THUNK said:
Too often I find those that belong to a religion are consumed by thier desire to get close to God and 'book thier place in Heaven'.
Such behaviour seems to me, selfish and self absorbed. Monks seek positive emmotional well - being as thier currency in the same way as a businessman derives money for his life inputs. Whats the difference?
Welcome!
In my opinion these are two separate motivations. It is one thing to be consumed by a desire to become closer to God, and quite another to desire to "book their place in heaven." The former is not selfish nor self-absorbed, because in my experience you must detach from self and be willing to be transformed in order to grow spiritually. In so doing, you are not necessarily seeking happiness or contentment. In fact, such spiritual growth can be confusing, tumultuous, and quite difficult, but one persists because one knows that growing closer to God will transform them into a better person, one that is more loving and forgiving, patient and kind. One seeks to transcend the mundane and free themselves from as many of one's petty desires and faults as possible, freeing one's spirit to join God.
This desire of joining with the Big Divine Something that I call God is not the same as desiring some sort of pseudo-earthly paradise that most people think of as Heaven. Some people are focused on entering such a place, but that is not necessarily involved in a person's worship of the Divine. It just depends on the person. Personally, I did find my own desires for such a paradise to be self-absorbed, and have since detached from them. But to each his/her own, and I would not want to take away what for some gives them the hope to get through each day. I believe we do not all need to be the same in our spirituality, and our needs are different, so it naturally follows that our foci will be as well. What is selfish to one person may not be for another.
People that dedicate much time to prayer hope to be rewarded and fulfilled by God. Surely a just God would rather all this time and energy were spent on helping the needy or the Planet?
Actually, that is not always the case. Prayer/meditation/worship are profoundly personal actions, and people have diverse reasons for doing such activities. People that dedicate a great deal of time to prayer
may hope to be rewarded by God, or they may not. I do not. I am not focused on reward, and the mere act of living and having a connection to the Divine is fulfillment enough for me to feel that worship is appropriate. I worship because I feel God deserves worship, if for no other reason than the sheer joy of life, of Creation, of my opportunity to experience spirituality.
Worship/prayer/meditation is for me: first, a celebration (literally, sometimes with music and dance) of God/the Divine and life. Secondly, it is a time for introspection, to honestly assess myself and my thoughts and feelings, to be still and try to listen to my inner voice about things that concern me. Thirdly, it is a time to gain rest and energy to take out into my job and research (which focuses on conservation and environmental justice). One cannot run on empty all the time. Just as the physical body needs rest, so does the spirit. Prayer and meditation are times for me to bring my weariness, my cares, my anxieties before the Divine and rest in the stillness of God's Presence. This is necessary for me to continue slogging on in my attempt to change the world. Perhaps stronger people than I need no such rest, but I acknowledge that I need rejuvenation spiritually, and I don't feel this is a bad or selfish thing. I'm only one little human, after all. Finally, for many (including me) prayer/meditation
is a way to change the world and help our planet. Many Druids, for example, have peace rituals about once a month, in which we meditate on and visualize peace. Many Christians pray for people and events all over the world, asking God to intercede. Perhaps you don't believe such things matter, but many of us firmly believe that positive thought and/or appealing to the Divine matter.
Surely God would not be so insecure as to need hours of adulation and demonstrations of faith?
I do not believe God needs anything, really. I think we have spiritual needs, and these may be met by worship, prayer, and/or meditation. It is not that God needs our worship, but rather that there is great joy in the dissolution of the self and its embrace by the Divine. In my experience, the union of created being with Creative Being yields the greatest potential for the self to become of less importance as well as the distinction between self and other to evaporate, leaving one with a deep sense of humility and yet also confidence, of love of all God's creation, and a commitment to reflect the divine love in this world.
