Spiritual Bankruptcy

In my early twenties, I went through a spiritual crisis. My childhood faith, which was largely influenced by my parents’ beliefs as well as my denominational affiliation, no longer fit. As I started noticing discrepancies, I started questioning everything. I felt like a builder who finds out that the foundation is cracked, halfway through construction. The faith that took two decades to build came tumbling down.

Now, in my forties, my faith is once again solid and strong. These days, when I am faced with scriptural and religious inconsistencies, I am not disturbed. I have found peace in my view that all religions are human interpretations of the Divine Truth—a truth that I might never fully comprehend. And that’s okay. I get an indescribable comfort from praying and studying the Bible. I sense God’s presence in nature, His voice in songs, His love in friends, His wisdom in every situation.

Every so often, some crisis comes along that shakes my faith in God. Because I have experienced this spiritual bankruptcy before, I am not as scared as I was the first time. I know I shall recover, even if it takes a few years.

A friend of mine, who is in her late sixties, shared the following insight with me: She never questioned the traditional teachings and scriptural interpretations that were foundational to her faith until a few years ago. Now she is facing the prospect of spiritual bankruptcy for the first time. As I was listening to her, I realized how similar this was to financial bankruptcy. If everything you have is wiped out in your twenties, you still have time to build it back up again. However, if your entire life savings is wiped out when you are in your seventies, it’s a much scarier prospect.

I had never thought of my youthful questioning as a blessing…until now.

I notice several young people going through a similar phase of demolishing and rebuilding the foundations of their faith. Now, I realize that this might be a necessary and healthy part of spiritual growth.