Thoughts about G-d

Nobody ever looks at a car and imagines that it came about all by itself. We all clearly know that someone put it together.

Yet isn’t it amazing how when it comes to this world, and all of its billions of creations that all function so smoothly in unison, we can be unaware and even in disbelief that there was a creator?

Only a G-d who is such a masterful creator can accomplish such a thing. To create such a brilliant and complex world and yet completely disguise the fact that it was created.

This is done to allow us to have free will and give us the choice to want to see the Hand of G-d in everything. If it were as obvious to us as the car, then we would have no ability to have free will and find G-d on our own.

Now it is an interesting and yet sad thought that the one who refuses to believe in G-d will never have the satisfaction of knowing that he was right. You see, even if it were true and he was right, that this world is just a random coincidence and there was no Creator, G-d forbid, he will never know it because the second he dies it will be all over! You see according to his theory, there is no soul or afterlife, so therefore when it’s over, it’s over! Poor fellow, he will just turn into fertilizer and worm food, and that will be all there is to it. 

Now the believer on the other hand, he will be able to have some serious satisfaction when it is all over. You see, he lived with the belief that there is a G-d and that there is a life after this world, a world of infinite reward for the soul based on all those good deeds he did and all those times he refrained from rebelling against the word of G-d. Yes he may have given up on certain “pleasures” of this world at the time, but now he will be able to gain infinite reward for all those efforts.

You see according to him, it is not all over when our time in this world ends for he believes, as our tradition tells us, that there is a world to come. In it there is infinite life where the righteous are rewarded for all their good deeds and all their avoiding of sin. Not only that, but we are also told that the experience of even one moment of pleasure in the next world is greater than all the pleasures of this world put together. That is, the scale of pleasure that we are to experience in the next world is not even comparable to what we have in this world.

Now let’s make a deal.

If you are a smart person, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to take that chance that maybe there really is a G-d. I mean after all, look at what you’re up against: If there is no G-d and this world is random and we are nothing more than sophisticated pleasure-seeking monkeys, then what do you have to show for it in the end? Nothing! And even if you were right and that is the truth of our existence, you won’t even gain the satisfaction of knowing that you were right, for when it is over, it is really over.

Now on the other hand, if you choose the path of the believer, then what is in store for you? You pretty much live the same life as the non – believer, only that you avoid a few seeming “pleasures” in this world and you push yourself a bit more to do a few commands of G-d that you may have otherwise ignored, and that’s about it. Thee end comes the same for both. The worms will eat up the flesh of the non-believer and believer just the same… That is a fact and cannot be disputed!

OK, but if you were right, and there really is a G-d, and there really is a soul inside your body which goes on to the next world of eternal existence, then comes the big payout.

Now which choice would an intelligent person make? What makes more sense to invest yourself into?

One last point: You may claim that you do not want to work hard, that you would rather take your chances and just live carefree and easy. But let’s analyze that attitude for a moment. What you are saying is similar to a person who eats a very poor diet, full of harmful and unhealthy ingredients. He may also claim that he would like to be left alone, but if he puts in the effort to change his diet, and he goes through the pain of readjusting his habits and taste buds, we all know that he will not only begin to feel better, but he will even come to enjoy the good healthy food. In the end he will even start to despise the bad stuff and even wonder how he ever used to put that junk into his body.

So you see, that is the real truth.  One who makes the effort to discover the Creator and to fulfill His will, will not only enjoy his life in this world more, but in the end he will even begin to wonder how he was ever able to live a life without it. How did I ever survive so long without Shabbat? Without Kashrut? Without starting my day with Mikvah and Shacharit? Without Tallit and Tefillin? Without dwelling in the Sukkah? Without my daily Torah Learning?

Only after you get healthy will you have the perspective to realize how spiritually unhealthy you really used to be.

And when it’s all over, that’s when you will see what no eye has ever seen…

Praiseworthy are those who merit to taste of the Tree of Life, whose fruits are eaten in this world and whose principle awaits us for the World to Come.