How can I get close to God if the ones who taught me about Him are hypocrites?

Make up your own mind about God….start exploring the possibilities or the non-possible…..As for your mom and dad….well human is human….WE aren’t God, so looking for perfection in another human being…ANY human being….is a waste of time. One thing great about getting old….I’ve lowered my expectations of my fellow man….I know that as life moves on, things change…the person before me isn’t the same person I knew 30 years ago…

You’re old enough to explore spirituality on your own, and not holding other people accountable for your decisions….that’s all faith is, anyway….a decision.

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You are mistaken to think that GOD is supposed to make your whole life sugar and cream. What your parents do has nothing to do with what HE does. HE warned us this life would be hard and to stay faithful and near HIM through it so we would win the race and be saved in the end, but if things get a little rough and you leave HIM or you decide you don’t like HIM then you will lose far more than you can comprehend. HE loves you but HE has rules HE has to follow to in order to be perfect nd just HE has to allow the consequences of people’s free will here on earth for now and that includesd a lot of pain and suffering much unfairness, but we did it, not HIM, HE isn’t supposed to just come and turn us all into robots without a choice and mae all out lives easy, no, HE is to let us play this out and then judge it, punish the evil (that abandon HIM) and reward the righteous (who kept their faith and love for HIM).

Aren’t you supposed to believe in god and trust him unconditionally? That everything he does is for a reason and will serve a purpose in your life? I’m not exactly christian but I’ve found that mostly everybody that follows a religion doesn’t have any proof of their god’s existence, yet believes them to be true and pure. I think in order to have faith, you have to have 100% faith. You can’t ‘sort of’ believe in something. True faith takes years to build even just with friends. You can’t be harsh on yourself for not being able to accept something/somebody that you can’t physically see or hear. Give it time, everybody’s faith will be shaken at least once in their life. It’s how you deal with it and get back on track that matters. Just trust yourself and follow your heart.

I was wondering about that one…

I would have to agree with some of the answers. You cant let what your parents do to effect what You have faith in. My parents are super hardcore Christians….I am Wiccan. I would never ever tell them or any of my Christian friends there wrong, but I fallow what I feel I should that is right for me regardless of what others do or want me to do. It really does not matter who helped fund the beliefs in you, it just matters what they are and if you want to fallow them then fallow them.

Agreed with Prannie, she gives great advices as always. Unfortunately we all are hypocrites in some way or another and it is extremely hard to follow someone’s instructions if they do not “walk the talk”. Similar to a mother who smokes regularly trying to discipline her daughter or son whom she catches smoking. It’s practice what you preach……In your case, you are who you are, those around you can ‘show you the light’ but if they are falling on their own swords, you should be strong enough to know what is right and what is wrong. Your mother cheated on your dad, yes it’s a bad thing to do, but God loves us even if we stuff up majorly, as long as one does not repeat their errors, I’m sure God is happy with that.. Don’t be discourage, there are times we all doubt stuff that we see or is being told to us, but remember, our Father finds great pleasure in seeing his followers being lead stray, and then finding the light and return to Him, He knows then we have been tested to the max.

why dont you join a bible group??..or read the bible and love the verses with your heart and mind. go to church and pray. simple as that…just love God and have faith in Him. He is our saviour..:)

Hello Moe214: Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. He has the perfect plan for your life and forgiveness is paramount. Live for Him and set an example for others to be able to see Christ through you. Each of us have convictions that the Lord makes us aware of and each of us truly in Christ will WANT to do His will. There will always be sin in the church, but you know the end is glorious!

edited it for you :D i was wondering, also.

It depends on what you want and why Moe. What are you looking for?

Why do you have a holy book and priests tell you about God? Ya Allah, you don’t need any of those things to believe in your religion. I’m a Jew, and I have only been to a synagogue once - when I was 7. I don’t need to go to one or need to listen to a rabbi to know who God is. Believing in a religion isn’t just going to a church, mosque, or synagogue and listening to 3 hour preaches about a lesson that Moses learned. It’s about putting faith in yourself and believing what you think is right.

I can tell you that I’ve gotten into arguments with Jews who say I’m not a real Jew because I don’t go to a synagogue, or speak full Hebrew or some stupid stuff like that. All I can say to them is, you don’t need those things to be a Jew. I can pray by myself, and I can practice however I want as long as it’s appropriate.

Don’t listen to those people who are hypocritical of your belief of God. Whatever way you think of God, is how your beliefs will help you become closer. And to some who say God will bring you peaches and cream, it’s not always true. Some stuff just happens be it coincidence or a higher power. People who preach “You will be saved by God” are a bunch of liars. God cannot save you, only you can save yourself by doing what you think is right. Don’t take religion to the extreme like some people do. I know that sounds hypocritical right there, but I’m a Jew and even I don’t do some of the things that Allah(I speak Farsi, so I’m just used to saying that) wants me to do. I do believe in my religion, but there’s no need for me to attend some service just to hear what I already know.

Hope that helped in some way.

Christ has done everything for us. He is the one who took all sin upon himself, died on the cross, left all the guilt and shame of sin in hell where it belongs, rose again and reigns in glory.

We are to give him all the praise and honor and majesty and acknowledge we are nothing without him. Every breath is given to us by him. That is common grace.

Our awesome God looks at the heart of each person and he is always calling us to be in a deeper relationship with him. Getting closer to God is not a religion it is a personal relationship with him!

Go to the church of your choice and give of your resources and yourself, let God use you wherever he wants. Any good thought comes from the Lord and any bashing comes the father of lies.

Lift up the Father and it does not matter how you look to others, maintain a close relationship with him by accepting him as Lord and Savior. That is special grace. Serve others with all your heart. All know of the golden rule. Then there is the platinum rule: serve others as Christ has done for us!

Moe, You are asking awesome question’s. Your answer is inside your own question. These belief systems you have built up over the years, your own judgements of others and expectations you put on humans in your life as if there is one of us that wont let you down. I am not much of a Harry potter fan, but I like Bob Marley. :) He was very spiritual, and he lived his life serving others. Very other centered. Christian or not, those qualities are hard to find - especially in the Christian community. As far as the divorce of your parents. . .That only makes them more human to me. This is why we put our trust In God, Because humans fail us. Oh ya and Moe, God is close to you right now. You do not have to merit that. You are the one he left the 99 for and if you were the only person left on the planet he would still die on the cross for you! We get close by removing the blockage. That is, tossing out our old thinking and judgments of how we think our lives are supposed to be, and we “come to him as little children” - Fascinating! And we live inside one full day’s worth of grace, right here right now with “no thought of the morrow”. here is a video that might help.

Do not rely on others spritual lives. Your own personal relationship with God should not compare to everyone elses. We are all human we all sin, but we are forgiven your own personal relationship with God should not be based off of others.If you wish to get closer to God You must have that communication with him. Pray talk to him and ask him to help you get closer, to help you leave behind the past and not look back. Read the bible there is where you will find the right answer to everything. :)

Thanks! haha.. I was in a hurry :P

Thank you.. this has been on my mind constantly. I also drifted from Him after I lost someone very close to me.. I have a lot of guilt and no matter how much I try to ask God to help me with it, I still feel the same: emptiness.. So that’s also another reason.. but I’m tired of feeling the way I do and I know I can’t be truly happy again without God’s help. It’s just not as easy as it sounds. :)

The apartness from God is our perception, but it is not real. There is no seperation from God in reality, there is only the feeling of seperation. I am having the same feeling’s lateley. I know God works through people and that he will put the ones in my life that will help me heal . . . When I am ready. How do I know I am ready? Because I am picking up the phone. Because I am trying to find the help I need. You want to see how willing I am to change? Watch my feet. If nothing changes nothing changes. Keep it up Moe, you have a friend. :)

Your relationship with God shouldnt concern everyone else, and if you want a stronger reationship with Him, your’re the one who has to take responsiblity for your spirituality. We’re as close to God as we want to be, reguardless of of anyone else:)Good luck and God bless

God is a made-up word for mortal-man to explain what they can’t explain. Religion is there to comfort the living, you shouldn’t worry about exercising it until you reach your dying years…. go out and have fun!!!! And treat others the way you would expect them to treat you. Oh, and be excellent to each other.

Well, that’s your parents, not God. You can’t blame him for their mistake(well, you canm but moving on). Build your own personal relationship with him/her. Follow what you believe is right. You needn’t rely on anyone but yourself to do that.

This is soooo good; I love it. Thank you freefromself, this is such a blessing:) I have a friend that has been burned so many times in relationships, and just in life that she really questions the existence of God; I will definately let her know about this. Thanx again:)

You are welcome. This is a message of hope.

So, “The Shack” is a metaphor for the place inside us where we store our shame, addictions, etc. . . And we cover it up with A “Look Good”. The look good is not a reality of Gods, It is our design. The thruth is in The Shack, and God Lives in the Truth. I know this from experience now. I went in to my “Shack”, and he was there. He was there waiting for me. Waiting to heal me. Amazing. And for me, going into my “Shack” meant confronting a problem I had been trying to live with for a long time, and I had to get help for it. And there are still things I am going for help on. As long as I keep Honest, and open minded I can keep going into my “Shack” and meeting God there for more help, Through others, One day at a time. :)

your not suppose to look at the people but truly follow god with your heart.. humans are human they make mistakes their not perfect their drawn to temptations while god is perfect his love is eternal and endless hes the only one that you can actually say will never let you down because hes always there for you awaiting you … you have to know that leaders of the church people u can even look up too will make mistakes but its not for people ur their its for god :D..

your not suppose to look at the people but truly follow god with your heart.. humans are human they make mistakes their not perfect their drawn to temptations while god is perfect his love is eternal and endless hes the only one that you can actually say will never let you down because hes always there for you awaiting you … you have to know that leaders of the church people u can even look up too will make mistakes but its not for people ur their its for god :D..

First of all, you can’t believe in God becuase other people do. That needs to be a personal decision. If you can, start going to church. If your family doesn’t go…ask a friend or nebior. Another thing you can do is simply praying to him. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just like you are talking to a friend. If you ever need me to pray for you, plz send me a mssg! :)