I’d read the Bible daily but there’s no time for such things

Muslims are required to pray five times a day. Wherever they are, whatever they are doing, they must stop everything, lay down their prayer mats, face towards Mecca, and offer Allah a specific set of prayers. A Buddhist monastery follows a strict timetable that governs their every action throughout the day. There are set times for private and corporate mediation, meals, work and every other activity. The Iona community, located on an island northeast of Scotland, is a group of Christians that follow a structured, faith-based lifestyle. They work, worship and play according to a regular, fixed daily pattern.

Each of these three distinct faith groups centres their lives around the tenets of what they believe. Their day and worship life is carefully structured so that time for their god or their central belief is first and foremost in their schedule. Their lives are centred on, and revealing of, what they believe; faith does not take second place to anything else.

Rites, rote and ritual seem to be a part of our DNA. As far back as recorded history goes we find virtually every culture had some kind of proscribed ways of worshiping, if not behaving in general. Many modern day athletes have little things that they do in order to prepare for a game, and woe be to the one that interrupts them. Even in our casual encounters there are things to be done and said, handshakes and pleasantries exchanged in order to set the tone and demonstrate a mutual level of respect.

Yet for all the rites and rituals that exist, many people of faith have lost track of the behaviour that rightly belongs to their belief system. Or, more to the point, we’ve put our faith on the back burner in favour of just about anything else.

I’d read the Bible daily but there’s no time for such things. After all, I’ve got to check my Twitter account and Facebook page while eating breakfast. Then there’s the slog through the morning newspaper and a few minutes on CNN. Following that there’s just enough time to get to work, which starts with checking all the emails, sorting through the items in the in-box and settling down for the tasks to be completed by the end of the day. Once back home, after Facebook and Twitter duties, it’s dinner, then off to the club/hobby/movies or whatever else fills our day. It’s no wonder there’s no time for faith; we’re so busy doing everything else we hardly have time for ourselves. How one can find time for some kind of religious system is, apparently, beyond most of our abilities.

Yet one of the most important commandments of the Christian faith is that of making God your number one priority, followed quickly by the need for taking a Sabbath rest. While these two practices have a specific meaning for Christians and Jews, they also provide a broader insight into what matters in every person’s life. You might not believe in Jesus, the Hebrew God or Allah; perhaps you don’t believe in any god or supreme being whatsoever; but it is important to believe in something, to put your faith in something larger than yourself, however that might look. Buddhists are not deists, yet they have a system of belief and practices that guides their lives at both a personal and cultural level.

Such a belief system not only gives us a broader and greater purpose and meaning to life, it also helps us connect with our neighbour, offering us common ground upon which to stand and live our lives. While it’s nice to be unique and independent creatures, none of us can survive on our own; we are dependent on our family, friends, neighbours, strangers and the whole of society. While we meet each other on our own terms and compensate for each others individual follies, foibles and gifts, we need common ground that helps us dictate how to behave and, to a degree, think, so that our encounters with and services for one another might go more smoothly and effectively. Like having a common language that allows us to communicate with one another, having a commonly held belief system draws us together and helps us better understand each other.

If this commonly held belief system helps us work better as a society and as individuals, then it’s important that it be practiced and taken seriously. As a Christian I’m expected to pray regularly and to put God as my number one priority; there are expectations for regular worship and constant practicing of our base tenets; it is, in short, not just an added feature to my life, it is supposed to be the very core of my existence, defining and directing every aspect of my life. Sadly, despite my best efforts and even though I’m a Pastor responsible for leading a Christian church, my faith life isn’t all it should be. While I do actually read the Bible daily and pray regularly and while I do my best to live according to the tenets laid down by my God, I am far from perfect in my practice but at least I’m trying.

For many Christians, and I’m sure it’s true for Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and other faith groups, there is more lip service to their beliefs than actual practice. And, of course, for those who believe in nothing or who doubt everything, here is no-one in which to believe, no-one to whom prayers should be directed and nothing to be done. This is troubling to me, because it speaks of a society with no common core, with no larger guidance system, with nothing to share and no reason to look to any one other than oneself. While it’s great to be who we are and to express our individuality, with no common belief system and without a shared set of rites and rituals to see us through the various stages of life and social interaction, we are becoming more scattered and isolated while at the same time becoming more lonely and self-centred.

Of course, when there is a void, when there is emptiness, something must fill it up. We do not share a common faith system in Western society any more; while most of our behaviour and beliefs are guided by Christianity, the roots are well hidden and the actual practice of the religion is fading from common thought. Work, sports and entertainment have filled the emptiness of an increasingly absent faith system. These have become the new religions of our society. We listen to what actors have to say to guide what we think; we make idols of sports figures; we exchange Facebook conversations for real life encounters; we accept video game worlds as our new reality; we allow corporations to dictate what we wear, eat and how to live our lives. Success is our central tenet; getting something out of others is our social desire; we are our own gods.

I’d read the Bible daily but there’s no time for such things; we’re too busy living our lives and making hay while the sun shines. I’d read the Bible daily but not only is there no time for such things, there is no such thing for a great number of people. We believe what we wish and will not be dictated to by anyone or anything and we are, I believe, all the less for it.