I’ve met some older priests in my day and have had occasion to speak with them in public situations.
Invariably some parishioner will see them in their uniform and come up to them and start spilling their worries and woes.
Intertwined with their complaints are mentions of God, his will, and Bible verses.
The overall shape of the monologue is that they want something, they think they should have it and that God should help them get it.
No matter how pious the elderly priest – and how good they are at maintaining a mask of benevolence – you can see the frustration on their face.
And you can definitely hear it in their voice.
Because the parishioners have often gone to this well of begging God’s intermediary on several previous occasions.
In other words, the priest has heard the same story from these people before.
And the terrible secret elderly priests don’t want you to know is that they’re tired of hearing the bellyaching.
They’re also annoyed at people’s misunderstanding of their own faith.
But most of all, what they really can’t stand is people’s weakness.
On a few of these occasions I was almost certain the priest was about to say something like, “God helps those who help themselves.”
Which is a pious way of saying stop being so damned lazy.
The hidden philosophy neither denies nor affirms God or any religion. That is up to the reader.
What we do believe is what the elderly priests wish they could say.
That what you make out of your life is up to you. You are responsible for your own basic survival. You’re the only person who can look after your own self-interest.
You are the only person who can take the action necessary to get what you want.
Finally, you are responsible for the outcomes in your life. Perhaps a God will look down on you and smile. Perhaps another God will not notice.
And while we’re on the subject of faith-based matters, we believe you will find that placing your faith within your own mind, your decisions, commitment and actions is a better bet than running to your neighborhood priest when things aren’t swinging your way.
To access the recorded version of the hidden philosophy, click here to become a member, and you’ll be on your way to living the truth that god really does help those who help themselves.
