Playing At Believing

MON., JUNE 23, 1986, 6:23 AM
FARM, STUDY

It has been many mornings since you have settled yourself at this desk for a Teaching from Me. Our Ruminations is ready for printing, and that is a plus, certainly. Still, it is important that you exhibit this faithfulness and receive the instruction that Only I can give. You know I can influence you in other, more subtle, ways, but you need this direct one – with regularity.

You come to this meditation with belief in My reality and in this process. You still have some doubts, but the process is quite well established, and you are comfortable in it. There are other aspects of the traditional faith, however, about which you have to “play at believing.” When you are honest you would have to admit that there are beliefs about the natural world and about people that also have to be “played at.” Few folks, including you, like to make this distinction, so you go through life with a mixture of honest, true beliefs and those that you’re “playing at.”

You can be fairly sure that a number of the people who read your Ruminations are playing at believing that the paragraphs you present as coming from Me are actually so. You realize that they sound enough like what you write to make doubt legitimate. Yet they also sound as though “someone else” is the originator. There is a range in playing at believing, of course. For some the play is major, for others minor, and for many, in between. Those who must play at believing too much will be glad (with a mixture of some discomfort because of friendship with you, personally) that you are offering a way for them to stop receiving Our Ruminations without having to do anything direct. This shall be a relief for a few, and you shall be surprised at some from whom you will not hear.

You know that you play at believing in statistical proofs. You think occasionally about learning more about this aspect of your professional life, in order that your beliefs might be more real. You haven’t yet been willing to invest the time and effort, and you probably never will, given the tasks I offer you, which can more than fill your time. So you can continue to play at believing in the reality of statistical analyses.

There is a lot of play in your belief in the importance of the Old Testament stories to your present faith. You know Me as the One God, concerned for all people and all of creation. Therefore it is difficult to believe that these stories of My clear favoritism for one small people is the only reality. You shall continue to play at believing in these stories because you want to be part of this church… and I want you there, as well. I realize that I don’t help much in strengthening your actual belief in this aspect of the faith.

Playing at believing can be pure sham and dishonesty, but mainly it is a means to carry you through a time of unbelief. Most every one has flashes… even extensive times… of unbelief. Rather than face these and try to resolve them directly it is generally more comfortable to play at believing, hoping that more solid, real belief will return. And it often does.