When to Stop Overthinking

Your eyes frantically dart back and forth between the chipotle chicken Panini and the cheddar bacon Cheeseburger as you see the server approaching with pen in hand to take your order. Every step brings them closer along with an urgency to finalize a decision leaving you in an anxious, sweaty mess. People tend to overanalyze, some more than others. Whether we are stuck choosing between a burger or a sandwich, or choosing a career, people often overthink problems until a decision is never made.

Overwhelming Temptations

I am sitting here writing a blog post, when I'd much rather not be. The reason being I am afflicted with what many people in this generation suffer from, instant gratification. From scrolling down Facebook feeds to browsing through hundreds of Instagram pictures, our inclination towards immediate rewards has put us in a world where our backs are turned to global warming and slow internet connection is the next worst thing. Productive hobbies like reading a book suffer at the hands of more exciting options like watching Youtube clips. Especially nowadays with smartphones and social media, getting distracted is that much easier. I've already visited every social media platform and watched a couple videos by the time you have read this sentence. The sad reality is our generations ability to reap long-term benefits by exercising self-control are being overwhelmed by daily temptations.

Abandoning our Goals

In the overarching theme of keeping commitments, the most relateable analogy I can think of is the one lie most people have made in regards to their fitness plans made on New Year's. Every now and then I will renew my vow, that this will be the year my six pack will reveal itself to the world; I have yet to see those puppies. But the problem of words speaking louder than actions extends far beyond the scope of daily gym attendance. Quitting bad habits like smoking cigarettes or starting new ones like regular studying suffer from our habitual self deceptions as well. At the root of long term commitments of stopping or starting anything are the individual choices we make on a daily basis that ultimately determine if we are taking steps forward or backwards.

Faith in the Unknown

Taking that leap of faith into Christianity seems like a free fall into crazy land. How can people actually believe a man in the sky that they can't see. It seems just as reasonable to believe in the flying spaghetti monster, neither provable nor disprovable. It seems so ignorant. Whatever it may seem, faith is more than that. It is an insight of wisdom, a doubtful struggle, and an enduring journey we all have the choice of taking.

God is as Real as 1+1=2

People will rarely go on to see the value of math beyond a high school level. In class we memorize the multiplication tables, use formula sheets, and learn techniques such as algebra and calculus all for the sake of solving hypothetical math problems that are hardly practical in every day life. When are normal human beings going to need to use logarithms? Probably never. But just because math is not practical to the every day man does not mean that math is not practical at all. Engineers used calculus to put man on the moon, artists use the golden ratio in designs, and economists use statistics to create models and make predictions. Math is real and it produces real results. 

God may not seem real to us when we are spiritually uneducated. If all we know about religion is a couple bible verses and stories of Noah's ark, then God will be as real as someone buying 60 watermelons in a math problem. Not very real at all. But God, unlike math is a lot more practical because of the one practical reality we all face, death. We may not all build rockets as engineers but we will all eventually die and for that reason we all need to be Christians because there is a life after death and the only way we are going to experience it is through God. This sentiment of an afterlife may be hard to believe or seem unreal, but once we become expert engineers of Christianity, God will become more tangible to us.

God: A Sacrifice for Love

Gandalf, great wizard or servant of God? For those of you not aware of this meme, the scene is taken from The Lord of the Rings when a group of the main protagonists are being chased by a demon-of-sorts at a bridge. In order to protect 'The Fellowship' this character, Gandalf the Grey, sacrifices his life by breaking the bridge so that he and the demon cannot pass while the other characters run safe and free. The point I would like to illustrate is that Jesus Christ was like Gandalf. He died on the cross to save us from the demon, which is sin so that we may be saved.

Why Church Does Not Work

Who really wants to go to church? To listen to some religious nut ramble on about whale survivors and an ark that stored enough food to sustain the entire animal kingdom for a year. To worship a false sense of hope amongst self-righteous, hypocritical, and judgmental Christians. Churches brainwash the feeble minds of the weak to give them hope with stories of heaven all while taking 10% of their money. These stereotypes did not form out of thin air, they have some truth to them, and the sad reality is that this is what some churches are like. 

But you should still go. You may not believe me or the 2 billion other Christians but isn't it worth seeing what all the hype is about? Is it not worth further investigation into a place that claims an eternal suffering in hell and knowledge about the creation of the universe? Whether you are afraid of heaven and hell, ponder the origins of life, or seek purpose, the church is a place with answers you may want to know.