Posted on by Abe Austin

The First to Take the High Road

It’s not uncommon to wish that the people in our lives would treat us better than they do, even that they would treat us as well as we know we ought to treat them. We wish our friends would be the ones to reach out instead of us, that our spouse would say “sorry” first, and that our enemies would forgive us before we forgive them. But we know that we’re supposed to do the right things on our own, regardless of what the people around us do. This can seem unfair, as it might see us always being the bigger person first, always doing for others the things that we wish were done for us.

But really this is only a limited view. If we widen our perspective, we realize that before we ever showed unreciprocated good to someone else, Jesus did so first to us. Jesus was the bigger person who fought for our hearts when we didn’t deserve it. Jesus was the one that took the high road when we were selfish and sinful. Jesus was the one who loved us before we loved him. Thus, any lopsided good that we now put out into the world is only paying it forward.

Some might say that maturity is being willing to do what’s right even when there isn’t any reward, but deeper wisdom is recognizing the reward was already given long before.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Reasons for Disbelief- The Perceived Immaturity in Childhood Things

The Evolution of My Faith)

When I was a child I had a very simple faith in the gospel. I simply believed what I had been taught, and I accepted it without question. As I became an adolescent and a young man, I became far more critical of my beliefs, requiring more concrete reasons to believe in them. I took apart each component of my theology and tried to understand its purpose and prove whether it was worthy of my devotion or not.

Fortunately, my critical examination proved to be extremely rewarding. I came to realize there were far richer reasons to believe in the gospel than “because my parents said so.” It turned out that the evidence for the gospel was deep and varied, and the curious, critical mind could plumb its depths forever, constantly finding greater meaning and greater justification in faith.

False Maturity)

Looking back, I see what my thought process was as an adolescent and young adult. My logic was that if I had once been a child, and had a simple mind, then anything that I believed in in that state was likely also childish and simplistic. Thus, my childhood faith became suspect merely by association.

And, to be sure, some overly-simplistic childhood notions were discovered, such as believing that society was comprised purely of “bad guys” that always did what was wrong and “good guys” that never did. But there was also much of my old belief system that turned out to be even truer than I had ever known.

Sadly, I know others who reached their adolescent, skeptical phase and never progressed any further. They let their skepticism call into question their faith, but they didn’t seek a meaningful answer. They didn’t conduct their own research or dive deeper to find out the truth of the matter. They found it easier to throw out baby Jesus with Santa Clause, discarding the pale imitations of faith without ever finding the genuine article. The skeptic who does not find the real truth hardens into a cynic, actively resisting any further opportunities for growth.

Such an individual has arrested their intended development. Normally it is a good thing to pass through the phase of skepticism, culling the mind of everything that is superstitious and unfounded while deepening one’s roots into the truer truth that remains. But like many blessings, skepticism is two-sided, becoming a curse to those that misuse it.

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This is Reason #1 for Disbelief: being stuck at an adolescent stage of skepticism, having pushed out all childhood beliefs and becoming hardened and cynical through the process.

There are other reasons for disbelief, and I will examine them over the next few days. I hope this series will be helpful to those who have temporarily lost their way, as well as those trying to rescue a loved one. All the world will be better when all of us can better believe.