'Should I believe in God?' is a stupid question to ask yourself

Here is what you can ask instead

People keep asking me about my faith in God and religion. Mostly by looking at my IG stories or tweets that imply I am an atheist.

But here is the fact: I’m NOT. But I don’t practice religion either.

Confusing? Let me tell you what I mean.

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Earlier, I used to think I was an atheist.

But when I thought deeply about it, I realized my identity as a theist, atheist, or agnostic doesn’t matter—and with all humbleness, it makes ZERO sense.

‘Should I believe in God?’ is the wrong question I’ve been asking myself for years only until I learned the right question, at least to me, at least for now, is:

Does God (or Religion) work for me?

I’ll narrate you stories of three people.

Person 1

Does not practice religion nor believe in God. Hardly celebrates festivals, never participates in rituals, and when it comes to religious places, she is at least a mile away.

She spends her time where her interest lies and is happy with how things are placed in her life.

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Person 2

Is highly spiritual and tries to stay connected with God at all times with his rituals. Prays every day, worships auspicious occasions, and trusts the almighty heartfully.

He finds meaning and purpose in his prayers. If not anything, his faith brings him peace.

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Person 3

Practices religion, trusts God and follows rituals. Does activities people around him asks him to do religiously. He has questions about God but never dares to ask himself or his elders. Or with time, he learns to accept and adjust. (Not saying it’s a bad thing)

Sometimes God and religion give him hope.
But most times, it’s just an activity he had to indulge in, not want to.

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I know these three folks personally

When I observed and looked into the lives of the first two people, I saw clarity.

• Person 1 understands ‘God doesn't work for her.’
  She knows practising religion is just a distraction for her, and all the time she spends praying and worshipping is nothing but a waste.

• Person 2 understands ‘God works for him.’
  It doesn’t matter to him if God gives everything he wishes for or not. To be honest, he never thinks that way. He puts his complete faith in his religion, and following rituals brings him peace.

However, the third person is different.

• I feel he had not yet figured out if God works for him.
  It’s not a bad place to be as long as he keeps exploring. But I’m afraid he is not. He is neither questioning nor fully trusting the concept of God.
  
  He just practices because people around him say so.
  This part worries me—because it’s not a story of this guy alone.

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Why tell these stories?

My story resembles Person 1.

Am I religious? I don’t know.
Am I spiritual? I don’t know.
Do I believe in God? It doesn’t matter, because it gets me nowhere.

My self-awareness and my relationship with practicing religion helped me realize God as a concept does not work for me.

Yes, I love visiting temples—not to pray, not to wish, not to ask, but because it brings me peace.

Just the way a beach would.
Or a hill station.
Or music.
Or a sport.
Or my friends.

I walked the path of religion for the first 15 years of my life, and it didn’t help me.

It made me dependent, lazy, and less self-assured.

But when I stopped practicing religion and invested the same energy in myself, the people around me, and all the documented resources (including religious scripts), I slowly became confident in my abilities.

But this is my story. God does not work for me.

Not everybody’s has to be the same.

Just like I felt assured when I stopped practicing religion, I’ve seen many people find peace when they worship God.

It makes them confident, gives them something to look forward to, brings discipline to their life, and in most chaotic scenes, prayers are the solution to settle their thoughts.

I’d say if you have something this special, you should invest more time in it.

It’s a story where God works for you.

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There are different perspectives to help you decide whether to practice religion or believe in God.

Some views change over time. Some not so much.

What matters is how much of these decisions are of free will and not because people around you asked you to do so.

One way to get to that free will is to think of your relationship with God so far and ask yourself: Does God (or Religion) work for me?

And that’s all from today’s issue.

Will see ya next week!