My sister and I are having a debate about what God is like. Is He basically kind and loving (which is what I think), or is He strict and judgmental (which is what she thinks)? It probably doesn't matter, but I'd still like to know. Can you help?
I don't believe anything happens after we die. When we die, that's the end, and hopefully we've had a good time along the way. People who think we're going to go on living in some perfect world are just kidding themselves, in my opinion.
I've heard people talk about knowing God personally, but what does that mean? I believe in God and try to live a good life, but when I think of God, I imagine Him being way up there, not someone near me.
My faith is like a yo-yo, constantly bouncing up and down but not going anywhere. I'd love to have a solid faith like some of my friends do, but it isn't happening. What's wrong with me? Maybe I'm just not the religious type.
I work in the emergency room of our local hospital, and to be honest, I'm about burned out. I get very discouraged because most of the people who come here are here because of their own bad decisions—too much drinking, drugs, fighting, you name it. We patch them up, but two weeks later they're back. Why bother? Should I change careers?
How much money does God expect us to give to our church and to other groups that are doing good things? We aren't wealthy by any measure, and frankly I can't imagine that the little amount we give actually does much good.
When we got married 40 years ago, it seems like my husband and I talked all the time about everything under the sun. But now we sometimes go for hours without saying much of anything. We still love each other very much, but has something gone wrong?
I suppose you've heard of "control freaks"—you know, people who try to control us or run our lives. Well, that describes my mother precisely. She's a widow and I'm her only child, but does that give her the right to interfere with my life all the time?
If you ask God to forgive you for something you did to someone, does that mean you also need to ask them for forgiveness? I'm a Christian now, but I'm not sure I can do it. I don't see what difference it would make anyway, except maybe reopen old wounds.
I work with a woman who just never seems to be happy. I've tried to be a friend to her, and she doesn't seem to have any more problems than the rest of us, but she's never cheerful or optimistic. Are some people just born unhappy?
Every day, I really try to please God by doing everything I think He'd want me to do, but how do I know if I've succeeded? I hope I'll be good enough to get into heaven.
I used to believe in God, but I stopped after my mother died of cancer last year. She was barely 50, and her death just didn't make any sense. If God really exists, He wouldn't have let this happen.
