Is it Smart to Believe in a Higher Power?

Is believing in a higher power something that’s beneficial to you, or is it something that halts your progress in life and forces you to take compromises on what you truly enjoy? Of course, answering such a question will generally come down to what particular religion you subscribe to (if you subscribe to one at all.) But in understanding whether such an entity exists or not, we have to come to terms with how it affects us and what aspects of our life it controls. Whether such an entity exists or not, simply having a BELIEF that such a thing exists (and assuming that it controls your destiny) can lead to a lot limiting factors in life.

While I was raised Catholic myself, when I got into my late teens I sort of abandoned that faith and found that I was much better off doing so. I found that it gave me a significantly higher amount of freedom, and that I didn’t have to worry about whether the church or members of such a community would scrutinize me for my actions. Not that I necessarily cared what they had to say anyways, but it became a source of annoyance for me as I had to constantly deal with opinions on matters that didn’t affect them. That being said, I was actually pretty lucky in the sense that I never grew up in a strict religious environment. My immediate family, although going to church here and there when I was younger, never pressured me into praying or abiding by any specific rules; rather it was always outside family members, neighbors, or friends that attempted to create pressure in such situations.

Of course, there’s this tendency to associate going to church as a measurement of how good a person you are. That the more time you spend in prayer or bowing your head, that the kinder and more virtuous to others you must be. Unfortunately that couldn’t be farther from the truth, and often times some of the cruelest, most unpleasant people are large members of the church community. There are still plenty of people who ARE kind, loving, and helpful that belong to such communities, but the general consensus that just because someone attends prayer that they must be a loving person is completely false.

Regardless of what you believe in, does having faith in a higher-power actually empower you? Are you in on some big secret that so many others don’t know about, or do those same views give you tunnel vision and limit what you can and can’t do? I personally consider myself agnostic, in that while I don’t subscribe to any particular religion, I don’t doubt the fact that there could certainly be a higher power up there. Atheism is, surprisingly, often times as bad as any mainstream religion, albeit coming from the opposite side of the spectrum; two sides of the same coin if you will. Atheists promote such a heavy reliance on science, yet where did this “science” come from anyhow? Is it all in our mind? Was it just “here” from the start? Was it written by a higher-power? Surrendering your mind, whether by the rules of science or to a religious text is just as bad. That doesn’t mean the rules of science are void, but what it does mean is that limiting your beliefs to what science can provide and nothing else is going to leave a lot of empty spots in your life. There isn’t a scientific formula for understanding love, integrating the law of attraction into your life, or determining where we originated from. While science can be a very useful tool, using it as a crutch instead will only slow you down.

But getting back to the bigger question, does having faith in a higher power actually benefit you? In my experience, having faith in a higher power won’t necessarily uplift you, but it can certainly reduce you in many aspects. In the best case scenario, being agnostic, you can have faith in a higher power and use it as a means of thought about where life originated from and where you think life is heading. This can provide some interesting ideas and insight, and being agnostic, your mind isn’t confined to a narrow box of how you should think. Ultimately the sky is the limit, with this being a topic that a creative mind can really excel at. For most people however, believing in a higher power means subscribing to some form of religion, being told what’s acceptable and what’s not in regards to how you should think, and having to succumb to a set of standards about how you should live out your life.

Most people are indoctrinated into such a mindset from a young age, so it’s something they grow up using their entire life. Question any such belief, and you may find yourself under fire from the person for doing so. Someone who’s been fostering a belief for so long isn’t going to take kindly to anyone who questions or attempts to undermine the security blanket it provides (which even that it does a pretty poor job at,) Of course, the biggest problem with taking faith in any particular religion is that it determines what you should think, and how you should think it. It’s sort of hard to say you have free thought and decision making ability when you’ve given up control of your mind. Although you can respond to this by saying “but I still call the shots in my life… nobody else!” those shots are still being called under the veil of a religious influence.

If it was just going through the motions it wouldn’t be so bad, but when you truly BELIEVE that the way you’re acting is appropriate because it’s how “God” believes you should act, then we have an issue here. If you don’t think this kind of thinking has caused any problems, then just take a look at organized crime, modern day terrorism, or flip the pages of any history book.

For some people though, religion can actually be beneficial to them. People that lack direction in life, have difficulty making choices, or people that are simply too intimidated to breach outside of their comfort zones, may find that subscribing to a religion actually helps them in these areas. It allows you to keep creative thought to a minimum, and it ensures that somebody else will be making all the important choices for you. You never have to worry about leaving your comfort zone, because as long as you follow whatever holy text it is you’re reading, you know in the end everything will be dandy. It’s a very boring, uninspiring lifestyle, yet for those who lack ambition, and especially for those who lack courage, it’s a very comforting lifestyle. Beggars can’t be choosers, and if you can’t make your own choices in life, why not let somebody else make them for you? Even then there’s a good chance you won’t make it into heaven… because what if you picked the wrong religion?

Dang it! I knew I should have chosen Islam instead of Christianity… well, here’s to many years of roasting in hell!

So if you pick the “wrong” religion, are you screwed? Have all those years spent kneeling over simply been a waste of time? Because the Christian is telling me his religion is the correct one… but so is the Muslim. Which is it?!

To summarize everything that’s been said, having a belief in a higher power, and especially keeping your mind open about where life originated from and how you think the universe works, is a camp that a lot of intelligent people fall into. There’s nothing wrong with that. Giving your OWN power away to religion however, and more specifically to a “higher power,” is what’s extremely debilitating. When you give up your own control to decide what’s best, and instead base your choices around what’s “expected” due to your religious beliefs, it becomes very difficult to grow intelligently and to expand outside of your box. How can you? Everything that you’re supposed to know and follow is written out for you, so thinking isn’t even required. For most courageous people, this is the first critical step into expanding your mind. If you’re too timid to leave your comfort zone, this kind of thinking is probably too scary for you anyhow, so you may want to focus your efforts elsewhere.