Saturday, May 26, 2012

Religion of Deed, Rather than Creed

There is much discussion about whether sanctity comes through faith or through good works. Faithfulness isn't simply believing something to be true; faithfulness is following the path that is dictated by these truths.

Judaism seems to lay out a path for peace among those beings born with the special spark of Divinity that gives us the potential to be human. Jesus said that all the commandments can be boiled down to faithfulness (love, commitment) to The Divine in the heavens and The Divine in each other. "Love God (Godliness) with your whole heart, soul, and being, and your neighbor as you love yourself."

We are creatures that can turn belief and intent into action, if we choose to do so. Loving with one's whole being calls for doing. Giving our lives in the service of justice is the essence of faithfulness. It may be harder to live for a cause than it is to die for one.

My friend Susan, a devout Jew wrote, "loving deeds are the manifestations of godliness in each of us. And, it's also why I can really relate to the idea that Judaism is a "religion of deed, rather than creed." The operative word here may be "loving."

"Good" deeds for self-serving reasons are not loving. A corporation that gives to charitable causes to build business for itself may be contributing to society's well-being, but it is the loving deeds of the money in ministry through the hands of the ministers (every one of us called to action) that are the living out of one's faithfulness to The Divine way.