Religion entails a set of individual beliefs and cultural systems regarding practices and behaviors such as sacred issues, supernatural being and divine nature of a particular human culture. Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are some of the most common forms of religion in the folk. Growth, on the other hand, means a progressive change in an individual’s behavior, character or beliefs. The report seeks to analyze how religion has played a major part in people’s daily growth in terms of spiritual, psychological, mental or even physical aspects. Using J.P Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak and Scott Peck’s The Road Less Traveled I reflect my personal growth in religion.
Reflection on Personal Growth and Religion
In the book Let Your Life Speak, it is evident that “through prayer in faith, God is able to answer my requests and wants” (Palmer 17). When God listens to someone’s prayers, it is considered as a spiritual growth. Additionally, by praying to the Almighty God in a truthful and humble, a person matures in spiritual and religious aspects. God loves His children and He wants us to come before Him and praise His Holy name. It is a great development in knowing the ways of the Lord and trusting in Him that all our sorrows and troubles do not exist anymore. It is equally clear that Palmer states that, “we should obey the word of God when we hear it and respond to it” (Palmer 19). Through my religion, the word of God is the most powerful instrument such that when it is preached; people should observe keenly and develop interests of communicating with Him. As a result, it will help in growing in faith and following the true ways of the Lord. The author emphasizes that, “We are deeply required to work together with God in creating our own identity, destiny, and life” (Palmer 42).
By striving to create our future with the Lord, it is seen that we are “growing in the religion we believe in” (Palmer 54). It is prudent to note that forces in our surrounding dictates our actions, whether positive or negative, thus were solely responsible for the achieving desirable characteristics. He argues that religion teaches people to live in peace amongst themselves in order to promote societal growth (Palmer 10). When God calls His people through mysterious ways, an individual may choose to follow Christ’s good news and help in transforming many others. Religion teaches us about, “inner self-values such as kindness, forgiveness, and patience” (Palmer 13). Such values are taught in Christian based schools and vocational trainings. It gives individuals best chance to grow knowing the Godly given values. My religion teaches believers to grow in Christ Jesus and depend on Him for every success. The book equally highlights that we should listen to our bodies. “When we learn how to listen to what the Lord wants us to do then it shows that we have grown in our religion” (Palmer 43).
According to the book The Road Less Traveled, it is observed that an atheist, Stewart, who is also an industrial engineer, develops a serious depression and attempts to commit suicide many times. He argues that, “God and religion is a crap that he does not believe in” (Peck 187). However, Stewarts claims to believe in science, which presents facts that he can see or touch. In his belief, Stewart assures himself that God does not exist and his existence is not defined and known. He has developed a strong mentality on his religion and mocks the Christianity belief in God. The book explores that, “culture is the main factor that determines the development of many people” (Peck 189). All the world races would likely believe that God is in their image and likeness. Usually, people believe in cultures that interconnects their families. Thus, a child would unquestionably follow the instructions and guidance of parents, who decide which church or religion that you belong. By understanding that “spiritual growth is a transformational journey from microcosm into macrocosm” (Peck 195), believers are advised to be more vigilant. Therefore, it means that to acquire more knowledge, we must get rid of old perception and create a new ideology to our view of the world since we mostly rely on secondary information to ascertain claims about religion. Particularly, I have never come up with my religion since I have believed in what my close associates believe in. It is therefore important to note that our beliefs determine how we grow in the religion, for example, Stewart believes God does not exist hence he becomes an atheist. On the contrary, I believe God exists in human lives and he provides us with everything including the air we breathe. He is the breath of life.
Conclusion
Growth and religion play a very significant role in people’s lives. Religion gives us the insights and beliefs about a certain culture and some kind of sacred being while growth focuses on improvements in our ways of doing things. As evidenced from the discussed books, my individual reflections on religion as well as growth are aspects of human-induced cultures over time.
Works Cited
Palmer, Parker J. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation.
Jossey-Bass, 1999.
Peck, M. Scott. The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth. Simon and Schuster, 2002.
