We don’t like to live by faith

Faith

I can't count the number of times I have heard, "I am from Missouri, the Show Me State." The remark implies that one wants evidence, physical evidence, before giving in to belief. We, humans that is, struggle deeply to believe something we haven't witnessed. For example, a small portion of people believe in myths and legends like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. A larger portion will admit that maybe there is and maybe there isn't such creatures, and likely a larger group will say no way these creatures are real. Why does the latter hold to such emphatic belief?

Living by faith often challenges core human instincts like the desire for control, certainty, and independence, while also raising deeper questions of trust, moral responsibility, and vulnerability. These factors, combined with cultural and intellectual trends, make it difficult for many people to fully embrace a life of faith.

Let's first look at control. We want it. We desire it. We even pursue it over other things like wealth and fame. Control gives us a sense of power and authority, power is nothing without control. To give it up means to put it in someone or something else. To give up like this often stirs up fear and anxiety. To some this kind of surrender is blind because we cannot see the thing or person we are giving control.

Certainty is also a characteristic we seek. We like "sure bets" and beyond the shadow of doubt conclusions. Faith, however, doesn't rely on empirically verified results. Sometimes faith challenges what is certain. For example, it is certain according to the laws of gravity that a human cannot walk on water in the middle of a sea and a raging storm. Faith, though, tells us Jesus did it. The brain naturally gravitates towards tangible proof and clean answers. This is quite unsettling for many.

Self-reliance is the rejection of slavery. No one wants to be enslaved to anyone else. No one wants someone else telling them what to do. However, we do allow others to tell us what to do all the time. Our spouses, our bosses, and our friends often tell us what to do. Difference is we have a choice in listening to them and doing it. Faith is relenting our complete trust allowing someone to do what they will with us. Why would we do that? Because we recognize our limits of understanding and capability. Faith doesn't take away our free will, but it is completely counter to self-reliance. It is relinquishing personal power and control. We lie to ourselves about our limited understanding and capacity.

With uncertainty comes the potential for disappointment. I have said many times to expect low and hope high. Faith requires hope and trust. It doesn't matter how low or high our expectations or hope is there will always be a possibility of disappointment. We can't avoid it, and we shouldn't. Disappointment is an emotion we must learn to process. It builds character. Have you ever met someone who has never really faced true disappointment in their life and the moment they do they nearly collapse emotionally under the weight of it. Vulnerability is not easy and humans run from it as much as possible.

Then there is cultural influence. Particularly in the West, ideas of rationalism, science, and evidence are emphasized. As I said earlier seeing is believing for a lot of people. Logic and reason, in their elevated status, lead to intellectualism. Yet, neither can explain something we witness as illogical or unreasonable. For example logic and science can't explain how someone who was clinically dead can come back to life 90 minutes later. Faith deals in those matters, things beyond the physical world. This is counter-cultural in a secular, science-driven society.

When a person decides to live by faith it often implies a set of moral and ethical obligations. Some people might find this restrictive or demanding. Faith in God or a higher power typically comes with expectations for how one should live, behave, or think, and this can conflict with personal desires, freedom, or lifestyles. Many resist faith because they don’t want to accept the responsibility and changes that come with it.

Lastly, many people grapple with doubt or skepticism, especially in an age of information overload and diverse worldviews. The multitude of religious and philosophical perspectives can make it difficult for people to embrace any single faith with confidence, leading them to prefer a more agnostic or skeptical stance rather than a leap of faith.

When you investigate all of these reasons why we don't want to live by faith or are afraid to, it makes total sense that faith requires us to let go of all of these worries. They are all hindrances. Faith is about total non-self-reliance because Romans 3:27 says, "Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith." It is about our faith, our hope, our trust in Him. "Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it," is what we read in Ephesians 2:9.

God has always operated counterculturally, counter to our flesh, and counter to Satan. Is it no wonder that God operates like this? Does it not surprise you that all we want to do naturally is the opposite what God tells us to do? Does it make sense why faith is so difficult, but so important? Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." (Romans 1:17)