All people are creatures of faith because without faith we are unable to move from where we are into any next place or idea. Faith is the belief structure upon which we rely to operate our lives and function. Our culture teaches the currently popular ideas and procedures until it changes. Culture changes by the faith of people who change it for good or bad. Where it was once normal to see a large portion of our population in slavery and treat them as subservient, now, thank heaven, it is not. People operated in the culture they knew then as we do now using the trends as the faith stepping stones to operate from here to there, even as faith pushed change in the culture. Culture is a path of belief, of knowledge-to-date, of tradition, and of current values.

There are trends within trends. Some areas of human activity are more likely to suppress religious faith and express faith in non-religious ideologies than other areas. I find it curious that the need to control, be self sufficient, and serve self-oriented values appear to be evident in the non-religious trend, while values superior to man’s needs or control appear more prevalent in the religious trend. In these things I look at general patterns instead of specifics because there always cross-overs in every trend of culture and faith structure whether in God or without God.

I wonder why anti-God would serve in some areas rather than others? People who are passionate about their wealth tend toward anti-God and more self. Yet, people who love God might well create the healthy, compassionate work places that are actually more productive and successful in producing than the wealth builders create. Reading a book on personnel management showed me that without mentioning God, studies verified that the values of God work well and better in the workplace than the common practice of criticism, and other popular misbehaviors and oppressions. Praise, appreciation, compliments, and affirmation that are critically absent in the work force, or at least in most of the jobs I’ve every worked, including thirty-three years in the public school system, are opposite to the values taught in scripture. They are also opposite to the needs of the people involved in the business, both management and employee. I wonder why the contrary patterns are chosen over the healthy and life giving ones.

A person might ask me why I believe in Jesus. One of my answers is because I continually see individuals, including and especially myself, working against or in ways contrary to their own best benefit as proof of the Bible. The Bible tells us that all men sin. I see it and believe it. It also says that all men need salvation. I also agree and see. The only one who can rescue is He who is outside the destruction or pattern of destruction. Jesus is the one.