In an increasingly secular world, it can be challenging to hold onto your faith. Faith is taking a back seat to other social issues, and people who regularly attend church are sometimes derided in the press and other media. For any person of faith, combating society’s pressures can be severe. Tony Mariot offers eight ways in which you can keep your faith in a world full of nonbelievers.
1. Have a Regular Religious Practice
To feel more connected to your faith, it is a good idea to make religious practice a part of your daily routine. Attending church once or twice weekly is a great way to start. Also, everyone should pray at least once a day. A solid prayer habit is a perfect way to remain connected with God and to make sure that your priorities are kept in line with your faith. If you do not pray regularly, consider adopting a daily spiritual practice.
2. Put Your Faith in Action
Doing volunteer work for religious charities can help you feel like you are showing your faith in a way that benefits the community. When you take time out of your busy schedule to show the community that you care, you will be contributing positively to the image of religious people as a group.
Skeptics and others who do not support organized religion will see that you have a strong connection to your community and will applaud your good works even if they do not see eye to eye with you on matters of faith.
3. Keep Your Family Strong
When you cannot depend on the world around you to support your religious outlook, you must raise your children in a strong atmosphere of faith. Make sure to spend a great deal of quality time with your family. Don’t let religious activities take over your family life in total, but make a spiritual practice a priority.
Attending religious school, whether it is Christian Sunday school or for some other faith, can help your children by giving them a peer group that is being raised similarly to themselves.
In addition to focusing on your children’s needs, you must also pay close attention to the needs of your spouse or partner. Faith is built on strong families, and if there are any problems in your partnership, they will interfere with practicing your religion.
4. Read Religious Texts
Every person of faith should be well-versed in their religion’s sacred texts. Christians should regularly read the Bible and enhance their study of the Word of God. Each faith has its sacred texts, and these are equally important for adherents of other religions.
In addition to the sacred texts around which your religion is based, it is a good idea to read other books that focus on religion. Church histories, personal stories of faith, and inspirational books are good choices. If you are having difficulty finding a good book to read, ask your pastor or faith leader as it is likely that they will have suggestions for you.
5. Be a Good Example
Many nonbelievers object to having a religion “shoved in their faces.” Overly aggressive people of faith can indeed turn off potential converts. It is a better idea to show what being a person of faith means through your actions, not through pushing others to accept your religion.
Being a good example means taking the responsibility to represent your faith seriously. If you want to be an excellent example of a Christian, for instance, you need to make sure that you are living your life by the teachings of Jesus. If there is any hypocrisy in your life, nonbelievers will latch onto it and cite it as a reason why religion is not worth practicing.
6. Support Religious Causes
When you are looking for ways to support your faith, it is a good idea to donate time or money to religious causes. When you have your community’s best interests in mind, you will be able to prioritize your time correctly.
7. Making Faith a Priority
Putting your faith at the center of your life may mean that you will miss out on other activities. It is vital to keep a sense of balance in all areas of your life. If you are missing out on spending quality time with your children because you are absorbed in your church duties, this can damage your children’s desires to stay in your faith as they become young adults.
This country has an epidemic of young adults who reject their parents’ religion for a variety of reasons. Don’t give your children reasons to deny their faith.
8. Make Solid Connections
To get the most out of your religious activities, you must build friendships with other people in your congregation. When you build strong bonds with your brothers and sisters in faith, you will have someone to lean on if you experience difficult times. These friends can help you regain your sense of faith if you go through a difficult period in your life.
Faith and Family
Tony Mariot recommends that all people of faith follow these eight steps to stay connected to their religion. These tips will help anyone who is having difficulty staying focused on their faith, reprioritize their lives. Making your faith a priority will make you a positive example for children and young people in your life, making it less likely that they will abandon their faith based on societal pressures.
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