As I was praying the rosary today, a bible verse struck my mind:
"From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."" Matthew 16:21-23
While we were discussing the topic of cohabitation, I was asked about various scenarios that involved cohabitation being a convenience to an unmarried couple, or even to an unmarried/platonic man and woman. Of course there are the usual chastity reasons why cohabitation is morally wrong, yet I now also see an entire other dimension to the issue - solving issues our way versus God's way.
When looking at ANY issue from just a human perspective, usually the more convenient option makes more sense, even if it does prove wrong/sinful. Yet, I wonder what would happen if we started looking at problems from God's perspective? Peter was one of Jesus' best friends and yet even he got scolded by Jesus for thinking as humans do.
Far too often it seems as though us humans (myself included) try to solve problems our own way, while pushing God aside, forgetting all about His infinite love and plans for us. As humans, we have limited knowledge, but God can see the BIG picture - our entire lives and has our best interests in mind, if only we would open ourselves more and more to Him and trust in His ways, which yes, are not always the convenient option, but offers eternal happiness instead.
As a Catholic, I strive to primarily see life through God's eyes, and try to put His solutions before my own. Hence why it baffles me when I hear talk about the convenience of cohabitation or using contraception. Do we really think so little of God?
I'm surprised that the secular world still hasn't quite fully realized that usually whenever we attempt to solve problems without God, it does not usually end well, mostly resulting in chaos, yet somehow the world seems content with chaos.
I have one final thought regarding the topic of moral relativism vs. absolutism? Some of the people seemed quite strongly opposed to the mere concept of absolute Truth and instead insisted on religion being personal, that it's fine that I find Catholicism to be true for me, but that Catholicism may not be true for others...I'm still trying to understand that logic because how can God be both true and not true?
I propose this notion: God is Truth, yet He created each of us with free will, so each human is free to reject God or to accept Him and His infinite love. So, I think what moral relativists are actually saying is: I don't want God to be real because I don't like His teachings on x, y, and z. I think that a lot of people so strongly desire to do whatever they want and it's that desire that keeps people from coming to know God's love and accepting God in their lives.
Hopefully, this made some sense, feel free to ask questions in the comments or email me anytime :)
