In these days it’s not easy having conversations with others for a variety of reasons. Of course we avoid politics, sometimes even with those who are like minded on other topics, since we can feel frustrated. Such is the lot of a divided society where we can feel powerless. This is so unless we deliberately strive to remind ourselves that there still is so much hope and good in this world. Yet sometimes we’re just tired and want to have a relaxing conversation, easier to do with those in our spiritual and political bubbles, but often difficult with those we don’t know as well or even with loved ones.

Recently I was having what I thought would be a relaxing conversation with a close one when the innocent topic of our founding fathers and America came up. My statement was intended as a generic comment about the premise that our nation was founded on a belief  in “. . . one nation under God . . .  “ and even today our currency still says, “In God we trust”. My suggestion was that this non-specific principle alienates/marginalizes a minority of people, atheists and perhaps agnostics, which should not be dismissed, but to me is still an important guideline for our society. The counter position that was being suggested was that having God in our daily consciousness in secular contexts is wrong. I listened, we interchanged, conversation led to understanding. Yet it was a troubling discussion and definitely not relaxing.

A few days later I was asked to participate in sharing with a wide audience a personal memory I have about Thanksgiving. So many vignettes sprang to mind until I was informed that the parameters require no mention of God. This prohibition was in order to not alienate the diverse audience ranging from secular to, as the requester put it, the “obsessively religious”. This was really challenging!! How do we talk about Thanksgiving without thanking God???!!! It reminded me of the days before knowing Messiah that as a mainstream Jew I was forbidden by my mother and grandmother to say the name “Jesus”! This more recent censorship was even worse – a prohibition on the even more inclusive word “God”!

As hard as this request was for me to do, and I did it for greater purposes, it resulted in a very meaningful conversation that if nothing else at least provided to the other person some other ways to look at this topic.  For me, the interchange opened my eyes at a personal level to the depth of this issue to typical individuals, and by extrapolation, to society as well.

Our world doesn’t just wake up one morning and be devoid of God in its consciousness. It happens like the frog being boiled in the pot of hot water, little by little, not even noticing until it’s too late. We can feel overwhelmed at our powerlessness perhaps in politics, wars, social mores. Yet on the subject of faith we can be the most powerful, every single person, when we live feeling passionate about God and acting accordingly. Perhaps that passion for God has historically led society down dark paths of oppression of others, and that is worse than apathy. Yet that doesn’t mean we cut off the head to stop the headache, that is, cut God out of the picture altogether. To do so would be yet another example of mankind getting the message wrong.

I want to be as clear as I can with what I’m suggesting – each of us who feels God’s Love, especially through Yeshua’s intimate relationship, has the ability to share that love with others. We can do so by saying nothing, by merely showing His Love through our kind interactions with those in our lives and with those in need whom we reach out to help.

The more we feel His Presence, which occurs naturally by prioritizing our relationship with Him, the more we feel His Love, the more naturally our sharing His Love in our interactions with others will occur. When drawn into conversations that challenge the existence of God or portray the nature of God in a negative way, we can lovingly converse. More importantly, we can lovingly listen for when we do so we can hear the hurting heart, the pragmatic heart, the searching heart, for why else would we be having this conversation?

Our society is by far primarily secular. We don’t have to hand out tracks (but feel free if that’s your thing). We can just love others and be honest about our beliefs. God does the rest.

We at Ruach are amazingly blessed to be part of a community steeped in His Presence, not just on Saturday mornings, but throughout the week through intention, connected through Daily Devar Scripture reading, Mussar study, book club, Bible study groups, community activities, so much more. We are often blessed by friends and family of like mind who fortify our worldview of God as the center. All of this, and daily prayer and personal time with God, help us feel anything but hopeless, anything but helpless, for we know with Him all things are possible.

Rather than that knowledge putting us in a superior, pious place of judgment, which is a trap, I’m suggesting the opposite. The more we acknowledge the slippery slope of faith, individually and societally, how better informed we are to double down on loving our neighbors. Our hearts hurt that His Love is not felt, that we all are suffering in these times and those without Him must hurt all the more. To have a faith-filled supportive community like Ruach helps us be strong in our faith, a strength we can share with others by being beacons of kindness and love. God leaves no one behind.  All who seek Him will come to know Him, which is inevitable as times get worse. It’s just a matter of when.

Shabbat shalom.

Diane