"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."
* Caution, this one may be rated PG 13 *
In my experience there are two situations in which people are most likely to cry out "Oh God".
When faced with sudden shock, especially if it entails perceived danger to ourselves or others we may cry out – Oh God!
When at the height of sensual pleasure, such as the first glimpse of a breathtaking scene, or climbing into a comfortable bed after a hard days work, or especially at the climactic peak of sexual pleasure, we may cry out – Oh God!
I believe that at both of these times our human vocabulary fails us miserably. At these times we have no words to adequately express what we feel. In that brief moment of extreme anguish or ecstasy all that we can consciously think and feel and know is instantaneously stripped away. In that instant there is no time nor desire to rationalize, nor recall what should be done or said. Pure instinct takes over. All of life is broken down and the primal cry of our heart comes forth – the cry of man for his creator – so basic, so pure, so inescapable.
Sure people go through life saying things that they are conditioned to say. And, many times per day people may say trite things like "oh my God, did you see that?", never intending to actually invoke the name of any particular supreme deity. Just look at your kids IMs sometimes. How many times do you see omg (or omfg – don't get me started on that one). But, as I said earlier, there are times, horrifying or orgasmic, in the life of even the most jaded of us, where everything breaks down, like matter and time in the singularity of a black hole, and the guttural gasp of our spirit is heard. Spirit cries out to Spirit – Oh God – and He is always ready to answer. But, as quickly as the instant passes, we go back to our banal, daily existence and back to ignoring that which would fulfill us most.
The real question is not, why do we cry out to God in such extreme times. The real question is why do we ignore Him the rest of the time?
No comments:
Post a Comment