adult-to-teen worshipers standing in the pews was 10-to-1.
As teenagers, when do we ever sit down and actually think about God or what we believe in? I think we’re so wrapped up in maintaining our superficial lifestyles that we don’t even think religion is important enough to ponder.
But what is even more mind-boggling is that teenagers who do not seem to be very religious or have any sense of morals, ethics or values attend religious ceremonies on a regular basis. Forgive my ignorance, but if someone is not religious why would he or she be in the house of God?
More often than not it is our parents who drag us off to church. When in fact, the parents themselves would not be considered pious individuals because they too have been taught that church is more of a tradition rather than a way of connecting with God.
My mother is one of the most devout believers I know and has devoted her life to God by going into the field of religious education. She is a great mother who always wants me to think for myself and always respects my opinion, but when it comes to God, she’s very insistent that he does exist.
For her to be so adamant about it gives me confidence that she just may be right. I hope and pray that there is a greater power somewhere out there because it gives me strength to live my life. And if this is all it does — give us strength — then I feel that it is worth believing in.
My goal was to leave you thinking about your own faith and if it is indeed important enough to think about. So after you finish the last few lines of this column, put the paper down and just think, if only for a few seconds, about what your beliefs are so the next time someone asks you what you believe in you can give them a real answer.
