Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1958-05-08

Is l1hen it loses faith IN Goa ana aUonldn
AleT Smith
am going to try to write this column in
the most lghthearted vein possible, but I sug
gest that if you are loo<in for entertainment
or facetiousness that you stop reading right now
7 am going to try not to be too morbid, too cyni-
cal, or to bear down too numerically.
The subject is FAITH
When l was IS and sophomore in high
school was obsessed with a heady ambition.
wanted to be preacher I had had some little
success in declamatory contests - had fair
speaking voice - was a regular attendant at
Sunday school and church - became intensely
interested in the Bible. I thought I would be
good preacher. 1 still think would.
But this is all beside the point The fact that
l got sidetrac<ed in this ambition is perhaps UNI
fortunate But have never regarded it as catas-
trophc. Let it be said that maybe didn't get
the call right = the fervor to preach religion it
should be preached. Anyhow, didn't get to be
preacher.
But just because didn't preach the gospel
was no deterrent preventing me from studying
the things which happen in life that seem to be
lat first examination direct contradictions to
some of the precepts we are taught to believe as
being right because it says so in the Bible. One
of the precepts is FAITH We are supposed to
HAVE FAITH We must HAVE FAITH.
OF all of the admontions in the Bible, and
that includes everything you will find in the Ten
Commandments (Which do not say we should
have faith think that HAVING FAITH is the
most difficult.
can still see the look in the eyes of the
woman who had just seen her husband cut down
from basement pipe where he had taken rope
and put it around his neck and jumped off of
stool as she asked her pastor the age old ques-
ton why did he do it - what will happen to
his sou?" I can still see the preacher hang his
head and mutter something about 1--WE must have
faith -. y Wasn't it pretty hard for that poor
woman to HAVE FAITH?
can still see the anguish in another woman's
eyes when it was conclusively proven to her that
her husband was unfaithfu Was it possible for
this woman to ever HAVE FAITH again?
How we HAVE FAITH that God always
does everything right when the young the be-
loved, the useful are taken away from us in
stead of the DISPLACEMENT to another world Of the
DID, the outworn, the burdensome? grieve to see
the young die = do not get this kind of feel
ing in the death of the aged.
The way have seen some people behave, lie,
cheat and steal (and apparently get away with it,
has caused me to wonder many a time why God
allows it. Why doesn't His wrath descend on
these kind of people - why doesn't He cause
something calamitous to happen to them in pay
ment for their wrongdoings? Why is His wrath
postponed! WOulOnt IL De Detter Tor Jnem 10
suffer Immediately for what they have done in
stead of letting them keep on living so that they
might, possibly, do it again? Can we HAVE
FAITH that He redresses wrongs 'fn silence and
certainty"
am afraid that HAVING FAITH is the most
difficult thing there is to do. know it is for me-
have seen many, many violations of faith
with continued good luck attending the violator,
that to HAVE FAITH seems well nigh impos-
Sible.
know this all sounds morose. 1 wish that
it didn't. l firmly believe that we have got to
HAVE FAITH We have got to HAVE FAITH that
God will straighten out the most disastrous thing
that could ever happen to us - we must some
how, believe that there is a silver lining in every
dark cloud we must unalterably believe that
Gods judgment is better than ours, and that HE
can do no wrong
If we can but believe this them maybe we
can HAVE FAITH