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Friend of God.

PLEASE NOTE: Some readers of The 77% Weekly have told me that they have a hard time when I use the word God as they don’t believe in an external, ultimate being. That’s cool. But, if you are one of those readers, I still want you to read this article and think about your answers. Remember, I’m not trying to convert anyone to have any particular God beliefs – the mission of Religion-Outside-The-Box is to help you find and be with (the) God (of your understanding). Thinking about God in the way this spiritual-religious exercise presents God can help you figure out what you do and don’t believe. -RB

Two of the dictionary definitions of the word friend are:

• Somebody who is not an enemy.
• Somebody with whom one has a close personal relationship of mutual affection and trust.

Now, think about your conceptualization of God.

(Admittedly, this is a pretty difficult thing to do. After all, God is often defined as beyond comprehension and the greatest minds of all time have had a hard time doing so; all the more so you and I. Nonetheless, think about your understanding of God.)

Here are some spiritual-religious questions to muse upon:

Would you consider yourself a friend of God?

• Would you say that you and God have a close personal relationship of mutual affection and trust?
• Would you say that you and God have a relationship at all?
• Are you and God friends?

What is your relationship with (the) God (of your understanding)?

• Do you treat God the way that many people treat relatives they don’t like – inviting them to events and then ignoring them?
• Do you treat God as though God doesn’t exist?
• Do you think or believe that God wants a relationship with you?

If you think of you and God as friends, how close are you?

• Do you tell God that you would be there for God in thick or thin?
• Do you and God exchange cards for New Years or birthdays?
• Do you call upon God to help you out when you need help and do you help God out when it looks like God could use a hand?
• Do you feel, metaphorically, like you owe God a phone call?
• Do you frequently/sometimes/never invite God to meals?
• Do you call God’s name when you are having sex with someone else?

An explanation and book-plug.

The point of this exercise is this: it is important for spiritual-religious adults to have an understanding of our relationship with (the) God (of our understanding).
A lot of people assume that “(the) God (of their understanding)” is the kind of thing they can keep track of in their head. To use a homework analogy, they look at it as though this is something that isn’t going to be turned in for a grade and consequently that they don’t need to do a good job. This, of course, is shoddy reasoning. Your relationship with (the) God (of your understanding) is one of the most important relationships that you might have in your entire lifetime – so it behooves you to actively think about that relationship.

To this end, I’m glad to plug my book, which has just finished its third printing: How To Find Out What (The) God (Of Your Understanding) Wants From You. (The previous link will also help you to download an electronic copy.)

With love,