Two Most Essential Virtue To Posses, Faith And Hope

The Writer

They stood at the hospital's corridor. Looking sad and weary. That was when I saw him,sitting at the waiting area with his head bowed. I ran straight to him worried as well. He told me that she was in a bad condition and was at the verge of death.

As tears runs down his face,I did not know what to tell him. I almost broke down as well but I held my tears back. All I could say was,'Have faith and believe that she will be fine'. I am not a religious person but I knew they were stout Christians. And deep within me,I hoped that the Lord will listen to him and save my best friend's life.

Richie McDonald, a country artiste in his song *faith* said that, 'Faith gives you hope,hope gives you strength'. I've grown up to believe that faith is a good thing. In the sense that it helps relieve people of their pain or anxiety at least for a period during an unfortunate situation. Faith is having complete trust and confidence in the abilities of someone or an ideal. When I told my best friend's husband to have faith, I meant that he should be confident and believe that she'd be fine.

As humans,we're faced with lots of misfortunes and challenges in life. We have to learn to accept them and know how to deal with them. Some situations hit us to the core that,it leaves us damaged within. We lose hope in some but we have this conviction that miracles happen. We rely on gods, religious books, (Bible and Qur'an for instance) money, and people hoping that things will get better. Religious leaders preach about having faith but mind you,you having faith doesn't make you a faithful person so let's not confuse the two. I sat in a public transport one day next to a lady with a little boy who looked quite unwell to me. She placed her mobile on her ear as though she was making a phone call. Later on, I got to realize that she was listening to a sermon that had been recorded. The preacher said something and she immediately said Amen. She looked relaxed and confident to me.

In churches, congregations say Amen to almost everything the preacher says. Some students believe they will pass their examinations with faith and a little studying. Some patients believe that their faith in whichever medium will heal them. Truth is,the future is sketchy. Nothing is really

assured.
According to the holy book of Christians,faith without works is dead. It's good to have faith but it alone is empty so what are you doing about it? You believe and have the strong conviction that your sickness will be treated but do not sit at home without seeing your doctor for medications. Do not put your books aside and hope to pass an exam with distinction. Do not hope that a prestigious company will employ you when you haven't even applied to any organization. Do not go to bed praying and believing you'd be rich when you're being lazy. This life is real,it's not a fantasy. Work towards whatever you want to achieve. Faith alone might sustain you but its short lived.

It's good to have faith. Very good actually. When things get out of your hands just hold on to faith. Hope gives you strength and strength gives you courage to carry on each day.

Hold on to faith but add works to it because in this real world,faith on it's own is dead.