Psychology

    Believing in Supreme Being whether it is called as God, Jesus, Allah, or others plays an important role in the lives of almost all people. The vital and critical role that religious beliefs have on people is also connected with their adherence in a supreme being. People tend to base their decisions and actions according to the moral standard of the Supreme Being that they obey. Religious teachings, doctrines, and practices are very influential among people because these are recognized as a means by which they could pattern their lives according to the will of the Supreme Being that they believe. In relation to this, I also have my own religious beliefs, which has been very influential in my life. My spiritual journey involves the development of my faith from mere ignorance and confusion towards enlightenment that aided me into becoming a much better individual.

    As a member of the Southern Baptist Church, my family strongly believes and follows our faith. I can still vividly remember how my mother teaches and even lectures me about a Supreme Being that she referred to as God or Jesus Christ. My mother always told me that I should behave well and follow the good manners and right conduct that she is teaching me because if not God will get angry. There is an incident wherein my mother left me in a sandbox together with some of the children in our neighborhood. I was very excited to play in the sand as my mother bought me a new shovel and pale that has cute floral design. When I was playing, one of the kids approached me and asked if he could borrow my toy. I deliberately took away my toy from his reach and told him that I am the only one who can play with it. My mother saw what happened as she was just nearby watching me. She immediately approached and reprimanded me that what I did is bad. She told me that God does not like children who are selfish and who does not share toys with others. She even added that God will be angry and He might not give me new toys anymore. Due to this, I changed my ways and I always make it a point to share my toys because I am afraid that I will not win the favor of God.

My young mind cannot fully comprehend who God is. I am not aware whether He is a man that I can see like my father. At first, I thought that the God my mother is referring to is my father because he is the one who usually buys my toys. However, when I asked my mother if I could see God, she told me that I cannot see Him but He always know whether I am doing good things or not. My young mind cannot fully comprehend who God is, all I know is that I am afraid of Him and that I should act accordingly in order not to make him mad. In relation to this, my childhood perception about religion is largely influence by the concept of reward and punishment, which my mother taught me. This could exemplify the tyrannical argument of Freud wherein he argues that religious beliefs are sometimes used in order to make other people follow a certain action or way of life (Coles, 1990). In my case, religion is employed my mother make me become more obedient.

    Nevertheless, my notion of fear towards God started to change when I started to attend Sunday school. In Sunday school, the students do different activities, which are related to God. The teacher will ask us to sing praise songs for God, remember important verses in the Bible, and let us draw and color the pictures f different characters in the Bible. During this time, I was able to learn more about God. I should not fear Him because He is my friend and savior. I came to this realization when I learn the real importance of prayer. Before, I thought my mother just wants me to pray in order to make sure that God will not be angry with me because she always says that I should ask for forgiveness for the sins that I have committed. However, I learn in Sunday school that prayer is not merely to ask for forgiveness but it is also a way by which I can tell God my problems and ask for His blessings. In addition, I also learn that God always forgive my sins and the best example is when He died in the cross in order to save people from their sins. In connection to this, the important connection between religion and psychology is clearly exemplified in the development of my faith. As my cognitive abilities improved, I was also able to better understand the relevance of God in my life (Erikson, 1993). 

    Ever since I learned that God will help and guide me through the different situations that I have to face, He became my greatest confidant. I always pray to him, especially during the times when I am most troubled. Whenever I have a problem or something is bothering me, I will ask for Gods help by praying to Him. After praying, I just feel better and I could think more clearly with the things that I have to do. I believe that this is the power of God that allows me to handle and address all the problems and adversaries in my life, which could be an example of clairaudience because I believe that I am communicating with God through the form of thought (Miller, 2000). Due to this, I feel that I am closer to God as compared before when I am still very young. I became His follower, in a sense that I obey His teachings and the values that He emphasized in Bible willingly unlike before wherein my I was forced to behave properly because of my fear of Him.
Currently my beliefs had not changed. I honestly think that my faith in God had strengthened through maturity. Through my childhood, I only saw God as someone who would protect or scold me for the things that I have done wrong. By the time that I was already matured, I was able to realize that God was not a person in the stories I have read or someone that would scold me for my wrong doings. Thus, Jesus Christ His actions and His word became the model of my beliefs and values (Coles, 1990).

    Moreover, I do think that my personality and decisions are mostly related to what I had been through in the different stages of my life (Erikson, 1993). Reflecting that I am a Southern Baptist, I had been exposed to different kinds of literatures and stories regarding the Lord. One of the most important parts of by religious belief is being able to listen to different experiences of my friends regarding the Lord. For I am a strong believer that God is working within us always, the testimonies I hear from other people encourages me to see the greatness of God within my life.

    Moreover, I was viewing the practices of God while I was younger. Through constant attendance in church and doing other church activities, I realized the Lords purpose and desires for his people. Therefore, I am able to know him more and imitate his actions. Through out my youth, I often had in mind the concept of What Would Jesus Do in order to remind my self of what I need to do in various situations. Hence, I would not fear or control myself against bad influences.

    Accordingly, I became more aware of the value of sharing to other people. I have always liked verses regarding sharing. In different stories in the bible, sharing often leads to greater amount of blessing not only to the giver but also to the people around. Thus, the blessing is not only experienced by one person but other people as well. As a result, I am a person who has strong values regarding decisions, sharing and incorporating God-like actions towards people.

From the time that I was young, I already believed that the Lord is present in my life. Looking back at my younger years, my parents were imparting His word to me through different stories thus, I strongly believed in Him. In addition to this Sunday churches and Sunday Schools had been a very good experience for me. After the stage of Sunday Schooling, I was also hearing masses and went to youth activities which made me know God more. By doing bible reading, prayers, devotion I was able to learn from God and his purpose for me. I am able to apply different values in my own daily life most especially with interacting with other people. Through knowing made me realize his presence in the different situations most especially during times of decision making and hardships. Thus, I went from the stages of Believing, Knowing, and Truly Feeling the Presence of God.

 In terms of my current profession, my beliefs had been very helpful to me. During time of work, I would often feel stressed and tired however, the word of God is helping me to be inspired to work. Sincerely I do feel that this work is given to me by the Lord for he had a purpose. For this reason, I incorporate work as my ministry in serving the Lord. For my work is almost my life, I keep in mind that I need to incorporate my beliefs in order to fulfill my purpose. Thus, my beliefs had also provided me a positive perspective towards children. Going back to my childhood days, my foundation is filled with stories of God and his parables which I truly want to share with other children. I consider that children are one of the most special people for God and it is also the most important stage to incorporate teaching of God. From my own experience, being a child already knowing His goodness was the best parents could give. Having strong faith (Miller, 2000) in an early age provided me a better outlook in life. Although some may say that being a child meant ignorance, my parents and my continuous search of God I became a person with a peaceful and joyful heart.
In conclusion, I already had a long journey but I still consider myself as a younger believer of Christ. I still need to learn different kinds of things regarding Jesus Christ through a deeper level. For I already understand and feel his presence, I want to be able to think similarly as him to become like him. Although some might find my perspective radical, I truly want to please God because He had been gracious to me and my family.  For He is a powerful God through His promises and presence, I want to glorify Him through my daily life. Moreover, my reflection of my spiritual experience as a child until this very day made me realize that my faith had become stronger and faith had honed me what I am now.