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When we are having a hard time and remember to ask God for help, we do not always know how to interpret God´s answer, especially when the answer we get is not the one we had asked for. Due to the fact that we, mortals, think in a completely different way from an immortal being probably thinks, we must get used to receiving a lot of negative answers to our prayers.

Of course, since we are talking about an entity about whom we do not have the faintest idea about, all I can write are speculations about a completely unknown theme. There are people who have attributed themselves the degree of theologians for the non-significant reason that they have attended a school of Theology. For all Christians, nevertheless, it should be clear that God is the one who calls us, and not the other way around. So it is useless to attend a course to become a priest or a pastor because the Christian God has not made contact with humankind for more than a thousand years, almost two thousand years, if you believe that the Christian God did something that the human intelligence (that He must have given us) tells us that is very unlikely, namely to transform Himself ( a God) into His own son (a mortal), phenomenon named as anthropomorphism*.

*Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics and qualities to nonhuman beings, inanimate objects, or natural or supernatural phenomena. Animals, forces of nature, and unseen or unknown sources of chance are frequent subjects of anthropomorphous. The term is derived from two Greek words (anthrōpos), meaning human, and (morphē), meaning shape or form.

A historical, but fake example of anthropomorphism is what Roman Mythology describes as the birth of the founders of Rome, about 700 years before the birth of Christ. A God named Mars, the Roman God of War, had sexual intercourse with a human female, a Vestal Virgin (usually, accounts of anthropomorphism include a male god and a female mortal being) named Rhea Sylvia who begot the twin semi-gods, Romulus and Remo.

According to a Brazilian legend, Vestal Virgins were the first members of the political party whose main authority is our present Emperor, a former lathe turner born in the city of Garanhuns. Anyway, it is important to make clear to all who read these lines, that there are no evidences at all, regarding such legend.

Despite the fact that most Christians believe that their Messiah was a son of Himself, they do not realize what that really means. So far, no semi-god has defeated death or has become immortal, no matter what religion such divine being professed. Atlas, Hercules, Romulus and Remo, Jesus Christ, as far as we know, all died and none of them can be found among us, in the present time, in the form of living human beings.

When we pray to our Gods, no matter the name we use to refer to them, the answer that gets to us, when we deserve an answer, follows our necessities and merits.

The following tale is worth reading:
A man who used to ask God for specific wishes, one day managed to understand His answers, and wrote the following inspiring words:
I asked God to take my pain away. God said no. "It is not up to ME to take it away; it is up to you to give it up."

I asked God to give my disabled son a perfect body. God said no. "His Spirit is perfect and his body is temporary."

I asked God to give me patience. God said no. "Patience is born from difficulties, it is not given; it is conquered instead."

I asked God to give me happiness. God said no. "I give you blessings. Happiness depends on you."

I asked God to protect me from pain. God said no. "Pain separates you from the appeals of the world and brings you next to ME."

I asked God to make my Spirit stronger. God said no. "You must grow by yourself, but I will prune* you so you can give fruits."
*To prune (verb) to cut, to chop off; to trim tree branches (or shrubs, etc.); PODAR.

I asked God for everything so I could enjoy life. God said no. "I give you life so you can enjoy everything."

At last, when I asked God to help me love my neighbor as He loves me, God said, "You finally got the idea!"

If you are feeling sad because you did not get the answer you expected from God, smile again. The sun kisses the flower and it smiles back. The rain kisses the earth and it smiles back thankfully. The fire melts metals and they express ways of smiling.
Pain goes away and hope takes its place. Sadness runs away, happiness returns.

Once a disciple asked his master, "Lord, when will I identify the plenitude of happiness and peace in this world full of violence and pain?"
The master answered:
"When you become capable of seeing the most serious occurrences, without a rushed judgment, with the serenity of my eyes; when you succeed in hearing with the patience of my generous comprehension; when you become capable of speaking in order to help people, without accusations or excuses; when you start acting with mercy, even under the hardest pains and keep walking the path of goodness amongst sharp thorns without feeling tired, trusting your superior objectives, you will identify with me and will enjoy happiness and peace".
The apprentice listened and meditated. After a while, he stood up, and decided to put himself at the service of his fellow man, willing to conjugate the verb to love, with no exhaustion, no anxiety, nor fear.

If you are sad because you did not get an answer back from your God, get back to smile and love again. That is the best way to get rid of the pain and to have hope, again. Sadness runs away and happiness returns.
The tale above was originally written for the site www.reflexao.com.br

Have a nice weekend.

Roberto Henry Ebelt é professor, escritor, produz uma coluna semanal para o Jornal do Comércio de Porto Alegre deste 2001 e é diretor do curso HENRY'S BUSINESS ENGLISH desde 1971.

Seu mais recente livro, O QUE VOCÊ DEVE SABER ANTES DE ESTUDAR INGLÊS, pode ser encontrado nas livrarias Disal, Cultura e SBS ou à rua Hoffmann, 728 em Porto Alegre.

E-mail: roberto@henrys.com.br
Fone (51) 3222-3144
www.henrys.com.br