Thought For Thoughts: June 2020

Saturday, June 20, 2020

BIRTHDAYS MEAN MORE!

So! What do you think or see your birthdays as? Birthdays are constant and natural phenomenon to all humans, since we are been born in to this world. Everyone on earth has a date of birth, which is then tag as “birth day”. It then means you cannot say “what’s my concern about BIRTHDAY?” No, the concern here is what do you do with you birthdays, and how do you see them as. Because it is an event that will definitely come every year in the calendar month or every 365 days.

We cannot ignore the fact that in some homes or families, birthdays are no big deal. While in others, you cannot joke with it for anything else, not even for Valentine’s Day. Some people throw parties on their birthdays, whether they have the money to do or not. Others, use it to pray more than all other days of the year (am sure you have seen such folks), even more that the first day of January in every New Year. Some set just put the day to remembrance by just counting their days or years on earth. Ooooh! What a beautiful life.

Let’s clear the air now, if you are a curious person like me, at one point or the other, you must have asked people or someone about why people decide to make their birthdays either “HOLYDAYS” or “HOLIDAYS” (not literally). Is it because they are rich or worldly, so they see their birthdays as holidays: throw party, celebrate, go on vacation, breach … (enjoy it, in their own grand style).

While another set see it as a "holyday" by fasting, praying, preaching, doing enough spiritual activities (sincerely, these people are not necessarily pastors or religious leaders). At some point for me, I didn’t even know which is right or wrong, but I certainly knew; there is a big difference between “holiday” and “holyday”.

If you ask: why? I am a Christian and was very young at that time. I never heard any preaching or sermon about BIRTHDAY. So, I wanted to know which side to be one or which is acceptable by God. Hmmm….. Don’t use your human mind to say the ones that considers it as “holidays” are for Devil, while as, “holyday” are for God. NO! NO!! NO!!!

The fact is that, no matter how we celebrated the New Year (January 1st), or how special it is in the religious setting and to the whole world; It is not actually a new year for everybody, but for few. Why? Because I was not born on the first day of January (not all of us were). In fact, very few or little percentage were born on the first day of January.
I mean, for example, if you were given birth to on the 1st of July (year). It definitely means that on the 1st of July in every year should make it another year added to your years or age. Which then means it’s your New Year, you become exactly a year +. No doubt about that. So! How you would welcome or enter into your new year (celebrate or consecrate), is your choice.

“The most important thing is that your birthday is the real 'New Year' (new beginning), not the first day of January. So, what you do with it matters a lot and thats why you need to make sure you start well”.

Some people have showed high level of foolishness or immorality by doing all sorts of things on their birthday or to show that they turned certain age: post a nude pictures on social media, loose their virginity, show the world their wealth or status, run into debt and so on. I don’t think that’s a good way to start your new age. There are a lot of meaningful and life-touching events you can organize on your birthdays. I mean, you can do better; Use your brain by thinking well.

We can't really say that Birthdays should be essentially “Holydays” or “Sacred”. We do celebrate our religious leaders, parents, boss, children, friends, and spouse in a grand way on their birthdays by throwing parties (mini or large), buy gifts for them and have fun. All these make them happy and feel special as humans. So you see it’s a choice. It doesn't mean these people are worldly or are not doing the right thing.

“Birthdays could be either holidays or holydays, but most importantly, the real New Year for everyone.”

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UNDERSTAND MAN AND RELIGION

If we truly agree that man has a spirit, soul and body, or that man has a spirit and soul that occupies a body. Then why do we think we can separate, replace or even deny the spiritual aspect of our lives?

So we actually know man has a physical body (also refer to as earthly suit or jacket) which he uses on earth, and soul that determines his emotional state or feeling. But, we think the spirit being invisible or intangible is rendered to be less significant, even though it keeps the body alive. Because at the absence of the spirit, the body becomes dead or inactive; that all!

If you have read any scholar’s work or academic material on the spirit, you will notice that it always leads to RELIGION, because this is how man looks for the origin, essence and destination of the spirit after departure from the body. Moreover, the definitions of religion by various scholars or individual, is not our concern or debate here, neither are we arguing on the success or failure of their definitions.

This article will trend toward the reason, why mankind continues to seek and source for explanation and the essence of his “spirit’s existence” in all diverse and possible means. Man is convinced beyond doubt that there is more to life than all that is seen or perceived with the physical senses. He probably would have discovered that “Life is spiritual”. How? Subsequently discovering that there are so many things biology, physics, chemistry and all other studies cannot give comprehendible answers to their occurrence or existence. I mean, even philosophers have identified such, as “meta-physica”, and still do not have the full knowledge about them.

It can be implied that, man will always search for his “creator” or “source” to be a “Spiritual Being” like his spirit, as long as his spirit is still in his body (that is, alive). Looking forward to a supernatural entity called “God” by most of people, no matter the amount of knowledge he has acquired in this world.

Here is one! Have you ever tried to talk or converse with people who don’t believe in God, or that God exist? You will find out some peculiarities among them: its either they are hurt because of certain events, experience or lost that happened to them, being disappointed why their life turned out this way (their current state), why God never came to their rescue or showed up when they needed Him the most, some even feel a kind of “emptiness” within them.

Sincerely speaking! They definitely have one reason or another including questions that needs to be answered. If, one is able to give clue or lead to their problem (not just quoting the bible, but bringing it into reality of what is happening in the world, that is, explain the physical with spiritual knowledge). Most of them don’t want you to be dogmatic but reasonable, because what they lack or seek for is “spiritual knowledge”. They will succumb one they discover you have it (it’s their spiritual aspect of life been talked about here!)

However, the most confuse people are those that say “I DON’T KNOW, whether God exists or not”. Because they don’t even know what they believe or believe in, neither do they know anything about the spiritual (things pertaining to the spirit). It’s similar to asking them; “Does the devil exist?” and they reply, “I DON’T KNOW”. You probably wouldn’t even know where to start from to help such person, because their knowledge seems complicated, so he or she is just trying to be on the fence. (This is entirely different from asking someone about a physical object in the world, and he or she’s reply is: I don’t know about it.)

Remember days in school, when a teacher throws a question at the class while teaching, so the teacher says “If your answer is TRUE, signify. If it is FALSE, signify”, but there is a set that probably think they are smarter, so they don’t pick any (True or False). Truth is that, they don’t know anything or they are confused of the knowledge they have. And sometimes they definitely know something which is holding them back. What you need to do, is to find out what they know, then, help them identify and make the right choice or knowledge.

Likewise, for those who say “I don’t know whether God (spirituals) exist or not”. It’s because they definitely know something that has led or put them in that confused state. There is nothing like “I DO KNOWIST, its either you are THEIST or ATHEIST.

Back in my university days studying philosophy, I heard of a philosopher that surely knew what he was doing. I know most people think that philosophers hate or do not believe in the existence of God or Spirit, the fact is that they love being logical (using the brain). His name is BLAISE PASCAL, and I will leave you with one of his argument called PASCAL’S WAGER which is based on the idea of the Christian God.

“Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas if God does exist, he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell).”

So here is my thought; irrespective of all the physical or empirical knowledge, careers, studies, experiences, pains, questions, research and challenges in life, one can come to the conclusion that:

“If man has a as spirit, soul and body,
And religion seems to be man’s way of seeking for the essence of Spirit or Spiritual Being,
Then, MAN and RELIGION can never be seperated.”