Q&A Home > W > Will of God

How do we seek the will of God in all things? How does spirituality reconcile to worldly entertainment such as Harry Potter, Superman, Tom and Jerry and Batman? What about creativity and imagination?

To seek the Will of God:

1. Study His Holy Word (The Ten Commandments, The Sermon on the Mount, Book of St James, Letters of St Paul, etc.)




2. Adhere to the teachings of the Church, which ensure that Christian principles remain stronger than the environment




3. Contemplate the lives of the saints




4. Seek out a life of inner peace




5. Recognize God's hand in outer circumstances  through spiritual practices of constant prayer and fasting




6. Practice quiet thinking, incorporating meditation and sound reason




7. Avoid immoral issues and those of skeptical nature

A saint is one who has put the Lord Jesus Christ first in his life. Though saints may encounter trials and temptations, a saint can overcome these with faith, prayer, and fasting. They always carry love for the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy teachings in their hearts as their means of overcoming evil.

While seeking maturity in the Will of God, saints have the responsibility of attaining social maturity as well. This social maturity will certainly not be attained through reading Harry Potter’s books.

In Harry Potter’s books, the character overcomes trials through wizardry, and his closest friends are with those who are acquainted with wizardry. In addition, evil and not good are the central theme, with a lesser form of evil overcoming a greater one. Any book that centers its plot on sorcery always raises a question as to how beneficial such a book is to spiritual life.

Reading should be an effective means of building us spiritually. A storybook that starts with murder and continues around that theme is certainly neither building spiritually nor entertaining to our young kids. Unlike Harry Potter’s books, those on the life of the saints and other good books are never age nor sex restricted. They are just good and beneficial for all.

In defense of imagination, did you know that children, who watch five to six hours of television or more in one week, are less creative, less imaginative than those children who do not watch television at all?

I certainly encourage reading for knowledge, creative thinking, fulfillment and enjoyment. Daniel in the Lions Den, Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors, David and Goliath, St Stephen being stoned are examples of books in which evil and destruction of some sorts are present; yet the prevailing theme is the hero’s love for the Lord and his faith in Him. Henceforth, such books become a standard of measurement by which we examine our lives and a helpful way in  making meaningful decisions.

Life is too short and our brains' capacity too small to clutter reason and thinking with sorcery, beasts, and violent actions. Rather, reading should encompass those things, which spring from themes that are pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful, and with good fruit.

Human wisdom driven by the motive of seeking a form of good in sorcery (a subject strongly forbidden in the Holy Bible) can be dangerous. Our thoughts, deeds, and knowledge of the future are limited as only God is limitless in these things.

The subject matter of the books we read must match our Christian belief system and help build and shape our lives.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7).