I ran across this statement by rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance.” That intrigues me. Do we accept that God is of supreme importance?

This statement reminds me of an assignment I used to give college students in a religious studies course. They had to examine two definitions of religion and defend one as being the better definition. One definition came from Ronald Cavangh, professor of religious studies at Syracuse University: “Religion is the varied, symbolic expression of, and appropriate response to that which people deliberately affirm as being of unrestricted value for them.” It was rare that any student defended this definition. They objected that under this definition something like money might be a religion because it was of unrestricted value for them. (Maybe for some people it is.) Or they objected there were lots of things that are more valuable than religion. (Maybe those things are a person’s real religion.) Martin Luther made a similar observation in his Large Catechism: “That upon which you set your heart and put your trust is properly your god.”

How important is God to us? I puzzle about this, because the amount of fear, anger, and divisiveness I see doesn’t suggest that God isn’t very important. The problem isn’t that fewer people believe in God, but that those who do don’t allow God to be very important to them.

The problem is not really “them,” but me. Is God of supreme importance to me? Is God really my God? It’s something to ponder.

Read Deuteronomy 6:5 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne